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Journal Article Literature in developmental psychology suggests that mothers and fathers both play unique and important roles in their children’s development. However, research investigating the unique contributions and psychological functioning of fathers of youth with developmental disabilities, and the role that fathers play in effective intervention, remains limited. Whereas evidence suggests that parent-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can lead to increased engagement from parents, and reduced stress and psychopathology commonly experienced by parents of youth with…
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Journal Article The aim of the Baby Elmo Program is to establish a low-cost, sustainable parenting and structured visitation program for non-custodial incarcerated teen parents. The program is taught and supervised by probation staff in juvenile detention facilities and unlike traditional programs, this intervention is not based on increasing the teen's abstract parenting knowledge, but rather in building a relationship between the teen and his child. The sessions target the interactional quality of the relationship by introducing relationship, communication, and socio-emotional enhancing techniques.…
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Journal Article The majority of teen pregnancy literature and practice is deficit based, focusing on the consequences of teen pregnancy; significantly less research is devoted to the teens’ strengths. This article discusses the strengths-based perspective as a viable framework for clinicians and school social workers to implement to help teen parents and their families ameliorate some of the challenges they encounter. This article emphasizes the importance of clinicians, school social workers, and the community to adopt a strengths-based perspective when working with teen parents in order to cultivate…
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Journal Article Objectives. Because of their youth, adolescent parents often lack the interpersonal skills necessary to manage the relationship challenges involved in parenting, leaving them and their children vulnerable to the health risks associated with relational stress and conflict. The primary goal of this study was to test the efficacy of the Young Parenthood Program (YPP), a 10-week counseling program administered during pregnancy and designed to facilitate interpersonal skill development and positive parenting among adolescent parents. Methods. Participants included 105 pregnant adolescents and…
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Journal Article Approximately one in four incarcerated male young offenders in the UK is an actual or expectant father. This paper reviews evidence on the effectiveness of parenting interventions for male young offenders. We conducted systematic searches across 20 databases and consulted experts. Twelve relevant evaluations were identified: 10 from the UK, of programmes for incarcerated young offenders, and two from the US, of programmes for young parolees. None used experimental methods or included a comparison group. They suggest that participants like the courses, find them useful, and the interventions…
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Journal Article The absence of a father figure has been linked to very poor developmental outcomes for the child. During incarceration, there are limited opportunities for visitation between fathers and their children. The Baby Elmo Program provides incarcerated teen fathers with parenting training and visitation with their children with the stated goal of enhancing father-child interactional quality. Forty-one incarcerated teen fathers and their infants ranging from 1 to 15 months of age participated in the present study. During individual sessions, a trained facilitator prepared fathers for visits with…
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Journal Article The absence of a father figure has been linked to very poor developmental outcomes. The Baby Elmo Program, a parenting and structured visitation program, aims to form and maintain bonds between children and their incarcerated teen fathers. The program is taught and supervised by probation staff in juvenile detention facilities. This intervention is based on building a relationship between the teen and his child, rather than on increasing the teen's abstract parenting knowledge. Because the intervention is conducted in the context of parent-child visits, it fosters hands-on learning and…
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Journal Article This randomized study tested the effects of 2 prebirth interventions, Minnesota Early Learning Design coparenting and childbirth curricula, on young African American and Hispanic fathers and their adolescent partners (N = 154). The coparenting intervention (n = 44) was associated with changing fathers' perceptions of their coparenting behavior rather than mothers' perceptions of the fathers' behavior compared with the childbirth program (n = 46). Fathers and mothers consistently reported fathers' improved coparenting behavior when the coparenting intervention was compared with a no-…
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Journal Article This special issue focuses on teen parenthood and includes articles that address the developmental trajectory for children born to teenage parents, protective factors for teen parents and their children, intervention efforts to promote resiliency, and the experiences of infants of teenage parents. An introductory article discusses the risks associated with adolescent parenthood and community-based strategies to support young families. The following article reviews findings from large national studies on the effects of early care and intervention on the children of adolescents. The next…
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Journal Article This paper explores the effectiveness of delivering an intensive parenting class to groups of young fathers in prison. Evaluation was based on course feedback from a total of 75 participants. Results demonstrate that even within a group of young prisoners of similar ages there were diverse parenting educational requirements, indicating a need for courses to remain flexible and participant-led. In considering parenting support needs, three-quarters of all course participants highlighted the importance of better visiting procedures to allow them to keep in contact with their children whilst in…
