Effects of couples positive massage programme on wellbeing, perceived stress and coping, and relation satisfaction^*

* The research was reported briefly by poster presentation at the British Psychology Society annual conference in May 2017; Naruse, S. & Moss, M. (2017). Couples massage provides cost effective benefits on psychological wellbeing. Proceedings of the British Psychological Society, T22, 123.

Figures & data

Figure 1. Time Flow Chart and Analysis.

Figure 2. CONSORT Flow Chart.

Table 1. Demographic Data between Group A and B.

	Group A	Group B	Total
Number of participants
Started	24	18	42
Completed (frequency data 1)	20	18	38
Data recorded (analysis 1&2, frequency data 2&3)	17	17	34
Mean Age	37.2 (SD 11.6)	36.4 (SD 9.1)	36.8 (SD 10.3)
Gender
Male	7	8	15
Female	10	9	19
Mean Time length of relationship/Year	8.9 (SD 9.9)	7.6 (SD 9.5)	8.3 (SD 9.6)
Marital status (% within group)
Married	9 (52.9%)	7 (41.2%)	16 (47.1%)
Cohabitant	2 (11.8%)	6 (35.3%)	8 (23.5%)
Other	6 (35.3%)	4 (23.5%)	10 (29.4%)
Ethnicity (% within group)
White British	11 (64.7%)	10 (58.8%)	21 (61.8%)
White European	2 (11.8%)	4 (23.5%)	6 (17.6%)
Asian	1 (5.9%)	1 (5.9%)	2 (5.9%)
Other	1 (5.9%)	1 (5.9%)	2 (5.9%)
Prefer not to state	2 (11.8%)	1 (5.9%)	3 (8.8%)

Figure 3. Interaction Effect between Group and Time-point on the WEMWBS Score, the RISCI Stress and Coping Score, and the PFQ Score (N = 34; group A, n = 17; group B, n = 17). WEMWBS = Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (Between 14 and 70: 70 = most positive), RISCI Stress = Rhode Island Stress and Coping Inventory Stress subscale (Between 5 and 25: 25 = greatest perceived stress), RISCI Coping = RISCH Coping subscale (Between 5 and 25: 25 = greatest coping ability), PFQ = Positive Feelings Questionnaire (Between 14 and 98: 98 = highest relationship satisfaction).

Figure 4. Effect of the PM Programme on the WEMWBS Score, the RISCI Stress and Coping Score, and the PFQ Score at 3 Time-points (T1, T2 &T3) (N = 16). **p < .01 n.s.=not significant.

Table 2. Frequency data 1: The weekly mean frequency of massage practice at home during the PM programme (N = 38, group A, n = 20, group B, n = 18).

	Wk1(s.d.)	Wk2(s.d.)	Wk3(s.d.)	Total(s.d.)
Group A	1.9 (.72)	1.8 (.95)	1.6 (.82)	5.3 (2.20)
Group B	2.0 (.84)	1.3 (.97)	1.4 (.98)	4.8 (2.41)
Total	2.0 (.77)	1.6 (.98)	1.5 (.89)	5.0 (2.28)