| IMPORTANT NEWS
END-OF-YEAR CLOSING Please note that the last processing day will be Wednesday 15th December 2005 and the office will re-open on January 4th 2006. SEASONS GREETING The staff of PREPARE-ENRICH wish you a very happy Christmas and we look forward to continuing to provide a service for you in 2006. PROCESSING FEE TO INCREASE ON FEBRUARY 1st 2006 Please note that we will be reluctantly increasing the cost of processing to $44 (including GST) from February 1st next year. This will be the first increase in the base cost of processing since 1999. The $35 processing charge was set then and the GST added to this in June 2000, taking the GST inclusive charge to $38.50. Between June 1999 and June 2005, our net costs have increased by almost 15% due to constant increases in the expenses associated largely with wages, printing and postage. Our intention is to maintain the new processing charge for a lengthy period of time (as we have done before). We always aimed to make the processing cost comparable to that of a modest meal for a couple – we feel sure that $44 (for a couple) is still well and truly within those limits. Please note that this new charge does not apply until February 1st, 2006. MAIN ITEMS IN THIS ISSUE
LINKING PROGRAM BENEFITS TO COUPLE SUSCEPTIBILITIES WHO DEVELOPED THE PREPARE/ENRICH INVENTORIES?
WE NEED YOUR HELP - PUBLICISE OUR TRAINING DAYS WHY DO COUPLES PARTICIPATE IN PREMARITAL PROGRAMS? A recent American study of premarital couples found that religion (being
committed) is a significant predictor of males’ and females’ intention
to participate in a premarital program, as well as actual participation
in the program (Sullivan, Pasch, Cornelius, & Cirigliano, Predicting
Participation in Premarital Prevention Programs: The Health Belief Model
and Social Norms. Family Process, 2004, 43 (2), 175-193.).
For both men and women the factors that significantly predicted actual participation at follow-up were: Perceived barriers; having a respected other recommend the program. These predictors were significant even after controlling for demographic variables and whether or not the program was required or recommended. The authors offered these comments on the implications of their findings: “…it seems likely that strategies based on increasing perceived susceptibility to and severity of distress and divorce, such as emphasizing the current high rates of divorce or the negative consequences of distress and divorce, will be of limited usefulness in motivating couples to participate in premarital prevention programs.” “…recommended strategies include efforts to provide low-cost counseling, efforts to make counseling as convenient as possible, and increasing couples’ perceptions that the provider (whether therapist or minister) is competent and trustworthy.” “…couples’ perceptions of the benefits of premarital counseling have
little explanatory value for why couples do and do not participate. Thus,
providing information about the benefits of premarital counseling will
probably not be useful for recruiting couples.”
Two issues need consideration:
Additional analyses of research reported on Prepare-Enrich couples in Australia (Craddock, Alan E., Origins: Family Experiences of Premarital Couples, Sydney, Hillfort Resources, 2004) reveal that men and women who are low in idealism, unrealistic, and differ from their partners on spiritual beliefs or attitudes towards marital roles also experience difficulties with conflict resolution and communication in their relationship. These trends generally apply to both cohabiting (N=292) and non-cohabiting (N=228) couples. The Idealistic Distortion (ID) scale is used in the Prepare inventory as a means of assessing the tendency to over-report relationship satisfaction in a socially desirable fashion, indicating a tendency to describe the relationship in idealised and positive terms. Individuals who score high on the ID scale are often also highly unrealistic about the likelihood of problems occurring in marriage. However, the research trends described above reveal an interesting subgroup of individuals who reverse this trend. They tend to be low in ID but are also very unrealistic. They are frank and honest in their personal reporting of their current relationship, but they do not have a very realistic view of the potential for long-term marital problems. Furthermore, they tend to differ from their partners on spiritual beliefs and marital role attitudes, and the combination of all of these factors is strongly associated with communication and conflict resolution difficulties. One wonders how aware or concerned such individuals are of the extent of belief or attitude difference that exists in their couple relationship. One implication of these findings is that it is likely to be helpful to encourage couples like these to recognize and work with their susceptibilities. But this could easily become an ineffective “scare tactic”. Perhaps couples would be more likely to respond if they could see that the program process is positive and beneficial. Would a process of discovery be a better way to express the Prepare-Enrich feedback process? The Prepare-Enrich process can be one of identifying, strengthening, extending applying and protecting couples’ strengths. It also helps couples to identify, work through, respect and benefit from their differences or issues for growth. We need to promote Prepare-Enrich feedback as a process of discovery
that will helpfully and safely centre on a couple’s reality - how they
can more accurately perceive and work through their strengths and areas
for growth. The core issue for each administrator is how this idea of a
positive process of discovery might carry over to promotional material
and what forms and types of promotion would be likely to be most effective.
