Integrating Life Skills Into Relationship and Marriage Education: The Essential Life Skills for Military Families Program

Military personnel and families experience significant challenges and need skills that will prepare them for extended periods of separation and other military demands. Relationship and marriage education programs are often helpful. However, there is a need for life skills programs that also teach military members to manage finances and legal matters, garner social support, and access community resources that are not often accessible to personnel and families in the National Guard and Military Reserves. Essential Life Skills for Military Families was developed to integrate relationship and life skills into a short-term course that has been offered to National Guard and Military Reserve members and families. This article describes the theoretical basis for the program, the program evaluation, and qualitative findings from participants, and identifies strategies for overcoming challenges to offering this kind of relationship skills program.