The Dating Recession: Insights form the 2025 National Dating Landscape Survey Young adults are living through a dating recession — and it’s happening during their prime years. The 2025 National Dating Landscape Survey reveals a striking paradox: most young adults want traditional relationships, marriage, and family — but many lack the dating skills and resilience to get there. Significant barriers are keeping them from even starting. It’s not a fear of commitment. It’s a skills gap. Despite widespread interest in relationship education, practical dating skills remain largely untaught — overlooked by mainstream culture and the relationship education field alike. The result: young adults who are motivated but unequipped. They need a road map. One that bridges the gap between wanting a lasting relationship and building one. What You’ll Learn: How often young adults are dating today — and why the numbers may surprise you The barriers standing between them and…
Marriage
Lopsided Love: Asymmetrical Commitment in Romantic Relationships One of the greatest insights on lopsided commitment came from sociologist Willard Waller in 1936, when he described the “principle of least interest,” defined in this way: “That person is able to dictate the conditions of association whose interest in the continuation of the affair is least.’’ Analogously, the person who is most committed has the least power in a relationship. There is a growing and robust literature on asymmetrical commitment, with studies showing that it is associated not only with poor relationship dynamics but also specific personal characteristics such as attachment difficulties. Dr. Scott Stanley and Dr. Galena Rhoades have published numerous papers on this topic. In this talk, they will describe what’s up with lopsided love. Objectives: Participants will: Learn about the nature and consequences of asymmetrically committed romantic relationships regarding relationship quality, relationship stability, and risks for aggression. Be able…
The Power of Relationship Education from a Policy Perspective Policymakers and policy analysts are increasingly turning to micro-level interventions to address large and widespread social issues. There is a growing recognition that what happens inside a home and family has broader social ramifications, which is turning policy conversations toward approaches that can strengthen couples and families. Relationship Education has proven to be effective for improving outcomes in a variety of settings related to families. Because many of the issues that public policy seeks to address are affected by family instability and parental conflict, Relationship Education can act as a preventative measure that diminishes risk factors that originate in the home. Also, addressing a problem after it has taken hold is often more expensive than stopping it from happening in the present. Join Dr. Jocelyn Wikle to learn how Relationship Education can be beneficial in diminishing serious and costly issues of…
The State of Youth Relationship Education Today Relationship education has moved from being an unfamiliar and unrecognized intervention to being an appreciated and effective intervention that can pull many levers in young people’s lives. We know from research that it can change sexual behaviors, reduce violence and the acceptance of violence. And, most recently, we see that relationship education can help build hope. Join Executive Director, Kay Reed, to learn about the current landscape for the field of relationship education. She will share new research outcomes, innovative funding streams and settings, along with challenges and opportunities for the field. Objectives: Participants will be able to: List outcomes that result from evidence-based relationship education. Target new state and federal funding to support relationship education programming. Share current challenges and opportunities for the field Presenter: Kay Reed, Executive Director Resources: January 2024 Webinar Slide Deck
What happens when you teach teens to navigate their romantic relationships? Is there a difference between boys and girls? Does dose or content matter? Join Drs. Alamillo and Doran of Mathematica as they share the insights of a randomized study of Georgia students who participated in two versions of the Relationship Smarts PLUS program. They will discuss the impact on students’ relationship skills, attitudes, knowledge, experiences, and the quality of their relationships one and three years later. As part of the sustained effort by the Administration for Children and Families to expand available evidence on healthy marriage and relationship education programs, Mathematic and its partner, Public Strategies, conducted the Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services evaluation to help identify strategies for improving the delivery and effectiveness of HMRE programs. (MTCI), near Atlanta, Georgia. MTCI received a federal grant in 2015 to deliver Relationship Smarts PLUS Version 3.0 to youth in high…
Beginning in the mid-2000s, the federal government authorized funding to support healthy relationship education (HRE) for youth. These programs aim to improve young people’s relationship skills, knowledge, and behaviors and prepare them to build healthy romantic relationships in adulthood. In 2020, the federal government awarded more than $24 million to 25 programs serving high-school-age youth and young adults. In a project supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mathematica has summarized the existing research on the effectiveness of HRE programs for youth. The research team identified and reviewed 15 impact studies of HRE programs for youth and summarized the findings using an evidence and gaps map. Join us as we discuss what we know and what we don’t know about the effectiveness of HRE programs for youth and promising future directions for continuing to build the evidence base for these programs. Objectives: Participants will learn: What an…
From underperforming schools to unsafe neighborhoods, from institutional racism to other structural barriers, hindrances often stand in the way of financial success for young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds. Given these challenges, many young adults lose hope, thinking they have no way of changing their life trajectories. However, there is a path that frequently leads to the “American Dream” and away from poverty. This path is called the “Success Sequence.” The sequence entails three steps: (1) getting at least a high-school degree, (2) working full-time, and (3) marrying before having children. Young adults who manage to follow the sequence – even in the face of challenges – are much more likely to forge a path to a better economic life. Join Brad Wilcox and Wendy Wang as they discuss how poverty is basically nonexistent among young adults who followed all three steps according to their new analysis of data from the…
50% to 65% of Americans believe that living together before marriage will improve their odds of relationship success, and 70% of newly married couples in the U.S. live together prior to marrying. But is what people believe true? In this webinar, researchers from the University of Denver will briefly highlight the association between premarital cohabitation and marital outcomes. Using the latest findings from a new, national survey on premarital cohabitation conducted in 2022, they will update prior work and findings with people who married for the first time between 2010 and 2019. Join Galena Rhoads and Scott Stanley as they discuss the mechanisms of risk in premarital cohabitation and the implications for working with youth and young adults. The discussion will be followed by an extensive question and answer session. Objectives: Participants will be able to: Describe the historical and latest findings on premarital cohabitation research Understand implications for youth…
