Abstract
Home visiting programs support new and expecting parents by strengthening parenting practices, improving parental and child health and well-being, and preventing child maltreatment. Participant retention is often a challenge for home visitation, particularly for young families, potentially reducing program impact. Father engagement in services may be one avenue for supporting continued program take-up for young parents. The current study examined associations between fathers’ formal and informal participation in an infant home visiting program and mothers’ take-up of home visits and whether these associations differed depending on mothers’ relationship status at enrollment or timing of enrollment. Results showed that fathers’ participation in home visiting supported maternal retention, particularly when fathers were formally enrolled. These associations depended on mothers’ relationship status at enrollment but not on whether they enrolled pre- or postnatally. These findings have direct implications for home visiting programs, both in supporting maternal retention and in informing the recruitment and engagement of fathers.
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Notes
We also looked at associations between fathers’ participation and maternal-reported substance use, maternal depression, unstable housing, and involvement with child protective services. Only unstable housing was significantly associated with fathers’ participation, with mothers who had no father involvement more likely to report housing instability upon program enrollment. Detailed finding available online in Supplemental Table 1.
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This study was funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Grants MA5014 & MA7441).
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Stargel, L.E., Fauth, R.C., Goldberg, J.L. et al. Maternal Engagement in a Home Visiting Program as a Function of Fathers’ Formal and Informal Participation. Prev Sci 21, 477–486 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01090-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01090-x