| The following mixed-method study sought to help young couples change their attitudes regarding issues that lead to marital unhappiness and/or divorce. The research identified historic shifts and transitions in North American views of marriage and relationships, along with four foundational issues, unrealistic expectations, premarital sex, cohabitation, and infidelity, as the focus of the study. While every issue detrimentally influencing marriage is beyond the scope of this project, the research demonstrates the identified historic transitions and foundational issues consistently appear as factors that often lead to divorce and/or marital unhappiness.;The intervention project was a daylong retreat based on Wesleyan and Trinitarian theology. The project was an attitudinal study and sought to determine if participants changed their attitudes about the identified issues because of participating in the intervention project. To make this determination, all participants took a researcher designed instrument, the Foundational Issues Attitudinal Identification (FIAI), prior to attending the retreat. At the conclusion of the retreat, all participants took the FIAI a second time and then participated in a concluding interview to discuss the movement of their responses (if any), as well as which specific areas of the retreat led to attitudinal change.;The participants in the project are young adults ranging in age from 21--39 years old. All of the participants are married, or engaged, and are at least causally connected to a church in the Lake Charles District of the United Methodist Church. All of the participants are planning, or previously participated in, Christian weddings. Nine couples completed the entire project.;The FIAI consisted of seventy-two questions, which all participants completed before and after the retreat to determine if the retreat led to any changes in their responses. Analysis of the data showed statistical movement in all eight subscales, with significant movement in the faith and marriage subscale and sexuality subscale. Significant movement also occurred on particular questions within the infidelity subscale.;During the concluding interviews, the participant responses indicated five major areas of the retreat led to attitudinal change. Two of the major areas, the teachings on the Trinity and the purpose of marriage, received one-hundred percent affirmation as an aspect of the retreat that led to changes in attitudes. Specific aspects of this portion of the retreat noted by the participants include the Trinity is a selfless community; Trinitarian love is a permanent/enduring love; and, the Trinity is a community of intimacy. Though not unanimous, the teachings on the role of the church, Wesleyan theology and biblical holiness, and understanding, applying, and extending God's love all led to attitudinal change in the participants. |
