Allen W. Barton

1 Introduction Couple and relationship education (CRE) programs continue to be widely disseminated throughout the United States. Recent reviews of high-quality CRE programs generally support their effectiveness, noting benefits for areas of participants' relationship well-being, including communication, relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability (Markman et al. 2022; Spencer and Anderson 2021).

Black families disproportionately encounter psychosocial stressors (e.g., racial discrimination) that compromise intimate relationship functioning (Rice et al. 2023). Culturally relevant coping strategies may be particularly adaptive for intimate relationship functioning in the face of such stress (Murry et al. 2018). Two notable coping strategies for Black Americans are John Henryism (a high-effort coping strategy; James et al.

In the past 2 decades, family scholars have debated the merits of the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood program funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Its proponents highlight the importance of couple relationships for the well-being of adults, children, and broader communities as well as the beneficial effects of select funded programs (Hawkins et al., 2013; Stanley et al., 2020).