Presentations and discussion by 3-4 experts on a particular topic. A discussant integrates and summarizes the papers, develops implications for policy and practice from the research, and facilitates audience discussion. Papers listed below are included in this session.

Discussant: Amy Rauer
Chair: Jocelyn Wikle

Summary
The newlywed period is a time when couples’ lifestyle patterns, health practices, and health challenges can have important long-term implications on individual and marital wellbeing. Health can influence couple relationships and relationships can influence health. This symposium examines specific health behaviors and challenges in order to provide newlywed couples with practical solutions to improve their health and marriage stability. We explore connections between exercise, mindfulness, depression, and marital relationship quality. Each paper uses data from the nationally representative longitudinal Couple Relationships and Transition Experiences (CREATE) study to highlight a particular health behavior or health challenge common to newlywed couples. Each paper offers strategies to positively affect husbands and wives individually and as a family unit. Together, the authors integrate their perspectives and findings, the application of which could serve as protective factors for newlywed couples.

Objectives

• Participants will learn how exercise patterns within couples can influence marital commitment, potentially leading toward stronger marital commitment in early marriage.
• Participants will learn about the significance of mindfulness and sexual mindfulness in healthy couple outcomes.
• Participants will learn how infant sleep problems affects parental depression, and how marital satisfaction interacts with this relationship among husbands and wives.

Subject Codes: health, relationship quality, protective factors
Population Codes: couples/coupled, emerging/young adulthood, heterosexual
Method and Approach Codes: structural equation modeling (SEM), regression: linear (simple, multiple, hierarchical),