"Preventing marital failure is not only beneficial for spouses and their environment: it also saves countries economic costs". This was stated by Howard J. Markman, Professor of Psychology at the University of Denver (USA) and co-director of the Center for Marital programs of study , in the framework of a lecture at the Institute for Culture and Society of the University of Navarra. The activity was awarded the Mecna distinction for cultural patronage by the Government of Navarra. 

The expert pointed out that in the last 40 years there have been demographic changes in the western world related to the functioning of couple relationships. issue Specifically, he offered a recent issue data for Spain: in 2019 there was a decrease in the number of marriages (3.5 per thousand inhabitants) and in the number of divorces (1.9 per thousand inhabitants), as well as a drop in fertility (1.26 births per woman) and the age at which people get married has risen (34 for women and 36 for men).

"In the institution of marriage there have also been negative changes: an increase in the levels of conflict, dissatisfaction and hostilityhas been reported", he pointed out. development In this sense, he called for research with scientific evidence to help reverse the phenomenon: "It is about helping couples to acquire the skills and principles associated with a happy and healthy relationship, which will allow them to maintain their commitment in the long term deadline".

Preventing partner failure through the Education

The expert assured that the advantages of happiness in marriage "extend to all areas of the spouses' lives", such as productivity at work, the mental and physical health of all family members, the school performance of children... He also reminded us that it represents a saving for the States, as "the estimated costs of marriage failure in the USA is 112 billion dollars a year".

"The core topic - he emphasised - is not that there are no problems, but rather how they are managed and the quality of the speech".In this sense, he detailed that it is possible to prevent failure through the Education of couples. 

During the lecture she presented PREP (The Prevention and Relationship Education Program), which offers resources for couples, educators and therapists. "financial aid to counteract the danger signs in a relationship and teaches spouses to learn skills and principles associated with a happy marriage," she said. 

"The model has a preventiveapproach and educational and is based on scientific evidence. Its keys are to promote security in relationships, proactive decision-making and cooperation in the couple".

The programme is used all over the world, adapted to each region taking into account cultural peculiarities. It is widely used by the US military, as well as in 10 other countries such as Australia, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Israel, Malaysia, Norway, Qatar, Singapore and Sweden.

Howard J. Markman made these statements at the framework of the VII ICS Lecture on Humanities and Social Sciences at Institute for Culture and Society, which he gave under the degree scroll 'Advances in research and Couples Intervention: a 40-year perspective'. He was invited by the group 'Education of human affectivity and sexuality', whose project AMAR (Antecedents of Marital Adjustment Research) is based on Professor Markman's research.