Positive psychology and marriage therapy effectiveness in couples

Positive Psychology Progress

This study was based on the need for discovery of a new, effective tool to improve human related functions in the society. It therefore focused on the effectiveness of positive psychology as a viable tool in establishing positive human relationships in the society. The study was undertaken on a random sample of 198 undergraduate students. A conclusion to depict positive psychology as a viable tool in making people happier was thereby formulated.

Positive psychology would then help in marriage therapy by making couples achieve happiness. The research study was qualitative in nature but could be flawed because respondents' claims couldn't be verified. Out of the findings, it could therefore be confirmed that positive psychology could be used in marriage therapy as a tool to make couples experience marital happiness all over again (Martin, 2005).

The Effectiveness of Couple Therapy: Pre and Post Assessment of Dyadic Adjustment and Family Climate

This research study was cited in Lundblad (2005) to evaluate the effectiveness of marriage therapy in the Swedish culture. Theories and methods used in the therapy were put to test when they were used as a clinical study in the context of public health. The research study identified that in the Swedish culture, marriage therapy was widely used in marriage and family counseling. The research study identified that 40-50,000 of such cases had been treated in the recent past but many of the cases hadn't been analyzed empirically.

A non-random sample study was used of 312 couples or 614 people whereby one of the partners in each set had to be from a divorced family. The research was undertaken over a two-year period. The research study was qualitative in nature and experienced a limitation of access to one clinical group. The research was therefore dependent on two non-clinical groups. It was therefore established that both genders experienced improved marital and family relationships after the experiment. This therefore goes to show the positive relationship of marriage therapy and positive relationships between couples.

Long-Term Effectiveness of Behavioral vs. Insight-Oriented Marital Therapy: A 4-Year Follow-Up Study

This research was undertaken over a four-year period on 59 couples regarding their marital status and the accord on their marriages. These couples must have been under behavioral and insight related marriage therapy. 38% of couples under behavioral therapy were noted to undergo divorce after termination of sessions as compared to 3% of couples who received insight related therapy. This therefore goes to show that the most effective type of marriage therapy is insight related and not one aimed at changing couple's behavior.

The main problem of the study revolved around the extensive use of marriage therapy in most marital relationships and the lack of someone to determine the long-term effects of the therapy. The purpose of the study was therefore to determine the long-term effect of marriage therapy on the couples. The research study was qualitative and used statistical techniques to compile data which made the study vulnerable to generalization errors of research (Snyder, 1991).

Marriage support services and divorce: a contradiction in terms?

This research study noted that, in light of many failed marriages and low number of marriages experienced in the society today, there was an increased need to establish the role of counseling and marriage therapy. The central purpose of the study was to establish the effectiveness of marriage therapy and counseling as an aid to couples solving marriage conflict. The study was undertaken in England and Wales. The research established that marriage support services and counseling could tremendously help in solving marital conflicts.

The study was done on a group of 445 people who took up an offer to attend MWMC where the study was being done. 116 of the people in attendance involved the participation of both partners and one member in each set had to come from a divorced family. A further analysis showed that most couples who experienced marital problems came from couples whom at least one of the partners hailed from a divorced family. The study was qualitative in nature but proof couldn't be established on the responses from those in attendance (Walker, 2001).

Divorce on relationship theories

This study sought to demystify the relationship between long-term effects of divorce on future relationships. The research was actually coined from the high prevalence of divorce in most modern societies. The research study was carried out on 32 male and 21 female undergraduate students. These students hailed from divorced families.

The research study was quantitative in nature but the results could be easily disputed because it was difficult to verify whether the students came from divorced families or not. It was however established that couples who hailed from divorced families were twice as likely to experience divorce unlike their counter parts from intact families. This report could be used in comprehending divorce as a factor in marriage conflict (Schwartz, 2010).

Predicting Marital Success With PREPARE: A Predictive Validity Study

This study incorporated the use of PREPARE as a tool in forecasting marriage success as its central focus of study. The problem of study was the increased failed marriages being experienced in the world today. It was later established that couples who felt satisfied in their relationships scored much better using PREPARE than couples who didn't. Questionnaires were given to 208 couples at random and the paper was based on a quantitative research. The use of random sampling could have posed generalization errors because the conclusions were based on probability. The study however exposed the use of PREPARE as a viable technique in predicting marriage success (Fowers & Olson, 1986).

Expanding the Reach and Effectiveness of marriage interventions

This research study centered on the fact that many marital interventions revolved around use of empirical techniques but only a slight minority of 31% of couples sought pre-marital education. The paper was then set to focus on determining the reach and effectiveness of marriage interventions. This initiative could be used to understand the effectiveness of marriage therapy as a form of marriage intervention.

The study was undertaken on 876 couples who had experienced marital conflict at one point in their marriage. The study was quantitative in nature but was vulnerable to the fact that response from correspondents couldn't be verified. It was established that couples who had premarital education were less likely to experience marital problems. Marriage therapy was also established to be a strong and effective form of marriage intervention (Doss, 2010).

Book reviews

This article was aimed at establishing procedures used by most couples in marriage preparation. The problem of study involved the failure of most couples to undertake marriage preparation in modern society. The study was done on 350 couples who had undertaken marriage preparations before their wedding. Marriage preparation was noted to be carried out by friends and family members.

It was established that marriage preparation was a personal initiative by most couples and only traditional couples were inclined to insist on it. The church was also identified to undertake marriage preparation on behalf of couples who were staunch followers of their faith. The major set back to this study was the use of probability to summarize the data. The report was however based on a quantitative analysis (Mishra, 2009).