Online Program

Engaging African American Men in Empirically-based Marriage Enrichment Programs: Lessons from a Focus Group on the ProSAAM Project

TERA R HURT, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA 
STEVEN R H BEACH, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA 
*LATRENA A STOKES, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA 
PERDETA L BUSH, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA 
KAMERON J SHEATS, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA 
SHAYLA G ROBINSON, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA 

Keywords: African American, marriage, recruitment, men, intervention

This presentation describes the recommendations of a focus group to enhance the recruitment of African American males for a five-year study called the Program for Strong African American Marriages (ProSAAM), which was administered at the University of Georgia from 2005 to 2011. To better meet the needs of eligible African American men who were reluctant to enroll in this study, we employed a focus group to listen to the voices of a sample of the population being recruited and to explore their feedback about taking part in such a program and how best to recruit other African American men. We explain our application of the focus group results to our recruitment of African American married couples for ProSAAM. The positive outcomes from the implementation of these results can provide potential ideas for those seeking innovative means to improve recruitment of African American men to programs that strengthen marital relationships.