The Influence of the 24/7 Dad Intervention on Men’s Symptoms of Psychological Distress

Introduction: Fatherhood is an opportune transitional period for men. The identity and role of being an involved and committed parent positively impacts fathers in a number of ways, including an increased desire to better themselves and the perceived closeness of the father-child dyad leading to the value and validation of paternal identity. Paternal mental health affects not only the father, but also his partner and children. When fathers are experiencing their own symptoms of mental distress, they are less likely to effectively parent or co-parent, resulting in strain on family systems. In the current study we examine the impact of the 24/7 Dad intervention on father’s reported mental health symptoms to help us better understand how a father-specific intervention can strengthen the wellbeing of fathers.

Methods: Evaluation data were collected between April 2021 and July 2025 as part of a community-university partnership. Among a group of 480 Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black fathers in the intervention and comparison group, we examine the impact of a 12-week group-based father-specific parenting intervention (held in either English or Spanish), inclusive of content on emotion regulation, on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and hostility. Data was collected at 3 timepoints (baseline and 12 and 24 weeks post-baseline). Multivariable linear mixed effects regression was used to evaluate the effect of the fathering program and mental health symptoms (using subscales of the BSI-18) between study groups, while adjusting for ethnicity, child age, childhood adversity experience scores, and relationship status.

Results: The mental health of the intervention group continuously improved in every category throughout the 3- and 6-month surveys (anxiety p= 0.005, depression p= 0.01 & hostility p= 0.008). This is in direct contrast to the declines experienced by the comparison group in mental health scores in every category throughout the 3- and 6-month surveys. Effect sizes of the change scores between intervention and comparison group ranged from -0.41 to -0.61, reflecting moderately sized effects. More childhood adversity experiences were associated with more reported symptoms of anxiety, depression, and hostility (p<0.001). There were no differences by father’s ethnicity or child age.

Discussion: The work highlights the potential of fatherhood interventions to address paternal mental health and the need to target paternal mental health within such interventions. Fathers’ wellbeing is strengthened when men are able to get support from other fathers in a safe environment, one where they can be honest about their challenges without fear of judgement. This supports the value of group-based interventions where fathers can be heard, and hear from others, providing opportunities to connect with and grow community. In fact, it is the normalization of fatherhood stressors and strains that can support men in attending to their mental health and create opportunities to explore and resolve these tensions. Overall, the study adds to our understanding of the relationship between fatherhood, mental health, and intervention effectiveness.