Due to methodological limitations, past meta-analytic research was not able to identify which treatment was most effective for specific marital distress levels. By converting pre-and post-test scores from marital research into equivalent Dyadic Adjustment Scale scores, it was possible to isolate mild, moderate, and severe levels of marital distress. Results show that Emotionally Focused Therapy is significantly more effective than isolated Behavioral Marital Therapy interventions for the treatment of moderate marital distress. Future directions of outcome research are also discussed.
Originally presented as a doctoral dissertation by the first author, under the direction of the second author. Results were also presented via poster at AAMFT, October, 2003.
Notes
*Studies were unpublished dissertations.
**p < .01.
*p < .05