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Relating Engagement to Outcomes in Prevention: The Case of a Parenting Program for Couples

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Analyses of program engagement can provide critical insight into how program involvement leads to outcomes. This study examines the relation between participant engagement and program outcomes in Family Foundations (FF), a universal preventive intervention designed to help couples manage the transition to parenthood by improving coparenting relationship quality. Previous intent-to-treat outcome analyses from a randomized trial indicate FF improves parental adjustment, interparental relationships, and parenting. Analyses for the current study use the same sample, and yield statistically reliable relations between participant engagement and interparental relationships but not parental adjustment or parenting. Discussion considers implications for FF and the difficulties researchers face when examining the relation between engagement and outcomes in preventive interventions.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the families who participated in this study. We appreciate the assistance of Karen Newell, Sherry Turchetta, Carole Brtalik, Sharolyn Ivory, David White, Ned Hoffner, Dan Marrow, Ellen McGowan, and Kathryn Siembieda in implementing the program. We thank Jesse Boring, Carmen Hamilton, Richard Puddy, Carolyn Ransford, and Samuel Sturgeon for their assistance in conducting this study. George Howe, Mark Greenberg, James McHale, Pamela Cole, and Doug Teti provided thoughtful advice and support. This study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Development (1 K23 HD042575) and the National Institute of Mental Health (R21 MH064125-01), Mark E. Feinberg, principal investigator.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, El Paso Regional Campus, 1101 N. Cambell, Room 409, El Paso, TX, 79902, USA

    Louis D. Brown

  2. Yale University Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    Megan C. Goslin

  3. Prevention Research Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Mark E. Feinberg

Authors
  1. Louis D. Brown
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  2. Megan C. Goslin
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  3. Mark E. Feinberg
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Correspondence to Louis D. Brown.

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Brown, L.D., Goslin, M.C. & Feinberg, M.E. Relating Engagement to Outcomes in Prevention: The Case of a Parenting Program for Couples. Am J Community Psychol 50, 17–25 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9467-5

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