Americans today are increasingly waiting longer to marry, if they marry at all. Are today’s young people no longer interested in forming families? What types of relationships they are experiencing? Explore research on young people’s attitudes toward relationship formation, their dating and romantic relationships, and the quality of their relationships in this webinar. Program providers will better meet the needs of the youth they serve by placing their participants’ experiences within broader U.S. trends. In this webinar, Drs. Karen Benjamin Guzzo and Wendy D. Manning will discuss preliminary findings of new work from the Marriage Strengthening and Research Dissemination (MAST) Center on adolescents’ and young adults’ relationship expectations and experiences, drawing on a review of recent research as well as new analyses of the National Survey of Family Growth. Objectives: Webinar participants will understand: Teens’ and young adults’ expectations of cohabitation and marriage. Recent trends in dating and other romantic…
From hooking up, to living together, to bearing children prior to clarity about having a future together, relationship and family development has changed. New paradigms have important implications for how we understand the romantic and sexual relationships of young adults. Ambiguity is a preferred condition of relationships for many, which makes it easier to finesse intentions and hide asymmetrical commitment. However, this new relationship paradigm can lead to a person losing life options before making a clear choice about what they want the most. In this webinar, Scott Stanley, Ph.D. will explain the ways motivated ambiguity intersects with types of commitment (e.g., constraint and dedication) to impact mate selection and lasting love. Some themes include the role of commitment in securing attachment, asymmetrical commitment, and research on how common types of relationship transitions can impact long-term outcomes. Objectives: Webinar participants will be able to: Understand how teen and early adulthood…
Highlights from the Marriage Strengthening Research and Dissemination Center Relationship education programs geared towards adolescents and young adults attempt to shape goals and behaviors in current and future relationships. To maximize the effectiveness of these programs, youth-focused relationship education programs need to be implemented in a way that considers the age and developmental stage of participants and draws on the strengths that youth bring to programming. Further, as marriage and family formation shifts toward older ages, more research is needed on how youth are thinking about and engaging in relationships. This webinar will highlight work conducted by the Marriage Strengthening Research and Dissemination Center that explores youth relationship attitudes, expectations, and experiences and how relationship education programs can tailor programming for youth, based on a positive youth development framework. A specific application of integrating positive youth development with youth relationship education programming will be discussed with a presentation from Desiree…
Does marriage still perform a valuable role in today’s society? Or, is it just another quaint tradition or something only a privileged few seek and attain? Join Kay Reed, Executive Director of The Dibble Institute, as she shares recent trends in family formation; explores the most recent data on marriage, cohabitation, and single parenting; and brings it back to what matters to children. Explore ways to integrate these skills and concepts about building healthy relationships into your programs, sometimes in unexpected ways. Objectives: Webinar participants will be able to: Describe current marriage trends and adolescents’ views of marriage. Identify current research questions in the field. Communicate why family form matters to adults, youth, and children. Presenters: Kay Reed, President and Executive Director, The Dibble Institute Who should attend: Healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood grantees, healthy relationship program staff, child abuse prevention advocates, mental health practitioners, family stabilization coaches, and employability specialists. When: Wednesday,…
Mission West Virginia, Inc., a non-profit, has been providing services to youth and families across West Virginia for over 22 years. The THINK Program (Teaching Health Instead of Nagging Kids) has been providing teen pregnancy prevention, healthy relationship education, and positive youth development for over 12 years, reaching over 100,000 middle- and high-school-aged youth. The THINK Program currently utilizes several Dibble programs to impact teen pregnancy. During this webinar, Jill Gwilt will discuss the THINK Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, which utilizes Love Notes EBP 2.1. Specifically, she will cover how they were able to scale up their large program in a rural area. Additionally, she will discuss how the curricula were chosen, how they developed long-standing partnerships, the importance of youth voices, creation of community groups, and more. Objectives: What “scale up” actually means out in the field. How to build and maintain long-lasting grant programs in rural areas. How…
Early family contexts can shape the trajectories of children’s adjustment throughout childhood. Families can provide a safe and stable base for children that is protective against adversity. However, when family environments are not stable (e.g., when parents/parent figures are moving in and out of the home), children may suffer. Join Dr. Elizabeth Karberg of Child Trends, as she explores how family instability in early childhood shapes children’s social (mal)adjustment over time. Objectives: How families in America are changing and what are common contexts for children’s early family experiences. Whether instability in families is linked with children’s social outcomes. Why instability in families is linked with children’s social outcomes. What this means for programming and interventions to support children’s positive development. Presenter: Elizabeth Karberg, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Child Trends Resources: April 2020 Webinar PPT Child Trends Brief April 2020 Additional Resources Q&A from the Webinar
Becky Antle, Ph.D., Professor of Social Work and esteemed University Scholar at the University of Louisville, won The Dibble Institute’s national competition to evaluate Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience in 2019. As a result, Dr. Antle and her colleagues are conducting a randomized control trial to examine the impact of Mind Matters on a host of outcomes related to youths’ emotional regulation, anxiety, interpersonal skills, and resilience. Join the researchers on this project as they discuss their initial findings from the pilot of Mind Matters with high needs youth in the Louisville community. They will focus on youth-related outcomes, lessons learned, and tips for implementing the Mind Matters curriculum. Objectives: Specifically, webinar attendees will learn: 1. How Mind Matters is being implemented and evaluated in the pilot 2. How Mind Matters is making a difference with the youth being served. Presenter: Becky Antle, Ph.D., MSSW, MFTA, Professor and University Scholar, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY….
