Relationship, MaritalNCT06564532
Evaluative Conditioning and Relationship Satisfaction
A study testing Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partner and Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participant in people with Relationship, Marital, run by Florida State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The overall objective is to evaluate the efficacy of a novel computerized learning procedure to enhance marital well-being among military members and their partners. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Relationship, Marital
- What is being tested?
- Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partner and Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participant
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 144 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 22 Jul 2024to 31 Aug 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- one member of the couple is active-duty US military
- couple is married
- both couple members are at least 18 years old
- both couple members are proficient readers and speakers of English
Who cannot join
- -
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida, 32306
About this study
Official title: Evaluating the Efficacy of a Marital Enhancement Application
The overall objective is to evaluate the efficacy of a novel computerized learning procedure to enhance marital well-being among military members and their partners.
Read the detailed description
Large bodies of research indicate that people's health, occupational performance, and job satisfaction depend critically on their marital well-being. Nevertheless, several challenges associated with military service, such as increased stress and physical separation from one's partner, can threaten marital well-being. Prior research by our team highlights the important marital implications of automatic partner attitudes, or the immediate affective reactions experienced when thinking about or interacting with one's partner. Most couples strengthen these partner attitudes through enjoyable experiences together, but servicemembers who are separated from their partners must forego such activities, and job-related stress can minimize the positivity of any joint activities that do occur. Evaluative Conditioning (EC) offers a way to strengthen automatic partner attitudes without direct experience with the partner through simple pairings of photos of the partner with positive words and images. Our pilot study of civilian couples demonstrated that couples randomly assigned to view photos of their partners paired with positive stimuli for 6-7 minutes every three days for six weeks experienced enhanced automatic partner attitudes and thus marital satisfaction over eight weeks relative to control couples.
The proposed research would use a RCT to test (a) the feasibility and efficacy of EC procedure among active duty servicemembers and (b) whether there is an additional benefit to having the partner also complete the EC procedure. Regarding the first objective, the investigators predict that people who view their partner paired with positive stimuli will demonstrate enhanced automatic partner attitudes and therefore higher levels of marital satisfaction and more positive relationship behaviors relative to people who view their partner paired with neutral stimuli. Regarding the second objective, the investigators expect that EC will be more effective when the partner also completes it, though the investigators suspect it will be effective even among servicemembers whose partners do not complete the procedure.
The aim of the proposed research is to conduct an RCT to determine (a) whether evaluative conditioning can enhance automatic partner attitudes and thereby marital satisfaction and behavior in a sample of active duty servicemembers and (b) whether any benefits of EC depend on whether one or both members of the couple complete the procedure.
The investigators will recruit a sample of 500 active-duty servicemembers and their partners from Naval Medical Center at Portsmouth, VA. Half of all servicemembers will be randomly assigned to complete our EC procedure that pairs their partner with positive stimuli whereas the other half will be randomly assigned to complete a control procedure in which their partner is paired with neutral stimuli. Crossed with this manipulation, and also by random assignment, the partners of half the servicemembers will complete our EC procedure whereas the partners of the other half will complete the control procedure. Both members of the couple will complete assessments of automatic partner attitudes and marital satisfaction at baseline and then again every two weeks for eight weeks. Couples will also engage in recorded marital discussions at baseline and the 8-week follow-up to assess behavior.
- Conditions
- Relationship, Marital
- Being tested
- Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partner, Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participant
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partnerBehavioural
The intervention is a computerized learning task that leads the participant to associate the partner with positive stimuli
Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participantBehavioural
The intervention is a computerized learning task that leads the partner to associate the participant with positive stimuli
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Servicemember and partner paired with positive stimuli | Experimental | Both the servicemember and the partner of the servicemember see their partner paired with positive stimuli Receives: Behavioral: Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partner; Behavioral: Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participant |
| Servicemember partner paired with positive stimuli, servicemember paired with neutral stimuli | Experimental | The servicemember sees the partner paired with positive stimuli and the partner sees the servicemember paired with neutral stimuli Receives: Behavioral: Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partner |
| Servicemember partner paired with neutral stimuli, servicemember paired with positive stimuli | Experimental | The servicemember sees the partner paired with neutral stimuli and the partner sees the servicemember paired with positive stimuli Receives: Behavioral: Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participant |
| Servicemember and partner paired with neutral stimuli | No intervention | Both the servicemember and the partner of the servicemember see their partner paired with neutral stimuli |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Partner Evaluative Priming Procedure (McNulty et al., 2013)
Modeled after the evaluative priming task developed by Fazio et al. (1995), the task implicitly measures participants' automatically activated partner attitudes by measuring RTs to positive and negative words following exposure to primes of the partner. Primes will be photos primes of the partner appearing in one of four orientations in each photo: (a) a frontal view of the face, (b) a profile view of the face, (c) a frontal view of the entire body while standing, and (d) a frontal view of the entire body while sitting.
