Promoting Parenting in Home Visiting: A CACE Analysis of Family Foundations

Robert T. Ammerman, James L. Peugh, Angelique R. Teeters, Kari Lyn K. Sakuma, Damon E. Jones, Michelle L. Hostetler, Judith B.Van Ginkel, Mark E. Feinberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

This randomized trial tested the impact of an established prevention program for first-time parents, Family Foundations, adapted for low-income mothers and fathers as a series of sessions provided to couples in their homes. To assess program impact, we recruited and randomly assigned a sample of 150 low-income adult mother–father dyads (not necessarily still romantically involved, cohabiting, or married) during pregnancy or shortly after birth. The randomly assigned intervention families participated in Family Foundations Home Visiting (FFHV), consisting of 11 in-home sessions focusing on parental cooperation, collaboration, and conflict management to support children’s development. Complier average causal effect (CACE) analysis was used to examine program impact on parental adjustment and parenting for families completing nine or more program sessions. Results indicated significant positive complier effects for mothers’ and fathers’ reports of depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, coping with stress, and psychological aggression by fathers toward mothers at post-intervention, controlling for pre-intervention scores. Intervention parents also demonstrated higher levels of affection, engagement, and sensitivity with the infant based on observer coding of videotaped parent–child interactions. These findings indicate that the focus of Family Foundations on enhancing coparenting offers similar benefits for low-income parents and children who are compliers as has the groupformat Family Foundations (FF) version in trials with universal samples of cohabiting or married parents. Results are discussed in terms of implications for home visiting, engaging fathers, and optimizing child outcomes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)225-235
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Family Psychology
Volume36
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Psychology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Promoting Parenting in Home Visiting: A CACE Analysis of Family Foundations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this