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OurRelationship (OR) is an 8-hour, web-based, primarily self-help program for distressed couples. It was developed to improve access to relationship interventions among populations who are traditionally hard to reach (e.g., couples with low income, living in remote areas, or from diverse backgrounds). While the effectiveness of the OR is well-established in these populations, less is known about its impact when made broadly accessible online, a context in which the typical self-referring client may be “easy-to-reach” (i.e., middle-class, well-educated). This pilot study examined the superiority of OR to bibliotherapy among 52 relationally distressed, opposite-sex, parenting couples characterized by high levels of education and low levels of stress and depression. Couples were recruited through broad, non-paid announcements online (e.g., social media) and randomly assigned to either coach-guided OR or self-guided bibliotherapy. Multilevel mixed-effects models assessed within- and between-group effects, and a benchmark analysis compared effects to those found in a previous harder-to-reach sample. The OR group showed small within-group effects on relationship functioning (d = .29-.32) and individual functioning (d = .16-.29). The bibliotherapy group demonstrated small to medium within-group effects on relationship functioning (d = .45-.56) and small effects (d = .01-.45) on individual functioning. No significant between-group differences emerged, except for greater increases in relationship confidence in the bibliotherapy group. Compared to a previous pilot study that recruited harder-to-reach distressed couples via paid online advertisements, the effects of OR were significantly lower. These findings suggest that the superiority of OR observed in harder-to-reach populations may diminish among more resourceful couples.
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