Measured: Every two weeks for eight weeks
Couples Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge, 2007)
Questionnaire to assess self-reported satisfaction with the relationship
Measured: Every two weeks for eight weeks
Verbal Tactics Coding Scheme (Sillars, 1982)
Qualitative coding scheme designed to identify direct and indirect oppositional statements during problem-solving discussions
Measured: Eight weeks
Suicidality subscale of the Depressive Symptom Index (Metalsky & Joiner, 1997
a well-validated measure that assesses the fre- quency and controllability of suicidal thoughts as agreement with four sets of four statements that increase in severity
Measured: Every two weeks for eight weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted21 Aug 2024
- Study start22 Jul 2024
- Primary completion31 Aug 2025
- Study completion31 Aug 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Relationship, MaritalStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Model description
- The investigators will recruit a sample of 500 active-duty servicemembers and their partners from Naval Medical Center at Portsmouth, VA. Half of all servicemembers will be randomly assigned to complete our EC procedure that pairs their partner with positive stimuli whereas the other half will be randomly assigned to complete a control procedure in which their partner is paired with neutral stimuli. Crossed with this manipulation, and also by random assignment, the partners of half the servicemembers will complete our EC procedure whereas the partners of the other half will complete the control procedure.
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 144 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Florida State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- United States Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, James McNulty, Florida State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06564532
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- REL00000176
- Status last verified
- Sep 2025
- First submitted
- 19 Aug 2024
- Last updated
- 15 Sep 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Sep 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evaluating the Efficacy of a Marital Enhancement Application
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06564532
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- REL00000176
- Conditions
- Relationship, Marital
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 144 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Florida State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- United States Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth
- Study start
- 22 Jul 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Aug 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 31 Aug 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 21 Aug 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The overall objective is to evaluate the efficacy of a novel computerized learning procedure to enhance marital well-being among military members and their partners.
Detailed description
Large bodies of research indicate that people's health, occupational performance, and job satisfaction depend critically on their marital well-being. Nevertheless, several challenges associated with military service, such as increased stress and physical separation from one's partner, can threaten marital well-being. Prior research by our team highlights the important marital implications of automatic partner attitudes, or the immediate affective reactions experienced when thinking about or interacting with one's partner. Most couples strengthen these partner attitudes through enjoyable experiences together, but servicemembers who are separated from their partners must forego such activities, and job-related stress can minimize the positivity of any joint activities that do occur. Evaluative Conditioning (EC) offers a way to strengthen automatic partner attitudes without direct experience with the partner through simple pairings of photos of the partner with positive words and images. Our pilot study of civilian couples demonstrated that couples randomly assigned to view photos of their partners paired with positive stimuli for 6-7 minutes every three days for six weeks experienced enhanced automatic partner attitudes and thus marital satisfaction over eight weeks relative to control couples.
The proposed research would use a RCT to test (a) the feasibility and efficacy of EC procedure among active duty servicemembers and (b) whether there is an additional benefit to having the partner also complete the EC procedure. Regarding the first objective, the investigators predict that people who view their partner paired with positive stimuli will demonstrate enhanced automatic partner attitudes and therefore higher levels of marital satisfaction and more positive relationship behaviors relative to people who view their partner paired with neutral stimuli. Regarding the second objective, the investigators expect that EC will be more effective when the partner also completes it, though the investigators suspect it will be effective even among servicemembers whose partners do not complete the procedure.
