A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Getting Our Hearts Right Program and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program in a Sample of Iranian Couples

For several decades, to enhance relationship quality, marriage and relationship education (MRE) programs have focused on teaching communication skills and conflict management. However, new explanations reveal that the effectiveness of communication skills in MRE programs may largely depend on virtues. Through a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the present study examined the effectiveness of the Getting Our Hearts Right Program (GOHR; a virtue-based approach) and the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP; a skill-based approach). Forty-five eligible couples (i.e., 90 individuals) were randomly assigned to (a) GOHR intervention condition, (b) PREP intervention condition, or (c) wait-list control condition. The couples filled out the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale at baseline, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up phases. The results of both postintervention and 3-month follow-up showed that GOHR was more effective than PREP in improving the spouses' perceived marital adjustment. The findings of this study emphasized the potential value of short-term virtue-based interventions.