The effectiveness of the in‐person and online Gottman Seven Principles Couple Enhancement Program: A propensity score matching design

Summary & key facts

Researchers in Norway tested a 12-hour relationship course called the Gottman Seven Principles with 490 people who took the course and compared them to 242 similar people who did not. They measured relationship quality before the course, right after, and about six months later. The study found that the course improved relationship quality, and it worked just as well when run online as when run in person. It also did not matter whether the leaders were clinically trained therapists, which suggests the course material itself helped people.

Key facts:

• The study tested a 12-hour Gottman Seven Principles couple program with 490 participants and compared them to 242 people who did not take the course.
• Relationship quality was measured before the course, right after the course, and at a six-month follow-up using a standard questionnaire.
• People who took the course showed improvements in relationship quality after the program.
• The course was equally effective when delivered in person or online.
• Having leaders who were clinically trained therapists did not change how much people improved, suggesting the course content worked on its own.
• Researchers used statistical matching and other analyses to try to make fair comparisons between the people who took the course and those who did not.

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of the 12-h Gottman Seven Principles couple enhancement program delivered in person and online. In Norway, we recruited 490 participants and 242 people for a control group. All were in close relationships. The revised dyadic adjustment scale (RDAS) was used to assess the quality of their relationships before and after program participation, and at 6-month follow-up. Repeated measures ANOVA, t tests, reliable change, and multilevel multiple regression using propensity score matching to control for confounders were used to investigate the effectiveness of the course. The results demonstrate that the Gottman Seven Principles course improves couple relationships and is equally effective whether delivered in person or online. Furthermore, it does not matter whether there are therapists with a clinical background delivering the course, suggesting that the material itself is sufficient.

Topics

Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Child Welfare and Adoption

Categories

Clinical Psychology Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Applied psychology Computer science Matching (statistics) Mathematics Propensity score matching Psychology Social psychology Statistics

Conditions & symptoms

Feeling disconnected from others