The Effectiveness of an Online Marriage Preparation Program

Introduction3

Marriage preparation programs are an important preventive factor against divorce and marital conflict, as research shows.4 Spirituality plays a key role in religious marriage preparation programs, as studies show that spiritual or religious practice is a significant factor in the quality of intimate relationships.5 Religious practice has an indirect effect on a couples' well-being by facilitating the sharing of common values and strengthening relational commitment.6

A study by Klausli and Gross examining participants' experiences found that the program positively impacted them by promoting more positive thinking about intimate relationships, deepening understanding of marriage as a vocation, and improving communication.7 Premarital programs play a critical role in reducing later problems and potential marriage breakdown by emphasizing the importance of mutual communication and helping couples identify potential sources of support.8

A comprehensive U.S. study conducted with random samples in four Central American countries found that participation in marriage preparation programs was associated with higher levels of marital satisfaction and commitment, lower levels of conflict, and lower likelihood of divorce. These findings were consistent across different ethnicities, incomes, and education levels, suggesting that participation in such programs is beneficial for a wide range of couples.9

Fawcett and colleagues used meta-analytic methods to examine a large body of evaluative research on marriage preparation programs and found that these programs are effective in improving communication between couples. Studies that used observational data rather than self-report showed greater effects.10 The positive outcomes of marriage preparation programs also depend on the leaders or facilitators of the programs.11 This study compared 31 Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) leaders and found that the effectiveness of the program also depended on the quality of the working alliance between the leader and participants, as this significantly predicted changes in relationship satisfaction and trust. Participants reported more positive communication when they experienced a stronger working alliance with their leader.

In Slovenia, couples who intend to marry in the Catholic Church must usually attend a marriage preparation course. All courses must be approved by the respective dioceses and adhere to the documents of the Catholic Church and the Slovenian Bishops' Conference. The basic church documents include: Familiaris Consortio12, Catechism of the Catholic Church13, Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality14, Amoris Laetitia15, the Final Document of the Plenary Assembly of the Church in Slovenia16 and the Guidelines for Direct and Indirect Preparation for the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony17.

The latter document summarizes all previous key documents of the Church and specifies that the preparation must cover five areas of content: 1. relationships; 2. marriage as a sacrament: theology of the body, theology of marriage and marital spirituality; 3. education and life in a Christian family; 4. responsible parenthood and transmission of life; 5. the celebration of marriage.

There are many marriage preparation courses in the Slovenian church, which differ in their form. As a rule, they take the form of lectures by trained speakers and testimonies from married couples. Each diocese ensures that there are enough courses available and that different formats are offered. The courses vary in the number of sessions: a. Five sessions of two hours each from Monday to Friday or on five consecutive Fridays or other days. b. Four sessions of two hours each on Mondays and Tuesdays or on other days. c. Three sessions of two hours each on consecutive Sunday afternoons per month. d. Two sessions on Saturday evenings and three on Sunday mornings. 3. Eight meetings with an interval of 14 days.18

The marriage community »Najina pot« offers a one-year marriage preparation program in the form of a group for engaged couples (up to twenty couples) that meets every two weeks from October to May. This is not a passive lecture format, but a group in which everyone is actively involved. Participants think about a particular topic at home, discuss it as a couple and then share their views with the group in the sessions.19

Iskreni.net has been offering an e-marriage preparation program since 2004. This is a three-month program that enables couples to prepare for marriage in online groups and on a weekend together. The program is led by married couples and spiritual leaders. It is a combination of online and face-to-face meetings.20

The Saint Ignatius Retreat House ran a weekend marriage preparation program beginning with the 2020 pandemic to June 2024. It consisted of two sessions on Friday afternoon, four on Saturday and three on Sunday morning.21

The online format of marriage preparation programs has several advantages over traditional alternatives when it comes to reaching couples. A study by Chalmers examined the online format of a marriage preparation program during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that participants responded positively to the intervention. The research confirmed that the online adaptation of the program is an important preventive factor, especially to mitigate the decline in marriages in times of crisis when traditional formats are not available.22

Although online marriage preparation programs offer several practical advantages, especially in terms of accessibility, empirical research on their effectiveness remains limited. A meta-analytical study examined online programs published up to 2020 and found only nine studies on four different online programs.23 These studies evaluated the effectiveness of online formats in improving self-reported relationship satisfaction, engagement, confidence, communication skills, and, to a lesser extent, emotional and behavioral problems such as anxiety, depression, anger, stress, aggression, and problematic alcohol use.24 Among these programs, ePREP program was the only evidence-based preventive intervention specifically designed to enhance relationships through structured conflict resolution skills.25 Despite the growing availability of online marriage preparation programs, there remains a clear research gap regarding their effects on spiritual experiences, relationship satisfaction, and psychological well-being, particularly within a religious and pastoral context.

