Date of Graduation

12-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders

Advisor

David Christian

Committee Member

Kristin Higgins

Second Committee Member

Erin Popejoy

Third Committee Member

Ketevan Mamiseishvili

Keywords

Christian, Created for Connection, EFT, Emotionally Focused Therapy, faith-based programs, Marriage Enrichment, Marriage Relationships, Weekend Group

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Created for Connection (CFC), a faith based marriage enrichment program on relationship satisfaction, adult attachment style and adult attachment behavior. This study further adds to the existing knowledge base related to faith-based programs delivered in an intensive weekend format (Johnson & Sanderfer, 2016). Participants were volunteers from the local community who identified as Christian. To ascertain the effectiveness of CFC, three self-report measures were administered at three different intervals: two weeks before the program, two weeks following the program and a six-week follow-up. I measured attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, attachment behaviors and relationship satisfaction. I compared results using four repeated measure ANOVAs. CFC did have a statistically significant effect on relationship satisfaction and on attachment avoidance. Previous literature highlights the need for research on this type of intervention as well as the importance of the marriage relationship (Anderson, 2014; Berger & Hannah, 2014; Cole & Cole, 1999; Markman & Rhoades, 2012; Worthington, Johnson, Hook, & Aten, 2013). This research offers some insights as to the effects of this program and also establishes a base from which further research can be done on CFC.

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