Overview of Relationship Smarts Plus (RS+)
The Relationship Smarts Plus Curriculum (RS+; Pearson, 2007) is a research-based program that incorporates hands-on activities to focus on skills and knowledge necessary for healthy dating relationships, for making good choices about partners,and for later healthy marital relationships. The original Relationship Smarts (Pearson, 2004) had features judged to be especially appropriate for diverse youth. these features included less didactic material, "common" teen language, materials that show diversity, and language that assumes teens are living in diverse family structures. Our initial use of the curriculum included adaptations to enhance these features and strengthening the developmental perspective guiding each of the lessons. RS+ has incorporated findings from our evaluation findings.
The Relationship Smarts Plus (RS+) Curriculum
(Pearson, 2007; www.dibblefund.org
Part 1: Foundation for Understanding Romantic Relationships
Lesson 1: "Who am I and Where am I Going?" helps adolescents get in touch with their sense of identity and possible selves. Identity formation is a central task of adolescence that influences and is influenced by experiences in romantic relationships. Emphasis is placed on who the adolescent is within their family, friendship, and dating relationship contexts. The adolescents create a "possible selves" tree in order to visualize their future- self goals and ways to attain them. The lesson concludes with adolescents addressing ways to stay true to themselves when faced with peer pressure.
Lesson 2: "Maturity Issues/What I Value" explores the concept of maturity. It identifies four aspects of maturity - physical, emotional, mental and social - and points out how the latter three don't happen on their own, but take conscious effort. The lesson then moves to an activity, a "values auction" that helps participants identify the values that are important to them.
Lesson 3: "Attractions and Infatuation" begins with a "dating pyramid" schematic that assists teens in thinking about the building blocks of good relationships. Adolescents are helped to visualize the foundation of good relationships that include: common interests, having fun together, talking to each other, and developing a real friendship. In addition, the chemistry of attraction and the nature of infatuation are explored.
Lesson 4: "Love and Intimacy" gets teens thinking about the meaning of the words love and intimacy. first, teacher-selected pictures from teen magazines are used to help adolescents learn about the differences and connections between love and lust. Next, the three important aspects of mature love, passion, intimacy and commitment are examined. The last part of the session builds an understanding of intimacy and how it develops.
Part 2: Knowledge about Dating Relationship Processes
Lesson 5: " Principles of Smart Relationships" provides practical guidance for developing positive relationships. The first part introduces seven principles for "smart" dating. Teens learn that they can fall in love with their brain turned on by paying attention to these seven principles. Activities such as identifying "smart" and "not so smart" relationship decisions provide practice for applying these insights to real world teen relationships.
Lesson 6: "The Low-risk Relationship Strategy: Decide, Don't Slide!" explores why people can easily get swept up and involved with poor relationship choices. Too often, young people slide into situations instead of making clear decisions with good knowledge about the person they are attracted to. This lesson aims to build skills and awareness for how to take a "go-slow, go-smart" approach toward building relationships and avoiding the sometimes high costs of sliding. Through four different activities, teens explore steps to really get to know someone they are dating.
Lesson 7: "Is it a Healthy Relationship?" offers concrete and practical guidance about how to tell if a relationship is healthy or unhealthy. By trying to answer three essential questions, the lesson explores what healthy and unhealthy relationships look like in the real world. A fun sculpting activity aids in visualizing the negative and positive answers to the questions.
Lesson 8: "Breaking up and Dating Abuse" increases teens' awareness of what abuse looks like in relationships and stresses that abusive relationships are unhealthy and unsafe. Thought provoking activities and an educational video are used to help teens understand the forms abuse takes and ways to avoid or get out of abusive relationships. In addition, adolescents learn that even relationships that are not abusive may need to end, and are offered guidelines for knowing when it's time to break up, better and worse ways to break up, and steps for moving on.
Part 3: Communication Skills for Healthy Relationships and Marriages
Lesson 9: "A Foundation for Good Communication." The first communication lesson provides students with a strong foundation for effective communication in couple relationships. After considering the positive and negative communication patterns students have learned within their families, the basic elements of listening openly and speaking clearly are reviewed. Ways to engage in problem solving are also covered. The lesson concludes with opportunities to practice important skills for good communication.
Lesson 10: "Communication Challenges." This second communication lesson looks more extensively at challenges to good communication and ways to address negative communication patterns in a relationship. Students are introduced to patterns that damage relationships and how to recognize the warning signs of troubled communication. Next students have opportunities to practice different strategies to change negative communication patterns into positive ones.
Part 4: Marriage and Planning for the Future
Lesson 11: "Why Parents' Relationships Really Matter to Children" aims to build an awareness of how and why a healthy marriage matters. Specifically, teens learn how parents' relationships matter to children. Activities are designed so that teens can vividly see things from a child's eyes and heart.
Lesson 12: "Increasing the Odds of Having a Healthy Marriage Someday" helps teens learn about wise mate selection, and reasons why some marriages succeed and others fail. Through activities they learn why the choices they make in the present can take them down paths that will either lead them towards or away from the goal of a successful marriage.
Lesson 13: "Follow Your North Star" provides a final lesson where teens will first review core concepts and then work together to produce a mural summarizing the key insights and information they have learned in this unit. Then, they will begin to work individually on their own "success plans" in session. They will continue and finish these plans outside of class.
