Recommendations for the next generation of models and measures

The Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Models and Measures (3M) project recommends measures for assessing the outcomes of healthy marriage and relationship education programs. These measures are aimed at two populations: high-school-aged adolescents, and parents in complex families. In this project, complex families are families where couples are in a committed relationship (married, cohabiting, or in a committed romantic relationship, even if they are not living together), they have at least one child together, and one or both parents have children from previous relationships.

Project materials are available below, and on OPRE’s website.

3M is funded by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE).

3M’s recommended outcome measures were developed through a process that included:

• a review of research and evaluation literature on current conceptualizations of healthy marriage and healthy relationships, and their significance for adolescents and complex families;
• a review of existing measures used in HMRE research and evaluation;
• input from experts in healthy marriage and relationships research and practice; and
• cognitive interviews with adolescents, and with parents in complex families.

Should you have questions or need additional information, contact Mindy Scott at mscott@childtrends.org.

Project materials

This list includes all existing and forthcoming products from the 3M project.

Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: Recommended Outcome Measures for Parents in Complex Families is a dynamic measures spreadsheet that summarizes the items and measures we recommend for healthy marriage and relationship education programs seeking to assess targeted outcome domains related to parents in complex families.

For this project, we define complex families as families where parents are in a committed relationship (married, cohabiting, or in a committed romantic relationship, even if they are not living together), they have at least one child together, and one or both partners have children from previous relationships.

Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: Considerations for How to Collect Outcomes Data from Parents in Complex Families is a tip sheet with advice on collecting outcomes data from parents in complex families. It also covers issues that could arise when studying this population.

Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: Recommended Outcome Measures for Adolescents is a dynamic measures spreadsheet that summarizes the items and measures we recommend for healthy marriage and relationship education programs seeking to assess targeted outcome domains related to youth.

For this project, we recommend measures for adolescents between ages 14 and 18. They need not be in current romantic relationships. While many of the youth in our target population are in school, we also consider youth who are no longer in school or who are in alternative school settings.

Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education: Considerations for How to Collect Outcomes Data from Adolescents is a tip sheet with advice on collecting outcomes data from adolescents.