Ronald Rogge<\/a>, an associate professor of psychology<\/a> at the University of Rochester<\/a>, has been with his partner for 15 years, the last four of them happily married.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not what makes him an expert on marriage. What does are his decades of research into the complex dynamics of romantic relationships and families. For the last 28 years, Rogge has focused his research on relationships and the early years of marriage, while searching for ways to help couples nurture and strengthen their love.<\/p>\n One of those ways\u2014his newest and \u201cmost successful project, based on its extensive reach,\u201d Rogge says\u2014is a relationship app that he codeveloped with a former University of Rochester student. In a recent pilot study<\/a>, published in the Journal of Family Psychology<\/em>, Rogge found that the overwhelming majority of study participants\u20148 out of 10\u2014reported improved and healthier relationships after one month of app usage.<\/p>\n \u201cOur primary goal was to create an app that couples would intrinsically enjoy using, which would naturally grow in popularity, and thereby organically extend its reach,\u201d says Rogge.<\/p>\n The relationship wellness smartphone app is the brain child of Khadesha Okwudili<\/a>, who studied epidemiology and neuroscience as an undergraduate at Rochester. Barely in her twenties, she was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart arrythmia disorder, which has a mortality rate of up to 50 percent<\/a>. At first, she wasn’t responding well to treatment. \u201cThat inspired me to ask more meaningful questions of the people I loved, because I wasn\u2019t sure how much time I would have left with them,\u201d Okwudili recalls. \u201cOver time, I realized that although my health was deteriorating, my relationships started thriving in a way that they hadn\u2019t before.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2019, with her health finally stabilized, she wondered why it had taken several near-death experiences to arrive at meaningful conversations and how best to share her own epiphany with others.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, perhaps, if there was a way to encourage people to answer these types of questions with the people they loved, they could see the same benefits that I did\u2014without having to go through something so traumatic,\u201d says Okwudili.<\/p>\n Together with Rogge, she began to develop and test content for Agap\u00e9<\/a>, generating thousands of questions that would be relevant for a wide range of couples.<\/p>\n Today, Okwudili is the founder and CEO of Agap\u00e9 Wellness Inc., with Rogge as the startup\u2019s chief research officer. Launched in early 2021 via the Google and Apple app stores, their app went viral after a user created a slick TikTok video<\/a>, which resulted in a whopping 160,000 plus installs overnight. To date, the app has had more than two million users.<\/p>\n Agap\u00e9 sends registered couples a daily prompt, such as \u201cWhat\u2019s something that your partner did in the past week that made you laugh?\u201d or \u201cDescribe a time you were thankful to have your partner by your side\u201d or \u201cIf your partner had a theme song that would play around them as they went through their day, what would it be and why?\u201d Or something more outlandish, such as: \u201cWhat unique skills would your partner bring to surviving a zombie apocalypse?\u201d<\/p>\n Once both partners have answered the prompt, they can see each other\u2019s responses, possibly sparking a meaningful conversation, \u201cenhancing awareness\u201d and promoting \u201cmoments of connection,\u201d says Rogge, who has pilot tested over 4,000 prompts over the last four years, grounded in marital and couples research of the last 40 years.<\/p>\n In developing the app, the team prioritized the user experience and focused at every decision point on deepening that experience, says Rogge. \u201cWe listened to users. Essentially, it had to be fun and easy to use.\u201d<\/p>\n But can a happier, healthier, and stronger relationship really be achieved by simply answering daily prompts from a relationship app?<\/p>\n Three years after its inception, the team\u2014consisting of Rogge, Okwudili, and Jenna Macri \u201920 (who graduated with a double major in psychology and brain and cognitive sciences from the University and is now a senior research assistant at Agap\u00e9)\u2014subjected the app to scientific testing.<\/p>\n For the recent pilot study, the researchers recruited 405 romantic couples. Ninety-one percent were heterosexual and the vast majority\u201484 percent\u2014in their twenties and thirties. The couples had been in their current relationships for an average of 4.6 years. While most couples in the study\u201431 percent of whom were married\u2014were reasonably satisfied with their relationships, roughly a third were notably not.<\/p>\n The team followed the participants over the course of one month on the app, during which the couples completed baseline assessments at the start, shorter weekly wellness checks within the app, and again an assessment at the end of the month. Engagement remained high throughout, with 99 percent of couples using the app, and 88 percent providing follow-up data.<\/p>\n The vast majority of study participants (80 percent) saw their relationships becoming happier over the month of using the app. \u201cThat translated to a significant decrease in their reports of perceived negative relationship qualities and an increase in relationship satisfaction and dedication,\u201d says Rogge.