Relationship enhancement protects against relationship-quality-associated weathering among Black adults in romantic partner relationships.

Abstract

The study builds upon prior research demonstrating the long-term benefits of the Protecting Strong African American Families (ProSAAF) intervention on both relationship and individual functioning (e.g., Barton et al., 2021; Beach et al., 2023; Lei & Beach, 2023). The current findings extend prior findings by showing that participants in the ProSAAF condition exhibited attenuated correlations between poor relationship quality and accelerated biological aging (r = -.059, p = .582) relative to those in the control condition (r = .251, p = .006) (n = 208 individuals). A direct test of moderation showed that condition significantly moderated the association of relationship quality with change in biological aging, and the pattern was replicated across four indicators of relationship quality. ProSAAF demonstrates promise as a preventive intervention with significant implications for health disparities and relationship enhancement. Future directions include exploration of potential mechanisms of ProSAAF's moderating effects, such as increased attachment security and reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).