ProCasal: updating norms and designing/evaluating a marital social skills training program

• Grant number: 18/20414-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2019
• End date: September 30, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Principal Investigator: Zilda Aparecida Pereira Del Prette
• Grantee: Bruno Luiz Avelino Cardoso
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/50909-8 - INCT 2014: Behavior, Cognition and Teaching (INCT-ECCE): relational learning and symbolic functioning, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 19/09884-5 - Marital interaction: observational methods and designing/evaluating training programs, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Marital Social Skills (MSS) are behaviors which contribute to maximize marital satisfaction, widen relationship quality and reduce relationship problems. These behaviors (MSS) may be developed through specific programs, whose results evidence effectiveness in studies abroad. However, Brazilian researches on this topic have been predominantly about characterization and correlation (not intervention), with married heterosexual couples (formal union). Such researches were boosted by the creation of the only tool available on Brazil, the Marital Social Skills Inventory (MSSI) which, however, needs more psychometric refinement. This project aims to: (1) update the MSSI norms for homoaffective couples and (2) design a Marital Social Skills and Social Competent Training Program (ProCasal) to heterosexual and homosexual couples. In study 1, an invariance analysis regarding gender and sexual orientation will be done, as well as indicators of adjustments in the inventory norms for homosexual couples; in study 2, an intervention program (ProCasal) will be developed, assessed under experimental design with hetero and homosexual couples, both in matters of process (adhesion to action plans, couples motivation, reports about acquisitions and difficulties) and results (MSS and marital satisfaction). There will be descriptive and inferential analyses (MANOVA) for before and after comparisons among groups. (AU)