participation requirements

If I sign up, what do I have to do?

All participants will complete questionnaires about themselves and their relationship.

In this study, you and your spouse will complete confidential questionnaires about yourself and your relationship. You will be completing two sets of initial questionnaires and then a set of questionnaires every six months for three years. Each questionnaire packet should take you about 60 minutes to complete. (This is the average amount of time it takes, but the range of time required for completion is from about 30 minutes to 90 minutes. It depends a bit on your test taking style.)

You need to come in together to a site on post for the first two sets of questionnaires, which will be given about four weeks apart. We will work with you to schedule times for you to come in to complete the questionnaires either in the morning, afternoon or evening, during the week or weekend. Unfortunately, we do not provide duty release time or childcare for the completion of the questionnaires.

After that, over the next three years, you will complete questionnaires every six months. You will be able to complete these questionnaires online. We will be sending you an e-mail with a link to your survey. If you do not have Internet access, we can mail the forms to you, along with postage-paid return envelopes.

Because you can do the later questionnaires online, you do not have to be on post to complete them. You can live anywhere in the world. You can even be deployed overseas. You can continue to participate whether you remain in the Army or not, whether you move or not.

Half of all participants will be randomly chosen to participate in a couples' workshop.

Some couples will be assigned to participate in a couples' workshop, called Strong Bonds, led by Army Chaplains to teach skills and principles associated with a healthy marriage. This is not a religious program, but a relationship enhancement program. It is a 16 hour program that teaches couples how to communicate, handle conflict better, work together as a team, and work together to preserve and protect commitment and friendship. It's not therapy, but skills education. Participants do get to know each other, but you don't have to share very personal information about difficulties you or your partner may be having. Couples tend to enjoy the workshops a great deal.

The workshop consists of one weekday on base, plus a weekend retreat off site. The weekend portion of the workshop begins on Friday evening and ends on Sunday and includes two free nights in a hotel located about 45 minutes away from Fort Benning . Information on the location of the weekday on base part of the workshop and the weekend retreat hotel will be given to you after completion of your 1st questionnaire. If you have children, please talk to the AMP coordinator (706-505-7770) about the childcare options provided for the weekday part of the workshop and the weekend retreat.

By being in the study, you are committing to participate in the workshop, if assigned. Your participation in the study is dependent upon your availability to attend one of the Strong Bonds workshops conducted as part of the study. Below is the schedule for the Strong Bonds workshops conducted as part of the study.

If you are interested, we need you to…

1. Discuss this opportunity with your spouse to see if participation in the study is of interest to you as a couple.
2. Check the Strong Bonds couples workshop dates (which are provided above) with your family and work calendars and pick the dates that work best for your family. You may end up with just one date or several that fit with your family's schedule. (Remember, only half of enrolled couples will actually attend, but we need to make sure that IF you are assigned to Strong Bonds, you will be able to make it.)
3. Contact the AMP office (706-505-7770) to verify your eligibility status with the program (you may have already been pre-screened for eligibility) and notify us of your chosen dates.
4. Get a Unit Authorization Form from the AMP office (that will have your chosen dates printed on it) and take this to your First Sergeant/Company Commander.
5. If training permits, your First Sergeant/Company Commander will select a date (from the dates you decided on) that is acceptable for you to attend Strong Bonds if you are chosen to do so. The First Sergeant/Company Commander will need to sign the form.
6. You and your spouse will be enrolled into the Army Marriage Project when you get your signed Unit Authorization Form back to our office. Enrollment is on a first come first serve basis so you need to get this form back as soon as you can!
7. After enrollment, you will schedule a time and date to return to complete your first and second questionnaire. Couples need to come in together to complete these questionnaires.
8. After you and your spouse finish the first questionnaire, you will be randomly assigned to attend Strong Bonds or not. Randomly chosen means you have a 50/50 chance of being selected. You should inform your First Sergeant/Company Commander whether or not you will be attending the Strong Bonds training.
9. Your second questionnaire will also be on post. After that, questionnaires can be completed on line or by mail about every six months for three years. Payments will be made by sending each spouse a check.

Thus, if you meet basic eligibility, your formal enrollment in the study is dependent upon finding a suitable Strong Bonds date that is acceptable to you, your spouse, and your First Sergeant. Your actual participation in Strong Bonds will be determined by random selection so that all couples have a 50/50 chance of being selected.

If you are interested in participating, please click here or call us at 706-505-7770.