Engaging Fathers and Co-Parents Together through the Nurturing Dads and Partners (NDAP) Program

Background and Purpose: This presentation will describe findings from a study of the Nurturing Dads and Partners (NDAP) manualized intervention funded through a Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood grant to the State of Colorado Department of Early Childhood. NDAP integrates two evidence-supported interventions [Dads Matter and Nurturing Fathers] to leverage peer-group-based learning for fathers with co-parent inclusive sessions to boost fathering and relationship outcomes. This paper focuses on the impact of NDAP on co-parenting and parenting outcomes and explores some of the family and service characteristics and conditions that may boost or attenuate outcomes including fathers’ relationship with the group facilitator and fathers’ living arrangements.

Methods: Data for the study were collected through a quasi-experimental study conducted with 7 intervention sites and 12 comparison sites across Colorado. Baseline measures indicated intervention and comparison groups were similar with no statistically significant differences. The sample included primarily white and Hispanic/Latino identifying fathers and their partners, most of whom were never married or divorced, with an average age of 36 years (intervention group) and 42 years (comparison group). The study aimed to estimate the effect of the intervention on parenting and co-parent relationships (undermining, alliance, and gatekeeping) and co-parent communication. Data was collected through post-retrospective surveys administered to fathers after participation in NDAP (n = 86) or upon engagement through services as usual at comparison sites (n=24). Due to the small sample size, independent samples t-tests were conducted to test between-group differences and paired sample t-tests were conducted to test within-group change and to generate effect sizes. In addition, where sufficient data exists, possible intervention moderators were explored using regression models.

Results: Analyses conducted to address the primary research question revealed that NDAP fathers reported significant or trend-level improvements in parenting self-efficacy, coparenting relationships, and co-parent communication as a result of program participation (all p <.01), with medium-to-large effect sizes. Relative to comparison fathers, intervention fathers also reported less parent-child conflict (p < .05) and more positive attitudes about their relationship with their child post-intervention (p <.001). Exploratory analyses suggested that although intervention fathers with unstable housing differed from their stably housed counterparts on parent-child conflict and closeness before NDAP, they had similarly high closeness and low conflict after attending NDAP. Additionally, there was a significant association between fathers feeling supported by their father navigator and improvements in co-parent communication.

Conclusion: Study findings suggest that NDAP is a promising new model for improving fathers’ co-parenting relationships, father-child relationships, communication skills, and problem-solving skills. Particularly important for engagement and outcomes were fathers’ relationships with father navigators. In addition, actively engaging co-parents in programming is particularly innovative and highlights the potential for co-parent engagement to boost coparenting outcomes beyond those typically observed in fatherhood programs as well as opportunities for further intervention development and testing.