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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…
Brief
This research brief describes implementation findings from the evaluation of Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers and Their Partners (MFS-IP). It documents approaches to teaching relationship skills among incarcerated and reentering fathers and their families. The multi-year implementation and impact evaluation of the MFS-IP grants is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Author abstract)
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Journal Article The association between paternal involvement in therapy, adolescent outcomes and maternal depression was examined within the context of Multisystemic Therapy (MST), an empirically supported, family- and community-based treatment for antisocial adolescents. Ninety-nine families were recruited from five mental health agencies providing MST. We compared families with paternal involvement in therapy (PIT) to families with no paternal involvement in therapy (NPIT) in pre-post change in adolescents' externalizing and internalizing behaviours and also in maternal depression. There was a significant…
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Journal Article Objective: The role of substance abuse (SA) and depression on paternal parenting has recently gained attention in the research literature. Both SA and depression have been associated with negative parenting in fathers, but studies to date have not examined the mediating role that depression may play in the association of SA and fathering. Methods: SA, depression, and parenting data were reported by 87 fathers presenting for SA evaluation. Bootstrap mediation modeling was conducted to determine the role of depression on the association between SA and negative parenting. Results: Depression…
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Journal Article Because interventions developed in partnership with African American fathers not residing with their children are virtually non-existent, existing interventions fail to address the multiple factors that constrain these fathers' positive involvement with their children. We developed a videotape fatherhood intervention: Building Bridges to Fatherhood. In collaboration with a Fathers Advisory Council composed of 12 African American fathers, we used Aranda's framework for community-based nursing intervention development to design the intervention. Data from 13 focus group meetings show Advisory…
Brief
Recruiting and retaining participants are common challenges for programs serving low-income fathers. In this brief, we summarize several promising practices from the Strengthening Families Evidence Review (SFER) on recruitment and retention. The SFER, a systematic review of family-strengthening programs serving low-income fathers or couples, was conducted by Mathematica Policy Research under contract to the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families. This brief focuses on the 90 studies of 70 responsible fatherhood programs included in…
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Journal Article This article describes how an alliance with STRONG Fathers and Casey Family Programs has allowed Maine to develop and implement a unified approach to improve the manner in which Maine's Department of Health and Human Services interacts with fathers. The impact of the 2012 New England Fathering Conference in re-energizing Maine staff is also highlighted.
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Journal Article This brief profiles the Strengthening Families Initiative (SFI) in Illinois and shares findings from an evaluation of early childhood programs that had been participating in the Illinois initiative for more than two years. The evaluation included review of parent and staff surveys, programs' completion of a survey instrument, interviews, and site visits, and asked what difference participation in SFI made. Respondents stated overwhelmingly that participation in Strengthening Families resulted in more and better-quality family involvement. Ninety-two percent found that being part of SFI helped…
Brief
This research-to-practice brief discusses the research related to unwed childbirth, marriage, and relationship education, and then points to promising practices for the integration of healthy marriage and relationship education into TANF as part of a comprehensive approach to addressing poverty. (Author abstract)