1. Research Problem and Question

This study focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of an online marriage preparation course held at the Saint Ignatius Retreat House in Ljubljana. The course was held on Friday afternoon from 17:00 to 19:30 and included an introductory session and a testimony of a married couple. On Saturday, the course started at 8:30 am and ended at 6:15 pm. It included four testimonies/lectures, each lasting an hour and a half, with appropriate breaks in between. On Sunday, the course began at 8:30 a.m. and ended at 1:30 p.m. with two testimonies/lectures. The content of the testimonies/lectures was based on the guidelines of the Slovenian Bishops' Conference.26 Four couples, a doctor and a priest took part in the preparation. During each talk/testimony, there were at least five fixed times when each couple was invited to discuss the proposed topic or question in private. This ensured that the couples were actively involved and not just passively listening. In this way, the course complied with the Slovenian Bishops' Conference guideline:

»The program should provide sufficient time for discussion and specific exercises that couples can work on together. The preparation is an opportunity for couples to address issues that they would not normally discuss.«27

In this study, we investigated whether individuals who participated in such premarital education would report changes in spiritual experiences, interpersonal relationships, and psychological well-being. Although spirituality and a sacred understanding of marriage are generally associated with better marital outcomes, there is still a dearth of research examining the effectiveness of such online programs on spiritual practice, relationship quality, and psychological well-being.28

The purpose of the study was to determine whether the online marriage preparation method is an effective approach that significantly influences the frequency and intensity of daily spiritual experiences, relationship satisfaction, and overall well-being of program participants. To this end, we formulated the research hypothesis that participants' spiritual experiences, relationship satisfaction, and psychological well-being would improve significantly after completing the online marriage preparation program.

2. Method

2.1 Participants and procedure

The study comprised 384 participants, including 173 men and 211 women. The mean age of participants was 29.8 years (SD = 5.5) ranging from 20 to 61 years. The average age of men was 31.1 years (SD = 5.7), that of the women was 28.7 years (SD = 5.3). A total of 28 participants (7.3 %) had vocational training, 89 (23.2 %) had a high school diploma, 119 (31.0 %) had a college or bachelor's degree, 110 (28.6 %) had a university or college of applied sciences degree and 38 participants (9.9 %) had a scientific master's or doctoral degree. Most participants (N = 362; 91.6 %) were Catholic, 7 (1.8 %) were atheist, 5 (1.3 %) believed in a higher power, 4 (1.0 %) were Protestant, 1 (0.3 %) was Muslim and 1 (0.3 %) was Jewish.

The present study used a quasi-experimental one-group pre-test-post-test design. The study population consisted of 242 couples who participated in an online marriage preparation program between November 2023 and May 2024. Participants completed an online questionnaire 1KA (https://1ka.teof.uni–lj.si/) before and after the program. The data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistical methods in the Jamovi software.29 The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess normality, and the non-parametric Wilcoxon W test evaluated differences between the first and second measurements. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

2.2 Measurement instruments

The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) measures the frequency and intensity of daily spiritual experiences and was developed to assess how often individuals encounter spiritual feelings and experiences.30 The questionnaire consists of 16 items addressing various aspects of spirituality and religiosity. The scale demonstrates strong internal reliability, with Cronbach's alpha (α) ranging from 0.94 to 0.96. In the current sample, excellent reliability was also achieved, with a coefficient of 0.95.31

The Couples Satisfaction Index (CSI) is a self-report instrument that measures the global assessment of a person's relationship with their intimate partner.32 The shortest version, consisting of 4 items, was used. The first item was rated on a 7-point Likert scale (0 = very unhappy; 6 = perfect), and the remaining three items were rated on a 6-point Likert scale (0 = not at all happy; 5 = perfect). The item scores are summed, with higher total scores indicating greater overall satisfaction with the partner (total score range: 0 to 21). The reliability of the questionnaire, measured using Cronbach's alpha, was 0.84 in the sample examined.

The Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) is a short self-report instrument measuring mental well-being.33 It consists of five statements relating to the past two weeks. Each statement is rated on a 6-point scale, with higher scores indicating better mental well-being. Respondents rate the statements on a 6-point Likert scale, from 0 (not present) to 5 (always present). The total score ranks from 0 to 25, with higher scores reflecting better well-being and well-being. A total score of less than 13 indicates low well-being and suggests the need for further testing with a depression diagnostic instrument. The WHO-5 has been found to have adequate validity in screening for depression and in measuring outcomes in clinical trials. Item response theory analyses in studies of younger persons and elderly persons indicate that the measure has good construct validity as a unidimensional scale measuring well-being in these populations. Internal reliability, as measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, was 0.82 in our study.

