DadSpace: Increasing Community Support Resources for Perinatal Fathers

This 19-item abbreviated version of the inventory assesses accurate knowledge of infant development. The first 11 items are rated as true or false and include questions such as "Babies may cry for 20-30 minutes at a time, no matter how much you try to comfort them" and "Some parents do not bond until their baby starts to smile and look at them." An additional 6 items ask parents to rate whether they think babies can do something at the age listed in the item or whether the developmental task (e.g., "Six-month-olds know what 'no' means.") occurs in younger or older children. Two additional items ask respondents to choose the best way to respond to potentially stressful infant behaviors (breaking things and fussing at night). Item responses are scored as correct or incorrect with percent correct as the final measure.

A 6-item measure of feelings of efficacy/competence in the parental role. Items are weighted on a range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating higher confidence in the parental role, a better outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 4 to 24.

7 yes/no items on satisfaction with the support received from one's social network. More "yes" answers indicates lower satisfaction with the social network, a worse outcome. Scores are reverse-scored and totaled with a possible range from 0 to 7 so that higher scores indicate more satisfaction.

2 subscales that assess work conflict with family life, family life conflict with work, and work-family balance. Item values range from 1 to 6. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range of 8 to 48.

10 items related to anxiety, stress, and coping with upsets. Items values range from 0 to 4 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 0 to 40.

10 items that measure core features of postnatal depression. Item values range from 0 to 3 with a higher score indicating higher depressive symptoms, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 0 - 30.

10 items assessing feelings of upset and anxiety versus contentment at the present time. Item values range from 1 to 4 with a higher score indicating higher state anxiety, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a total possible range from 6 to 24.

13 items assessing coparent collaboration versus conflict related to child rearing. Items values range from 0 to 6 with higher scores indicating a better coparenting relationship. Items are totaled with a possible range from 0 - 72.

7-item measure of general self-efficacy versus helplessness. Item values range from 1 to 6 with higher scores indicating worse self-efficacy. Scores are totaled with a total possible range from 6 to 42.

Assesses fathers' positive feelings versus lack of enjoyment with the baby. Item values have been revised from the original scale to range from 1 to 6 with higher scores indicating more positive feelings toward the baby. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 19 to 114.

Number of total sessions attended by participants (dosage)

A checklist of intervention items completed by the facilitator to identify adherence to the intervention protocol.

Fathers report on how helpful they found the provided resources (e.g., handouts) on a scale from 1 to 4 with a higher score indicating a higher degree of helpfulness, a better outcome.

Facilitator ratings of participants' active participation and evidence that fathers have been trying out skills covered in classes. Engagement was measured by totaling scores from two items. Item one asked facilitator's to rate how active participants were in participating in class measured on a scale from 0 (passive) to 5 (active). Item two asked facilitators to rate the degree to which they have observed the participants trying out the skills they are learning in class on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 3 (yes, quite a lot). After summing scores for the two items, engagement has a possible range of 0-8. Higher scores indicate more engagement, a better outcome.Total scores were averaged to produce a single score of engagement across all weekly sessions and cohorts.

The 27-item Support Group Social Exchange Scale assesses various types of social exchanges that can occur in support group dynamics, including experiential knowledge, emotional support, humor, and unwanted behavior. We removed three of the five items asking about humor, reducing the number of items to 24. Items statements (e.g., "I shared my personal problems with group members") are rated from 0 (never) to 6 (always). Three items ask participants to rate the number of times they interacted with other participants outside of group meetings, such as by doing favors for and socializing with each other, with ordinal response categories ranging from 0 (0 times) to 4 (10 or more times). Item scores are summed to produce a total score for each participant with a possible range from 0 to 156. Higher scores indicate a more positive perception of group social dynamics, a better outcome.

Fathers rate their overall satisfaction with the utility of each of the eight sessions on a scale from 0 to 10 with higher scores indicating more satisfaction. Scores are averaged for an average satisfaction score.

The Workshop Environment Scale provides a measure of group dynamics and facilitator alliance. Items were adapted to fit the specific program and reduced to 10 questions scaled from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree), with higher scores indicating more positive perceptions of the workshop environment, a better outcome. Item scores were summed to produce a total score with a possible range of 4 to 40.