Effectiveness and Satisfaction With the Gottman Couple Enhancement Course

This project will investigate the Gottman 7 principle couple course (G7P) in the Norwegian setting offered at different sites and for different groups of the population, including a sample of clients from the specialist health services. A control group of couples will serve as a baseline. The study will bring knowledge about the participants experiences with the G7P and the effectiveness of the course on improving the couple relationship.

The G7P couple enhancement program is translated to Norwegian and 200 trainers were licensed in 2017. Some of these trainers are professionals, such as psychologists and couple and family therapists and some are non-professionals. The courses are offered in communities all over the country and also for clients in specialized health care at Sorlandet hospital.

This project has a mixed-method design and will explore these research questions:

• Do Gottman 7 principles courses lead to better couple functioning from start to end of program and at 6 months follow up? And if so, for whom?
• Do different populations benefit equally from the course?
• Who join Gottman 7p courses?
• Why do they join a Gottman 7p course?
• Is there any difference in the experience of the course and the effectiveness of the course when a professional or a non-professional is the trainer?
• How do the participants experience the course and the usefulness of it?

Method:

To answer our research questions we want to obtain data through questionnaires and interviews, thus a mixed-method study. The project is a cohort study with three measurement points for the quantitative part and two for the qualitative part of the study. A control group of couples will serve as a baseline.

Quantitative sub-study:

Participants at G7P courses in Norway will be asked to participate in the quantitative part of the study. The participants are asked to answer some questions at the start and at the end of the course (t1, and t2) and six months after the course (t3).

Additional, a control group will participate in the study. They will be asked to participate through a) the Solide Samliv webpage and b) the Solide Samliv facebook page. c) advertizement on social media. The control group will answer to questions equal to t1 and t3.

Analyzes will be performed in SPSS, Jasp and R and both frequentist and Bayesian approaches will be used.

Qualitative sub-study:

This sub-study amnswers to research question 6: How do the participants experience the Gottman 7 principles course and the usefulness of it? Recruitment will take place through the G7P courses. The sample is recruited from those who signed the consent to participate in the study at the start of each course. The selection of participants will be based on variation in terms of informants' background (e.g. gender, age, length of the relationship, urban/rural), to illuminate the breadth of bereaved individuals' experiences. We are aiming at 18 participants. The sample shall consist of 6 men, 6 women, and 6 couples. Qualitative interviews will be conducted at two times: approximately at the end of the course and six months after the end of the course.

Data and method of collection: In-depth interviews will take place in part individually and in part as couples in a place chosen by the participants. The interview will be recorded by the researcher and then transcribed by external assistance.

Analysis: Thematic analysis of qualitative data (Clarke & Braun, 2014).

Inclusion criteria

• Participating in a G7P course

Exclusion criteria

• None, except for if they do not sign the consent