A component analysis of behavioral marital therapy: 1-year follow-up

Abstract

The present study provides 1-yr follow-up data for a comparison between a complete behavioral marital therapy package (CO) and two of its major components, behavior exchange (BE) and communication/problem-solving training (CPT), each presented in isolation. Data are reported for 60 married couples who were randomly assigned to one of these three treatments or to a waiting-list control (WLC) group. Four doctoral candidates and one masters-level counselor served as therapists. All treatments involved 12–16 therapy sessions. The long-term effects of therapy were evaluated with measures of global marital satisfaction and presenting problem checklists. While BE couples tended to reverse their progress relative to those in the CO condition during the first 6 months following termination, statistically significant differences between groups were no longer in evidence by the 1-yr follow-up. However, couples treated with CO were most likely to be happily married and least likely to be separated or divorced.