Administrators often ask about the authors of the Prepare-Enrich inventories and just exactly what are their credentials. The original materials were developed in the USA by:
Professor Emeritus, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota & President, Life Innovations; Developed ten diagnostic tools and Circumplex Model; Licensed Consulting Psychologist and Licensed Marital & Family Therapist, State of Minnesota. JOAN M. DRUCKMAN Ph.D
DAVID G. FOURNIER, Ph.D
David H. Olson, the President of Life Innovations (as Prepare-Enrich is known in the USA) is Professor Emeritus, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota.
* Fellow, American Psychological Association (APA)
Elected Positions: * President, National Council on Family Relations
(NCFR)
National Awards: * Cumulative Contributions to Family Therapy Research
(AAMFT)
Marriages, Australia 2004 (The Australian Bureau of Statistics, cat. no. 3306.0.55.001) provides information on marriages registered in Australia during the 2004 calendar year. In 2004, there were 111,000 marriages registered in Australia. This compares with 106,400 registered marriages in 2003 and 108,700 registered in 1984. The number of marriages registered has consistently increased since the low of 103,100 marriages registered in 2001. There were 52,747 divorces in 2004, representing 2.6 per 1,000 in the population. This represents a decrease in divorce when compared with the figure of 2.9 (a record high) in 2001. The trend towards older age at marriage continued in 2004. The median age at marriage for men was 32 years, rising from 27 years in 1984. For women the median age rose to 29 years in 2004 from 24 years in 1984. Marriages in which neither party had been previously married comprised 67% of all marriages registered in 2004. A further 18% were marriages in which one partner had been previously married and 15% were remarriages for both partners. These proportions have remained constant over the last 20 years. In 2004, marriages performed by civil celebrants again outnumbered marriages
performed by ministers of religion. This trend commenced in 1999 when 51%
of all marriages were performed by civil celebrants. By 2004, this proportion
had increased to 59%. In comparison, in 1984 only 40% of marriages were
performed by civil celebrants.
Thanks:
Moves:
Welcomes:
Do you know anyone among your colleagues who might be interested in becoming a PREPARE-ENRICH Administrator? Over the years we have grown mainly by word-of-mouth publicity. This is gratifying to us since it shows we are providing a useful resource. Please let your colleagues know about PREPARE-ENRICH and tell them about
our website (www.prepare-enrich.com.au). By clicking on the training link
on the Administrators' homepage they can locate a workshop or find contact
details for a Trainer in their area, and can read information about all
the PREPARE materials and resources.
At the beginning of each month we place a brief (usually one page) article on our website focusing on a matter or theme that is likely to be helpful to PREPARE-ENRICH administrators. Sometimes this is a brief summary of relevant research, sometimes a practical suggestion, and sometimes a way of thinking about couples' issues. It is good to get into the habit of reading these monthly hints. The current hint, and an archive of all the hints posted in previous months, can be accessed from the Administrators' main page. News item updates are also included. A MATTER OF INTEGRITY - YOUR ACCREDITATION IS NOT TRANSFERABLE Please note that it is not appropriate to allow a person who has not been trained by Prepare to administer, interpret and work with couples using the Prepare-Enrich inventories by giving them access to a usercode granted to a person who has completed training. Handing materials and/or couple reports to untrained and unaccredited persons is unethical - it can lead to substandard and damaging work with couples performed by inadequately informed persons. ORIGINS OF CONFLICTED COUPLES - AN AUSTRALIAN STUDY The experience of family of origin is an important area for investigation among couples taking PREPARE. Dr Alan Craddock (National Coordinator of PREPARE-ENRICH Australia and Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, The University of Sydney) has recently completed a small booklet called Origins: Family Experiences of Premarital Couples. This booklet, written solely for PREPARE-ENRICH Administrators, is based on an analysis of 520 Australian couples who have taken PREPARE and has three main aims: 1. To identify and explore the main differences between highly satisfied (vitalised) and more troubled (conflicted) premarital couples. 2. To examine the differences in family background of vitalised versus conflicted premarital couples in the National sample. Of major interest is any link between negative experiences within family of origin in the past (separateness, rigidity and exposure to abuse) and present difficulties in couple relationship. 3. To explore the practical implications of these findings, particularly when working with conflicted premarital couples. General strategies for working with conflicted couples are also described. The cost is only $12 and this includes postage and GST.
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