Research and evidence
The research behind PAIRS
PAIRS Foundation describes its programs as evidence-based. This page shows the evidence: peer-reviewed journal articles, the federally funded South Florida evaluation, studies by VA researchers and independent reviews of relationship education. Where we have the full report, you can open it here.
The South Florida evaluation, 2006 to 2011
In 2006 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, funded PAIRS Foundation to deliver and evaluate relationship education in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties (grant 90FE0029). More than 5,000 adults took part in the nine-hour PAIRS Essentials class, offered in English, Spanish, French and Creole. Participants completed confidential assessments before class, after class and at six and twelve months. These reports were prepared by PAIRS Foundation and its research partners.
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Impact of Brief Marriage and Relationship Education Classes on Dyadic Adjustment
Using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, a standard research measure of relationship quality, the study found statistically significant improvements in consensus, satisfaction, affection and cohesion for both distressed and non-distressed participants. Gains held or grew at six and twelve months. Participants who began in the distressed range scored nearly 25 points higher twelve months later.
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Marriage Education Increases Relationship Satisfaction
Men and women who completed the nine-hour class showed statistically significant, lasting improvements in relationship satisfaction. The largest gains were among participants who reported the lowest satisfaction at the start.
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Impact of PAIRS Essentials Marriage Education with Low-Income Couples
At six-month follow-up, low-income participants reported improvements in communication (95 percent), conflict resolution (93 percent), overall relationship satisfaction (93 percent), emotional intimacy (89 percent) and relationship cohesion and stability (77 percent). Ninety-nine percent said they would recommend the class.
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PAIRS Relationship Skills Training Helps Men Succeed as Husbands and Fathers
Six months after the nine-hour class, 95 percent of men reported better communication with their partner and 94 percent reported improvement in their overall relationship.
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Relationship Education and Singles: Impact on Symptom Distress, Social Roles and Isolation
Single adults attending nine to twelve hours of PAIRS without a partner reported less distress around interpersonal relationships, symptoms and social-role functioning. The study used an assessment typically used to measure the impact of therapy and counseling.
Veterans and the VA: Warrior to Soul Mate
Warrior to Soul Mate brings PAIRS skills to veterans and their partners through VA chaplain services. Its implementation, outcomes and sustainability have been studied by VA health-services researchers.
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Measuring sustainability of a grassroots program in a large integrated health care delivery system: the Warrior to Soul Mate Program
Reports that veterans who attended Warrior to Soul Mate had lower anxiety, improvements in marital relationships and satisfaction, and increased intimacy, cohesion and affection. A survey of 23 VA sites found "demonstrating program results" among the program's strongest sustainability factors.
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Evaluating the Implementation and Sustainability of a Program for Enhancing Veterans' Intimate Relationships
In 2013, Warrior to Soul Mate served 1,664 people, including 847 veterans, at reasonable cost compared with other intensive VA services. The study also describes contracting and funding challenges that affect sustainability.
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Program history and participant feedback
More than 99 percent of veterans who complete the nine-to-twelve-hour training say they would recommend it to others.
Peer-reviewed journal articles on PAIRS
The earliest independent studies of PAIRS were published by C. Durana in the 1990s. Most journal articles are behind publisher paywalls; links below go to the article or a search for it.
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A longitudinal evaluation of the effectiveness of the PAIRS psychoeducational program for couples
Studied 137 married participants from five PAIRS classes across the United States before, after and six to eight months after the course. Findings associated PAIRS with greater marital adjustment and satisfaction, more intimacy and less conflict, with changes that endured. This study is included in national meta-analyses of relationship education.
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Bonding and emotional reeducation of couples in the PAIRS training, Parts I and II
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Enhancing marital intimacy through psychoeducation: the PAIRS program
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PAIRS: An integrative approach to intimate relationship change through a psychoeducational program
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The use of bonding and emotional expressiveness in the PAIRS training: a psychoeducational approach for couples
International studies
Researchers outside the United States have tested PAIRS in controlled studies, often with small samples.
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Effect of Practical Application of Intimate Relationship Skills program on marital commitment of couples
Couples in the PAIRS group showed greater marital commitment than the control group.
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The effect of practical intimate relationship skills training (PAIRS) on marital satisfaction, adjustment and sexual function in women living with HIV and AIDS
Marital satisfaction, marital adjustment and sexual function increased significantly in the PAIRS group immediately and one month after the program.
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Group PAIRS training and communication patterns of couples preparing to marry
Couples who completed group PAIRS training showed significant differences from the control group in constructive communication, mutual avoidance and demand/withdraw patterns.
Independent reviews of relationship education
These reviews look at marriage and relationship education as a field, and include PAIRS research among the studies they examine.
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Does marriage and relationship education work? A meta-analytic study
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Investigating the effects of marriage and relationship education on couples' communication skills: a meta-analytic study
Found that relationship education produces significant positive effects on communication skills and relationship quality.
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Healthy marriage programs: learning what works
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Distressed couples and marriage education
Measures and history
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Reliability and Validity Analysis: Relationship Pleasure Scale
Tests the scale PAIRS uses to track relationship pleasure over time. Reliability was high at every time point, with Cronbach's alpha between .87 and .88 across more than 2,900 pre-test responses and later follow-ups.
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About PAIRS: Skills for Successful Relationships and Emotional Literacy
A historical overview of the PAIRS model and the research on it through 2003.
Reading the evidence
We want you to be able to judge this research for yourself, so here is what it can and can't tell you.
- Most U.S. studies of PAIRS follow participants before, after and months after a class. They show change over time but do not compare participants with a randomly assigned control group. Several international studies did use control groups, with small samples.
- The South Florida reports were produced by PAIRS Foundation and its research partners under a federal grant. They were not published in peer-reviewed journals.
- Follow-up results come from participants who completed follow-up surveys, who may differ from those who did not.
- Percentages such as "99 percent would recommend" describe participant satisfaction, which is different from measured relationship change.
Researchers interested in new evaluations or data partnerships are welcome to contact PAIRS Foundation.