Research

 

Ron Rogge is a clinical faculty member whose research focuses on understanding the early years of marriage.

 

His current research examines how

• individual factors (e.g., neuroticism, anger, aggressiveness, depression, anxiety, alcohol use, and axis II pathology)
• couples behavior with each other (e.g., communication, empathy, forgiveness, social support, partner aggression)
• environmental factors (e.g., life stress, socio-economic status, demographics, neighborhood dilapidation, neighborhood cohesion)

collectively contribute to the development of marital discord and divorce in the first 4 years of marriage.

In addition, Dr. Rogge's research also explores methods of preventing early marital discord and divorce through treatment outcome studies focused on marriage preparation programs. In collaboration with Tom Bradbury at UCLA, Dr. Rogge developed the Compassionate and Accepting Relationships through Empathy (CARE) program which is completing its first clinical trial.

 

To explore these research interests, Dr. Rogge has developed a large-scale research project - The Understanding Challenges in Early Marriage Project - that is currently collecting data from a sample of 800 newlywed couples who will be followed through the first 4 years of marriage.  He has also implemented a series of online research projects - see http://www.couples-research.com - to augment this program of research by developing measures and refining multivariate relationships in large (predominantly cross-sectional) datasets.

 

Recent Publications

 

• Rogge, R.D., & Funk, J.L. (under review). How Well Can We Measure Marital Therapy Outcomes? Evaluating Responsiveness to Change in Relationship Satisfaction Scales. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
• Chapman, K. E., Saavedra, M.C. & Rogge, R.D. (under review). Can Healthy Life-Skills Buffer Adverse Personalities? Examining Communication and Mindfulness as Moderators of the Links between Personality and Relationship Satisfaction. Journal of Family Psychology.
• Rodrigues, A., & Rogge, R.D. (under review). How many ways can conflict be hostile? Exploring the underlying structure of aversive behavior in relationships. Journal of Family Psychology.
• Funk, J.L., & Rogge, R.D. (in press). Testing the Ruler with Item Response Theory: Increasing Precision of Measurement for Relationship Satisfaction with the Couples Satisfaction Index. Journal of Family Psychology.
• Rogge, R.D., Cobb, R.J., Story, L.B., Johnson, M.D., Lawrence, E., Rothman, A.D., & Bradbury, T.N. (2006).  Recruitment and Selection of Couples for Intervention Research: Achieving Developmental Homogeneity at the Cost of Demographic Diversity.  Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 777-784.
• Rogge, R.D., Bradbury, T.N., Hahlweg, K., Engl, J., & Thurmaier, F. (2006). Prediction of Marital Satisfaction and Dissolution Over 5 Years: Refining the Two-Factor Hypothesis. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 156-159.
• Rogge, R.D., & Bradbury, T.N. (2002) Developing a Multifaceted View of Change In Relationships. In H. Reis, M.A. Fitzpatrick, & A. Vangelisti (Eds.) Stability and Change in Relationships (pp. 228-253). New York: Cambridge.
• Rogge, R.D., Cobb, R.M., Johnson, M.D., Lawrence, E.E., & Bradbury, T.N. (2002) The CARE Program: A Preventive Approach to Marital Intervention. In A. Gurman & N. Jacobson (Eds.), Clinical Handbook of Couple Therapy (pp. 420-435). New York: Guilford.
• Rogge, R. D., & Bradbury, T. N. (1999). Till violence does us part: the differing roles of communication and aggression in predicting adverse martial outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 340-351.

 

Current and Recent Graduate Students

 

Elizabeth Baker - Examining the associations between partner social support and relationship change over time

 

Karina Chapman - Exploring how mindfulness is associated with relationship processes and outcomes

 

Janette Funk - Examining how marriages might differ by neighborhood, understanding marriages from the inner city to the suburbs

 

Soon-Hee Lee - Developing implicit measures of marital satisfaction as an alternative to self-report

 

Amy Rodrigues - Examining the dimensions of psychological aggression and their associations with change

relationships over time

 

Maria Saavedra - Exploring the relationships between adult attachment styles and romantic relationship quality and stability over time

 

Recent Courses Taught

 

CSP 571 - Psychological Assessment II

CSP 219 - Undergraduate Research Methods

CSP 515 - Heirarchical Linear Modeling

CSP 572 - Clinical Psychology Research Methods

CSP 587 - Overview of Marital Research

PM  472 - Measurement Theory/Statistics