Effectiveness of the Online OurRelationship program for underserved couples

Underserved couples (e.g., racial minorities or low-income populations) are at higher risk for relationship distress and dissolution. Although there have been large-scale efforts to improve relationships for underserved couples, these programs have resulted in high attrition and minimal effectiveness. The OurRelationship program is a brief web-based program with demonstrated efficacy in attracting, retaining, and improving relationship functioning (e.g., satisfaction) and individual functioning (e.g., depression, anxiety, and perceived health; Doss et al., 2016). In a sample of 300 couples, the present study demonstrated that outcomes for traditionally underserved couples were generally equivalent to those of nonunderserved couples. Exceptions were found among Hispanic couples, who reported larger gains in perceived health (d = 0.61) and rural couples, who reported smaller improvements in relationship positives (d = -0.06). However, Hispanic and low-income couples were less likely to complete the OurRelationship program despite experiencing equivalent (or superior) improvements and equal levels of satisfaction with the program. Overall, this study shows that a web-based, relationship-focused intervention may be an important avenue for improving relationship and individual functioning domains for underserved couples, though efforts to improve retention are warranted.