Here’s the news release from University of Rochester. (Click to see the list of movies and discussion questions used in the study, and to read the study itself.)

Divorce Rate Cut in Half for Couples Who Discussed Relationship Movies

January 31, 2014
Contact: Susan Hagen susan.hagen@rochester.edu
585.276.4061

A new study finds that watching and discussing movies about relationships is as effective in lowering divorce rates as other, more intensive early marriage counseling programs.

Discussing five movies about relationships over a month could cut the three-year divorce rate for newlyweds in half, researchers report. The study, involving 174 couples, is the first long-term

investigation to compare different types of early marriage intervention programs.

The findings show that an inexpensive, fun, and relatively simple movie-and-talk approach can be just as effective as other more intensive therapist-led methods—reducing the divorce or separation rate from 24 to 11 percent after three years.