The goal of this proposal is to evaluate the long-term effects of a universal preventive intervention for couples expecting a first child on parent adjustment, parenting, and child outcomes from six to eight years after birth. A key innovation of this transition-to-parenthood model, called Family Foundations (FF), is the focus on enhancing the coparenting relationship, based on evidence that coparenting is a causal influence on parent adjustment, parenting quality, and child outcomes (Feinberg, 2002, 2003; Minuchin, Rosman, & Baker, 1978). Given the positive results of FF to date in two trials, and the program's potential population reach, it is critically important to understand the potential of FF for enhancing child well-being over a longer period of time and across both family and school settings. Thus, we propose to assess not only children's self-regulation and emotional/behavioral adjustment (e.g., internalizing and externalizing behavior problems), but children's school adaptation and academic achievement in the early years of elementary school as well. Additionally, we propose to leverage the experimental design to test the causal pathways in the underlying theory, thus providing a test of whether program impact on coparenting and parent adjustment lead to change in parenting quality, which in turn together influence children's self-regulation and adjustment.

Public Health Relevance

The proposed investigation holds significant promise for understanding the persistence and generalization of preventive impact due to brief universal family support at the transition to parenthood. Such an understanding will both advance our understanding of causal influences on child mental health, behavioral adjustment, and school adaptation, as well as provide evidence regarding long-term family-focused prevention outcomes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD084476-03
Application #
9471409
Study Section
Psychosocial Development, Risk and Prevention Study Section (PDRP)
Program Officer
Esposito, Layla E
Project Start
2016-04-01
Project End
2021-02-28
Budget Start
2018-03-01
Budget End
2019-02-28
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2018
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Pennsylvania State University
Department
Miscellaneous
Type
Sch Allied Health Professions
DUNS #
003403953
City
University Park
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
16802
Jones, Damon; Feinberg, Mark; Hostetler, Michelle et al. (2018) Family and Child Outcomes 2 Years After a Transition to Parenthood Intervention. Fam Relat 67:270-286
Marshall, Amy D; Roettger, Michael E; Mattern, Alexandra C et al. (2018) Trauma exposure and aggression toward partners and children: Contextual influences of fear and anger. J Fam Psychol 32:710-721