The Relationships Foundation is calling on the government to support the voluntary sector to provide relationships education for couples. Too many couples slide into relationships without ever actually deciding to be together and this has both public and private consequences.
Couple Relationship Education helps people work through issues before deciding to commit, making the relationship more likely to succeed. This could help reduce the £37billion of taxpayers money spent each year when relationships go wrong.(1) Many excellent organisations offer support for those couples experiencing difficulty, but there is very little work done in advance to prevent couples reaching the point where they need counselling.
The Relationships Foundation is today launching Building Strong Foundations, a report which sets out the case for Couple Relationship Education (CRE). The report follows extensive research and a conference earlier this year attended by practitioners and addressed by leading politicians with family portfolios. It calls for government investment in voluntary organizations which offer relationship education to couples. The Every Family Matters report recently launched by the Centre for Social Justice also calls for more relationship education citing evidence from our report.(2)
Sliding v Deciding
How relationships form is critical to how they function, develop, survive, and indeed thrive. Options can be curtailed even before a clear decision is made, because couples slide through, rather than decide upon, relationship transitions (eg, sexual involvement, pregnancy, cohabitation, marriage). Sliding results in relationship inertia, often meaning couples remain in unfulfilling, or even unsafe relationships. CRE seeks to teach individuals to slow down in relationships; to actively and self-consciously make decisions before committing too far and losing choices.
Couple Relationship Education is a simple solution to a massive problem – and it works. Relationships are vital to our wellbeing – increasing health, happiness and life expectancy. But relationships are fragile, easily broken and under pressure in our busy individualistic society. When they go wrong the private and public costs are high. As is so often the case – prevention is better than cure. Ten hours of training and support could make the difference between success and failure for some couples. When it comes to one of the biggest decisions of our lives – who we want to spend our lives with – we are often ill-prepared. A quarter of those getting married each year receive some form of marriage preparation, but most only meet for a few hours to discuss the marriage ceremony itself. The figures for those cohabiting are harder to obtain, but are certainly less.
The most comprehensive review of CRE to date found that, ‘the average person who participated in a premarital prevention program was better off after the program than 79% of the people who did not receive a similar educational experience.’(3)
Researcher Peter Lynas commented: ‘It’s basic common sense. Most people go to pre-natal classes before they have a baby because it is a new experience for them. It should be the same for couple relationships. So many people don’t have a model of a stable couple relationship. At a course they can discuss their expectations, whether they hope to have children, what to do when they argue and talk about money. This forces people to make conscious decisions rather than sliding into situations.’
Peter Lynas continues: ‘Relationships Foundation would like to see more government investment in third sector organizations so that CRE is made more widely available. Studies in the US have shown a return for government of $1.85 for every $1 spent on screening and empirically supported marital therapy. The government picks up the tab when things go wrong – a bill of £37billion each year. It seems wiser to invest a little in preventing problems arising.’(4)
For more information please contact: Peter Lynas – p.lynas@relationshipsfoundation-org.stackstaging.com 07546 590902
Notes: The Relationships Foundation, established in 1993, is a Cambridge-based independent think tank seeking a better connected society. It studies the effect that culture, business and government have on relationships. It proposes new ideas for strengthening social connections, campaigns on issues where relationships are being undermined, and trains and equips people to think relationally for themselves. Previous publications are available on our website
Building Strong Foundations is available here. The executive summary highlights the main conclusions, many of which are picked up in the CSJ report.
1. For information on the cost of relationship breakdown see When Relationships Go Right/Go Wrong.
2. Every Family Matters, CSJ, July 2009, p 93-95.
3. Carroll and Doherty, ‘Evaluating the Effectiveness of Premarital Prevention Programs: A Meta-analytic Review of Outcome Research’ in Family Relations, 2003, Vol 52, No 2, 105-118.
4. Caldwell, Wooley and Caldwell, ‘Preliminary estimates of cost-effectiveness for marital therapy’ in Journal for Marital and Family Therapy, July 2007, Vol 33, No 3, 392-405.