Effects of an Intervention Designed to Enhance Romantic Relationship Excitement: A Randomized-Control Trial

Title
Effects of an Intervention Designed to Enhance Romantic Relationship Excitement: A Randomized-Control Trial
Publication Date
2013
Author(s)
Coulter, Kimberley
Malouff, John M
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Place of publication
United States of America
DOI
10.1037/a0031719
UNE publication id
une:14368
Abstract
Applying the positive-psychology paradigm to romantic relationships, this study used a randomized control trial to evaluate the effects of a 4-week online intervention designed to increase romantic-relationship excitement. One hundred one couples were randomly assigned to either a 4-week online relationship excitement program ('n' = 50) or a waiting list control condition ('n' = 51). The intervention provided couples with ideas for exciting activities and encouraged them to participate in shared exciting activities for 90 min/wk. An intention-to-treat analysis of covariance showed that the exciting-activities couples had significantly higher levels of romantic-relationship excitement, positive affect, and relationship satisfaction at postintervention. A follow-up assessment of couples in the experimental condition showed that as a group they continued to have significantly higher scores at 4 months postintervention than at baseline. The findings, which are consistent with learning, broaden-and-build, and self-expansion theories, indicate that it is possible to increase relationship excitement with a brief inexpensive online intervention, and that increasing excitement produces enduring beneficial effects on couple positive affect and relationship satisfaction.
Link
Citation
Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 2(1), p. 34-44
ISSN
2160-410X
2160-4096
Start page
34
End page
44

Files:

NameSizeformatDescriptionLink