The aim of the proposed research is to conduct an RCT to determine (a) whether evaluative conditioning can enhance automatic partner attitudes and thereby marital satisfaction and behavior in a sample of active duty servicemembers and (b) whether any benefits of EC depend on whether one or both members of the couple complete the procedure.
The investigators will recruit a sample of 500 active-duty servicemembers and their partners from Naval Medical Center at Portsmouth, VA. Half of all servicemembers will be randomly assigned to complete our EC procedure that pairs their partner with positive stimuli whereas the other half will be randomly assigned to complete a control procedure in which their partner is paired with neutral stimuli. Crossed with this manipulation, and also by random assignment, the partners of half the servicemembers will complete our EC procedure whereas the partners of the other half will complete the control procedure. Both members of the couple will complete assessments of automatic partner attitudes and marital satisfaction at baseline and then again every two weeks for eight weeks. Couples will also engage in recorded marital discussions at baseline and the 8-week follow-up to assess behavior.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 4
- Model description
- The investigators will recruit a sample of 500 active-duty servicemembers and their partners from Naval Medical Center at Portsmouth, VA. Half of all servicemembers will be randomly assigned to complete our EC procedure that pairs their partner with positive stimuli whereas the other half will be randomly assigned to complete a control procedure in which their partner is paired with neutral stimuli. Crossed with this manipulation, and also by random assignment, the partners of half the servicemembers will complete our EC procedure whereas the partners of the other half will complete the control procedure.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Servicemember and partner paired with positive stimuli | Experimental | Behavioral: Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partner, Behavioral: Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participantBoth the servicemember and the partner of the servicemember see their partner paired with positive stimuli |
| Servicemember partner paired with positive stimuli, servicemember paired with neutral stimuli | Experimental | Behavioral: Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partnerThe servicemember sees the partner paired with positive stimuli and the partner sees the servicemember paired with neutral stimuli |
| Servicemember partner paired with neutral stimuli, servicemember paired with positive stimuli | Experimental | Behavioral: Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participantThe servicemember sees the partner paired with neutral stimuli and the partner sees the servicemember paired with positive stimuli |
| Servicemember and partner paired with neutral stimuli | No intervention | –Both the servicemember and the partner of the servicemember see their partner paired with neutral stimuli |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- one member of the couple is active-duty US military
- couple is married
- both couple members are at least 18 years old
- both couple members are proficient readers and speakers of English
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- -
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partnerThe intervention is a computerized learning task that leads the participant to associate the partner with positive stimuli | Behavioural | Servicemember and partner paired with positive stimuli, Servicemember partner paired with positive stimuli, servicemember paired with neutral stimuli |
| Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participantThe intervention is a computerized learning task that leads the partner to associate the participant with positive stimuli | Behavioural | Servicemember and partner paired with positive stimuli, Servicemember partner paired with neutral stimuli, servicemember paired with positive stimuli |
Primary outcome
Partner Evaluative Priming Procedure (McNulty et al., 2013)
Time frame: Every two weeks for eight weeks
Modeled after the evaluative priming task developed by Fazio et al. (1995), the task implicitly measures participants' automatically activated partner attitudes by measuring RTs to positive and negative words following exposure to primes of the partner. Primes will be photos primes of the partner appearing in one of four orientations in each photo: (a) a frontal view of the face, (b) a profile view of the face, (c) a frontal view of the entire body while standing, and (d) a frontal view of the entire body while sitting.
Couples Satisfaction Index (Funk & Rogge, 2007)
Time frame: Every two weeks for eight weeks
Questionnaire to assess self-reported satisfaction with the relationship
Verbal Tactics Coding Scheme (Sillars, 1982)
Time frame: Eight weeks
Qualitative coding scheme designed to identify direct and indirect oppositional statements during problem-solving discussions
Suicidality subscale of the Depressive Symptom Index (Metalsky & Joiner, 1997
Time frame: Every two weeks for eight weeks
a well-validated measure that assesses the fre- quency and controllability of suicidal thoughts as agreement with four sets of four statements that increase in severity
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Sep 2025.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Evaluatively conditioning participant to like partner and Evaluatively conditioning partner to like participant in people with Relationship, Marital, run by Florida State University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Sep 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Partner Evaluative Priming Procedure (McNulty et al., 2013) (time frame: Every two weeks for eight weeks). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Sep 2025.