Marriage Education Research Institute (MERI)
Alan J. Hawkins,
School of Family Life
Stephen F. Duncan,
School of Family Life
Jeffry H. Larson,
School of Family Life
The purpose of the Marriage Education Research Institute (MERI) is to improve the practice of marriage and relationship education (MRE) in order to strengthen the institution of marriage. Since 2001, MRE has become an important tool of policy makers seeking ways to help couples form and sustain healthy marriages and reduce poverty (Dion & Hawkins, in press; Ooms & Wilson, 2004). Located in the Family Studies Center and Brigham Young University, MERI will conduct state-of-the-art, on going research related to the practice of the of MRE, including evaluations of important programs in the field and an on-going meta-analysis of the efficacy and effectiveness of MRE. In addition, MERI will produce various products, including an animal report, to keep practitioners and policy makers informed about MRE research and its implications for practice and policy. MERI also will produce and edited monograph series of cutting-edge MRE research for MRE researchers.
