The Prepare is a tool for assessing the relationship of a couple. It is not exactly a test where you can pass or fail, but a device to measure the strengths and possible growth areas of a couple.

1. What is the Prepare Premarital Test?
2. How many people have taken the Prepare Premarital Test?
3. What are the five different inventories?
4. What are the major goals of the Prepare Premarital Test?
5. What relationship areas are assessed by the Inventories?
6. What evidence is there that the Prepare Premarital Test is valid & reliable?
7. Who developed the Prepare Premarital Test?

What is the Prepare Premarital Test?
The Prepare Premarital Test is a program based on a set of five inventories that examine major relationship issues a couple may experience. These inventories must be administered by a trained Prepare Premarital Test assessor and include feedback in which the counselor facilitates discussion between the couple based on their inventory results.
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How many people have taken the Prepare Premarital Test?
Over 2 million couples have taken the Prepare Premarital Test (4 million people) since it began in 1980.
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What are the five different inventories?
Depending on your partner and your current relational situation you will select on of the following that best describes your relationship:

- Prepare – Pre-marital couples
- Prepare-MC – Pre-marital couples with children
- Prepare-CC – Cohabiting Couples with or without children
- Enrich – Married couples with or without children
- Mate – Couples over the age of 50
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What are the major goals of the Prepare Program?

There are six goals of the Prepare Program. In order to achieve these goals there are also six corresponding couple exercises designed to help couples improve their relationship skills. The six goals are:

1. To explore Relationship Strengths and Growth Areas
2. To learn Assertiveness and Active Listening Skills
3. To learn how to resolve conflict using the Ten Step Model
4. To help the couple discuss their Family-of-Origin
5. To help the couple with financial planning and budgeting
6. To focus on personal, couple and family goals
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What relationship areas are assessed by the Inventories?

The following are the 20 relationship areas assessed in each of the five Couple Inventories:

A. Focuses on Significant Issues for Couples (14 scales)

Communication
Conflict Resolution
Personality Issues
Financial Management
Sexual Expectations
Marital Satisfaction
Leisure Activities
Children and Parenting
Family and Friends
Expectations/Cohabitation Issues
Idealistic Distortion
Role Relationship
Spiritual Beliefs

B. Personality Assessment (4 scales):
Assertiveness
Self Confidence
Avoidance
Partner Dominance

C. Couple and Family Map (4 scales):
Family-of-Origin Closeness
Family-of-Origin Flexibility
Couple Closeness
Couple Flexibility
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What evidence is there that the Prepare Premarital Test is valid & reliable?

An important strength of the Prepare Premarital Test is their strong psychometric properties. High levels of reliability and validity have been found for each instrument, making them valuable tools for research as well as clinical use. The national norm base, validity and reliability information are listed below.

National Norms based on:
500,000 couples for Prepare
200,000 couples for Prepare-MC
100,000 couples for Prepare-CC
250,000 couples for Enrich
150,000 couples for Mate

High Levels of Validity and Reliability:
Prepare has validity in that it discriminates premarital couples that get divorced from those that are happily married with about 80-85% accuracy. Reliability is high (alpha reliability of .80 – .85).
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Who developed the Prepare Premarital Test Inventories?

David H. Olson, Ph.D
Professor Emeritus, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota & President, Life Innovations; Developed ten diagnostic tools and Circumplex Model; Licensed Consulting Psychologist and Licensed Marital & Family Therapist, State of Minnesota.

Joan M. Druckman, Ph.D
Marriage and Family Counselor, Palo Alto, California; Co-directed study on "Effectiveness of Five Types of Premarital Preparation Programs."

David G. Fournier, Ph.D
Associate Professor, Child and Family Development, Oklahoma State University; completed study of reliability and validity of Prepare. Former Director, Marital & Family Therapy Program.
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