# Research Supporting the Lasting Marriage Counseling App

## The Research
### Lasting is based on decades of research from the nation's leading marriage researchers.

# How We Built This
Though all relationships look different, research has confirmed that there is a scientific pattern to building a healthy one. That means any couple can build and sustain a healthy marriage; it just requires the right knowledge, skills, and effort.

That's where Lasting comes in.

# We've distilled decades of research into simple sessions to help you nurture and repair your emotional connection.

In total, we used [**126**](/content/research/bibliography/index.html) different research studies conducted by 202 different researchers in the creation of our app-based program.

[View Bibliography](/content/research/bibliography/index.html)

Every session is composed of original content from the Lasting team and based on actual research and longitudinal marriage studies from the field.

A few of our research heroes include: Dr. John Gottman, Dr. Sue Johnson, Dr. Lesley Verhofstadt, Dr. Ted L. Huston, Dr. Renate M. Houts, Dr. Robert Levenson, Dr. Clifford Notarius, Dr. Howard Markman, Dr. Thomas Bradbury, and Dr. Frank Fincham. We have many more heroes, but not enough space!

Thank you for your amazing contributions.

# Core Program Principles
We’ve created hundreds of proactive, marriage-health-building sessions, but the “roots” of Lasting, if you will, can be boiled down into the following 3 research-based principles.

# 1. Emotional Connection is the foundation of a healthy marriage.
Many different researchers have identified this principle, and we agree with them. The emotional connection you share with your partner is the single strongest predictor of long-term marital stability and satisfaction. Scientifically, the chief goal in marriage is keeping your emotional connection strong. We turn to 4 key researchers:

- Dr. John Gottman found that couples in healthy relationships are highly emotionally intelligent. He pinpointed that healthy couples respond to 86% of each other’s attempts to connect, while those who get divorced only respond to 33%. He found that responding to these “bids” from your partner is a strong predictor of marital success. View his study [here](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2004.00024.x/abstract).

- Dr. Sue Johnson has found that healthy relationships require a healthy emotional connection, wherein both partners are emotionally accessible, responsive, and engaged. She teaches that these key traits are predictive of long-term marital satisfaction. View her general EFT study [here](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jmft.12199/abstract) and her physiology study [here](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0079314).

- Dr. Ted Hutton found that it wasn’t increasing negativity and conflict that led to marriage failure, but rather a lessening of positive emotional interactions. His work corresponds with Gottman and Johnson. View his key study [here](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11220443).

- Lastly, John Bowlby’s work in human bonding and attachment laid the groundwork for much of our study of emotional connection in adult relationships. View his work [here](/content/research#/index.html).

# 2. Your inner world is the foundation of healthy communication.
Contrary to popular opinion, the basis of great communication is curiosity and a habit of learning more about your partner’s “inner world.” Every person lives in a subjective reality, and it changes every day. Empathizing with your partner's evolving inner world is the starting point of all healthy communication. We turn to another 7 researchers:

- Dr. Adrienne Tierney suggests that the development of the brain is a lifelong process. Early years are crucial as they lay the foundation for the future. View Tierney’s study [here](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3722610/).

- Dr. Jay Giedd has tracked brain development across ages and confirmed that the brain continues to rewire itself even after puberty. View Giedd’s study [here](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892679/).

- Dr. Jean Askenasy teaches that the brain continuously changes at the synaptic level with every new experience. View Askenasy's study [here](http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00412/full).

- Dr. Lesley Verhofstadt has shown that understanding your partner’s world leads to greater satisfaction and emotional support. View the first study [here](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19102590) and the second [here](http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0149944).

- Dr. Alyssa Shapiro has proven that staying aware of your partner’s inner world is linked to high marital satisfaction. View that study [here](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10740682).

# 3. Selfless behaviors significantly strengthen your emotional bond.
Every day, you make decisions that support your marriage or yourself. Making decisions that favor your relationship is foundational for long-term marital satisfaction. We turn to another 3 researchers:

- Dr. Jennifer Wieselquist found that individuals trust their partners when they see them enact pro-relationship behaviors. View the study [here](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10573874).

- Dr. Scott Stanley et al discovered that positive attitudes about sacrifice can predict marital satisfaction. View the study [here](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2006.00171.x/abstract).

- Dr. Benjamin Seider showed that using