3. Results

Figure 1 shows the self-reported level of religiosity. Most women (39.1%) and men (24.6%) described themselves as religious. Slightly fewer participants categorized their faith as weaker (women: 13.0 %; men: 13.7 %). A slightly higher percentage of men (3.5 %) than women (2.5 %) classified their faith as very strong, and slightly more men (2.1 %) than women (1.1 %) described their faith as non-existent.

Figure 1: Self-reported level of religiosity by gender of participants

Note. Due to missing data, Figure 1 presents responses from 274 participants.

When asked how often they engaged in various practices for their spiritual growth, participants most frequently reported praying structured prayers. The largest group (N = 108; 38.4%) practiced this form of prayer at least once a week or a few times a month, while 37 (13.2%) prayed every day. A similar trend was observed with personal prayer and attending Mass: 14% (N=41) of participants prayed personally and attended Mass daily, while 37% engaged in these practices at least once a month or several times a week. Prayer before meals was practiced by 15 participants (5.3%), while 56 (19.8%) did so at least once a week or several times a month. 73 participants (25.8%) did not practice this prayer, and the remaining participants (N=139) did so occasionally. As shown in Table 1, participation in spiritual retreats was the least common spiritual growth practice, with 193 participants reporting they had never participated. Slightly fewer participants (N=178) had never experienced spiritual direction, while 137 participants had never read the Word of God, and 98 had never read spiritual literature. At least once a year or more often, 35.6% (N=100) of participants received the sacrament of confession, while 46.3% (N = 130) received it at least once every six months or more frequently. 51 participants (18.1%) had never received the sacrament of confession.

Table 1: Frequency of practicing different paths for spiritual growth (N=284)

Notes: n–numerous; M-mean; Mdn-median; SD-standard deviation.

After completing the online marriage preparation program, participants reported statistically significant improvements in their faith, relationship satisfaction, and overall well-being (Table 2 and Table 3).

Table 2: Descriptive statistics of the initial and final measurement

Notes: n–numerous; M-mean; Mdn-median; SD-standard deviation; SE-standard error.

Table 3: Testing the difference between the initial and final measurement

Notes. DSES-The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale; CSI-The Couples Satisfaction Index; WHO-wellbeing; p-statistical significance; Hₐ μ initial measurement – final measurement≠ 0; ᵃ 5 pairs of values were tied; ᵇ 17 pairs of values were tied; ^c 29 pairs of values were tied.

4. Discussion

The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of an online marriage preparation program. We found that participants reported statistically significant improvements in their expressed faith after completing the program, even though most participants had already described themselves as religious on the initial measure in which we assessed their level of religiosity and spiritual practice. This suggests that participants had even stronger feelings and experiences of spirituality after the program. Pargament and Mahoney suggest that testimonies about the sanctity of marriage can motivate couples to invest more in their relationship.34 Insights into the sanctity of marriage are associated with spirituality, as well as relational and psychological well-being.35 The results of our study confirm the effectiveness of the online program conducted at the Saint Ignatius Retreat Housein Ljubljana, which is run by the Slovenian Province of the Society of Jesus.

Participants also reported improved relationship satisfaction and psychological well-being after completing the marriage preparation program, although the program did not explicitly focus on relationship issues, interpersonal problems, or psychological experiences. This finding is consistent with the study by Rhoades et al., which also found that brief online interventions play an important role for couples, especially low-income couples, including young couples at the beginning of their careers and couples with lower levels of education.36 Marriage preparation programs typically provide immediate and short-term benefits for participants, particularly in improving interpersonal skills and overall relationship quality.37 Previous research has also shown that these programs are beneficial to couples' well-being, a finding that is further supported by the results of our study.38

The online format of marriage preparation has proven to be effective. A study by Spencer and Anderson, which reviewed 12 publications on the effects of online relationship education programs, found that online programs significantly improved relationship satisfaction, communication skills, relationship confidence, and positive relationship traits and decreased negative relationship traits. The study showed that both online and traditional marriage education programs resulted in positive changes that exceeded those of the control group.39 However, there was no difference in the magnitude of change between traditional and online interventions.

5. Limitations of the study

The following limitations should be carefully considered when interpreting the results and planning future research in this area. The study is a quasi-experimental one-group study with no control group. This means that we cannot definitively claim that the observed changes in faith, relationship satisfaction, and overall well-being are directly attributable to the online marriage preparation program because we did not compare participants to a control group that did not participate in the program. Participants self-enrolled in the online program, which may indicate that they were already more motivated to improve their faith and relationship, which may have influenced the results. Data were collected using self-assessment questionnaires, which may introduce bias due to social desirability or subjective perceptions of their own experiences. We measured the impact of the program immediately after its completion, so it is not possible to assess the long-term effects of the program on the variables measured. The study participants were exclusively from the Catholic population of Slovenia and participated in a single online program, so the results cannot be generalized to the entire population, especially not to other cultural and religious groups.