Evaluating a Couples Group to Enhance Father Involvement in Low-Income Families Using a Benchmark Comparison

Following an earlier randomized clinical trial, now with broadened sample criteria, 236 low-income White, Mexican American, and African American couples participated in 16-week Supporting Father Involvement couples groups, with assessments at baseline, 2-, and 13-months postintervention. Because couples in the earlier control condition experienced no benefits and some declines in adaptation, a control condition was not offered. Data from the original couples groups (n = 96) and controls (n = 98) served as benchmarks for evaluating the current results. Of 11 measures in this study, 10 revealed positive baseline-post 2 changes. Father involvement increased for current couples group participants, though not as much as for benchmark couples group participants: they showed statistically similar positive changes on six measures (decline in parenting stress, stability in couple relationship satisfaction, children's hyperactivity, social withdrawal, psychological symptoms, increased income), and greater positive change on two of three measures (reductions in parents' violent problem solving, children's aggression).