Caring For My Family: A Pilot Study of a Relationship and Marriage Education Program for Low-Income Unmarried Parents

Healthy, enduring couple relationships have been shown to benefit men, women, and children, and are central to a well-functioning society. Little research has been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of relationship education programs for low-income, unmarried parents. Caring for My Family (CFMF) was developed as a theory-driven, evidenced-based curriculum that addresses the unique challenges experienced by unmarried parents. Findings are presented from a pilot study of CFMF (N = 85). Multivariate analyses show that CFMF holds promise as an effective curriculum for changing the attitudes and behaviors of couples across five outcome variables that pose significant barriers to an enduring committed relationship.