Department

Counseling and Human Services

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Date of Award

11-2021

Format

PDF

Degree Level

Ph.D.

LCSH subject

Marital psychotherapy; Family psychotherapy; Marital quality; Church work with families -- Catholic Church; Counseling -- Religious aspects

ISBN

9798834048800

Medium

Manuscript

Proquest Document ID

2692090961

Identifier

1371432017 (OCLC)

School/University

St. Mary's University

Size or duration

xi, 161 pages

Document Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

Tubbs, Carolyn Y.

Second Advisor

Meunier, Vagdevi

Third Advisor

Dsneroux, Demetrious

Abstract

According to existing literature, 27 components contribute to the concept of couple’s relationship satisfaction. Some of these components are included in non-religious and religious marital relationship education (MRE) programs. Research on nonreligious MREs spans decades; however, research on Catholic MRE programs is limited and not widely published. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of one Catholic, faith-based, couples’ MRE on impacting relationship satisfaction, and determine if specific religious and behavioral practices contributed to relationship satisfaction. The study was conducted with archival data collected from a population of mostly Catholic Latino and White couples in south central Texas.

This research used a quantitative paradigm and a correlational research design to answer the study’s purpose. The Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMSS) and Marital Adjustment Test were used to evaluate relationship satisfaction. A series of nonparametric analyses were conducted to address the research questions. Results indicated the number of KMSS total scores for a subset of participants in the nondistressed range increased from preworkshop to postworkshop. Two religious practices—praying daily together and asking for forgiveness—as well as eight behavioral practices were significantly related to nondistressed KMSS scores.

Keywords: MRE, couples, couple workshop, marital satisfaction, marital happiness,

Catholic, KMSS, Marital Adjustment Test, Locke Wallace, The Alexander House

Apostolate

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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