<\/p>\n Just as important were the effects on well-being, says Rogge, with 70 percent of respondents reporting feeling better. That was echoed in noticeable drops in people\u2019s depressive symptoms and corresponding increases in vitality and a better quality of life.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found that regular app use really mattered. Couples who completed more daily prompts had stronger gains in their relationships,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Rogge notes that the team\u2019s efforts to engage users worked well: 93 percent said the app was enjoyable, and 74 percent found it easy to use, \u201cwhich we think increases the likelihood that couples will make the app a daily habit.\u201d<\/p>\n A wide range of interventions to make relationships last have been developed over the past half century; however, research has shown that practical barriers, such as the need for trained facilitators, have resulted in limited dissemination. Other self-directed interventions, while cheap and practical, are often hampered in their reach and effectiveness by low levels of engagement, with couples completing only a small fraction of the requirements.<\/p>\n Although the present study focuses on romantic relationships, the app can also be used to help you feel close to your friends or family, says Rogge. The fundamental principles that underpin couples\u2019 ties generalize to other kinds of close relationships. \u201cWe know that using the app not only benefits your relationship but also your own well-being,\u201d Rogge says. \u201cUsing the app with more people in your life is likely to have even stronger individual benefits because we know that connecting with others is a fundamental psychological need.\u201d And that will be one of their next studies, he says. Already the app allows for use with friends and family members.<\/p>\n The New York Times<\/em> wrote about Rogge\u2019s romantic comedy study\u2014Movie Date Night Can Double as Therapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Australian Men\u2019s Health<\/em> cited Rogge\u2019s study about how to navigate an open relationship: The Key Is Communications and Consent<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Independent<\/em> covered Rogge\u2019s research tool \u201cpartner-focused go\/no-go association task,\u201d which can predict break-ups a year in advance\u2014Uncover Your Relationship Subconscious to Avoid a Break-up<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In 2013, Rogge and fellow researchers had piloted another successful home therapy that showed that couples who watched romantic comedies or dramas together\u2014such as As Good as It Gets<\/em>, Indecent Proposal<\/em>, Funny Girl<\/em>, or Mr. and Mrs. Smith<\/em>\u2014and discussed them afterward<\/a>, had stronger and longer-lasting relationships.<\/p>\n While effective, the strategy did not become widely used. \u201cCouples seemed to have a hard time to set aside two or three hours to watch a movie and then discuss it,\u201d says Rogge. \u201cThe app project is exciting because it helps my research get into the hands of millions of couples and, I hope, will actually improve their lives,\u201d says Rogge.<\/p>\n For Okwudili the app remains personal. By taking the initiative to ask deeper questions, she found that \u201cI could be a better partner, I could be a better friend, I could be a better daughter\u2014because I understood how the people closest to me felt about things much more deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n Because Rogge and Okwudili are both stockholders in Agap\u00e9 Wellness Inc., the study was conducted under a conflict-of-interest plan with the University of Rochester. The study\u2019s data and materials can be accessed at the Open Science Framework<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Khadesha](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/inline-Khadesha-Okwudili.jpg\")
![\"Ronald](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/inline-2023-10-30_Ron_Rogge_0130.jpg\")
How does the Agap\u00e9\u00a0relationship app work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How effective is the app? A scientific test<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Study findings at a glance<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\u2018Connecting with others is a fundamental psychological need\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Hand](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/inline-agape-relationship-app-2023-10-30_Ron_Rogge_0178.jpg\")
Reaching\u2014and helping\u2014millions of couples<\/strong><\/h3>\n
In the news<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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![\"woman](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/fea-movies-marriage.jpg\")
Divorce rate halved for couples who discussed relationship movies<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Happy](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/fea-happy-family-psychological-flexibility.jpg\")
What\u2019s the secret ingredient that makes a happy couple or family?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Illustration](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/fea-online-dating-how-to-find-love.jpg\")
Looking for a match made in heaven\u2014or online? Science says stay grounded<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n