The current study
external stressors
From the outlines in the introduction, there seems to be a potential for the MC to reduce perceived stress as different kinds of couple interventions have been shown to improve individual mental health while aiming at reducing relationship distress (the first path) or strengthen dyadic coping with external stressors (the second path). On the other hand, considering the sparse evidence base for effects of couple interventions on perceived stress specifically, it cannot be ruled out that a checkup model can also evoke some level of unintended perceived stress. In the current RCT, we aimed to investigate the positive and negative effects of two annual MCs on women's and men's perceived stress symptoms including its maintenance at the 2‐year follow‐up.