Administration for Children and Families
MU Department of Human Development and Family Science in the College of Human Environmental Sciences was awarded a new 5-year, $6.4 million grant to continue the ShowMe Healthy Relationships project. The Institute of Public Policy and Irma Arteaga, Associate Professor in the Truman School of Public Affairs will provide research and evaluation of the project.
The new grant will focus on reaching single adults who want healthier romantic relationships in the future. Participants in the 8-week program will learn qualities that make a good partner, how to communicate and maintain a partnership, and how topics like parenting, finances, and personal well-being are related to healthy relationship choices. The project aims to enroll 2,800 adults and follow them for 12 months after completing the program to learn more about the longer-term impacts on their future relationship experience.
Impact
The research component of the grant seeks to evaluate a booster session and the extent to which participants maintain improvements of intended outcomes including:
- Attitudes and intentions related to relationship decision-making skills
- Knowledge and implementation of communication/conflict resolution/emotion regulation skills
- Personal well-being indicators include stress/distress, feelings of self-efficacy