California Healthy Marriages Coalition Says Jon and Kate Plus 8 Experiencing Common Marital Woes

California Healthy Marriages Coalition Says Jon and Kate Plus 8 Experiencing Common Marital Woes

SAN DIEGO, June 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Divorce rates are still almost fifty percent and yet millions of people each year enter into marriage without learning the communication skills needed to navigate through the trials and tribulations of life as a couple. On the reality show "Jon and Kate Plus 8," Americans have witnessed first hand the struggles of their marriage. Jon and Kate are like many couples who experience the difficulties of daily life and struggle to keep their marriage together. The California Healthy Marriages Coalition (CHMC) has released data showing Americans now have the ability to navigate those difficult times and increase marital happiness through Marriage Education.

CHMC President Dennis Stoica says, "In order to change the landscape of divorce in America, we need to address the underlying problem of communication breakdown that is so common when couples don't learn effective communication skills. We now have convincing evidence that Marriage Education programs really help couples improve their relationships." Stoica adds, "If we could reach high visibility couples like Jon and Kate with these communication skills, that would be exciting!"

In order to change the divorce statistics, CHMC says it's important that couples recognize the benefits of staying together through the tough times and the skills for doing that. Numerous studies have shown that there is an inescapable connection between divorce and undesirable outcomes for the children of those relationships, including negative impact on their mental and physical health and educational decline. This week, CHMC released preliminary data showing the impact of Marriage Education classes taught in California. Couples who took a CHMC-sponsored Marriage Education course showed an average improvement of 19% in marital satisfaction, problem-solving skills, and relationship skills. Stoica said, "When we teach couples skills that get them through the rough patches successfully, then families stay together and their children benefit in a multitude of ways. Marriage Education has the potential to make a dramatic difference in reducing divorce and family breakdown."

CHMC is the recipient of the Federal government's largest Healthy Marriage grant, at $2.4 million a year. For the past four years, CHMC has taught relationship-building skills to California individuals and couples. CHMC offers these classes through a network of partnering organizations located throughout California. Local class information is available at www.CaMarriage.com.

Tracie Donahue, Public Relations
TEL: 916-712-2781
EMAIL: Tracie@CaMarriage.com

Source: California Healthy Marriages Coalition

CONTACT: Tracie Donahue, Public Relations, California Healthy Marriages
Coalition, +1-916-712-2781, Tracie@CaMarriage.com

Web Site: http://www.camarriage.com/

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