More than Conquerors, Inc. (MTCI) is nonprofit social service provider in Conyers, Georgia, with a long history of delivering relationship education to high school students. With funding from the Office of Family Assistance at the Administration for Children and Families, MTCI is currently partnering with staff from Mathematica Policy Research and Public Strategies to deliver and evaluate the Relationship Smarts PLUS curriculum in two Atlanta-area high schools. In this webinar, Phillippia and Brian will discuss emerging lessons from the evaluation and MTCI’s long history of serving youth. The lessons include MTCI’s process for hiring, training, and supporting facilitators to achieve optimal student engagement and impact. They will also include general tips for selecting a curriculum, engaging youth, and making the content relevant for students. Specifically, webinar attendees will learn: The steps and characteristics prioritized when hiring facilitators. How to select the right curriculum for your population. How to engage youth in…
Marline Pearson, author of Love Notes and Relationship Smarts PLUS, will make the case why a 4thR is needed for increasing student success. Learn why relationship education must be a central tool to help young people reach their school, work, and family goals by increasing their agency over their love lives. She will cover recent research and share evidence-based solutions to the pressing problems that face today’s youth. Attendees will: Identify at least 2 key reasons why relationship education is key to helping students succeed. Describe current trends that could be reversed by teaching relationship education. Identify 2 evidence based strategies that could be implemented to help students succeed. Presenter: Marline E. Pearson, M.A., Author, Love Notes and Relationship Smarts PLUS. Resources: February 2019 Webinar PPT
Dr. Temple will discuss sexting (a combination of the words sex and texting), the practice of electronically sending sexually explicit images or messages from one person to another. Sexting has received an abundance of attention in the popular press. Much of this attention has been limited to (1) legal cases in which teens who create, send, receive, store, and/or disseminate nude pictures of themselves or another teen face criminal charges including child pornography, and (2) cases in which teens are harassed and bullied as a result of the nude picture being distributed beyond the intended audience. Although media reports often cite various examples of sexting leading to bullying, cyber-bullying, and even suicide, we understand very little about the public health importance of sexting. Using data from his ongoing longitudinal study of adolescent health, as well as a recent meta-analysis, Dr. Temple will examine the prevalence of sexting behaviors as well…
Many first romantic relationships occur during adolescence. These relationships can help shape a variety of experiences (both positive and negative). Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs for youth can shape these experiences by improving youth attitudes and expectations concerning romantic relationships and by helping youth develop key skills to form healthy relationships and avoid unhealthy relationships. This webinar will provide participants with an in-depth look of federally funded HMRE programs for youth. Quantitative and qualitative data of the programs will be looked at. At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to: Describe the organizations implementing federally funded HMRE programs for youth and the youth served by these programs Assess the practices identified through research and evaluation to be optimal for serving youth most effectively; and Identify promising approaches used by grantees to better serve youth in HMRE programs Presenter: Mindy E. Scott, Ph.D., Deputy Program Area Director and…
WEBINAR: Working Together: Developing & Implementing a Sustainable Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program
In October 2016, Dr. Michelle Toews and her colleagues at Kansas State University received a grant to develop, implement, and evaluate the #RELATIONSHIPGOALS program, a sexual risk avoidance education intervention with seventh- and ninth-grade students from a local school district. The goal of program is to empower youth to make healthy decisions by teaching them the benefits associated with self-regulation, healthy relationships and goal setting, while also teaching them how to resist sexual coercion, dating violence and other risky behaviors. The curriculum used in the intervention is Relationship Smarts PLUS, Sexual Risk Avoidance Adaptation. Preliminary results suggest the program is reaching its goal. Specifically, students report that they love the program and share that one of the most important things they learn is how to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships. They also say the program teaches them skills they need to develop healthy relationships, particularly effective communication skills, which they…