Completed

NCT Number: NCT02843113

Stepping Up 4 Your Child

Through Stepping Up 4 Your Child, non-custodial fathers will be provided with a comprehensive, solution-oriented program featuring group based parent education and individualized case management to help them achieve financial independence, increase their parenting skills, and develop a co-parenting alliance.

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Key information

Conditions

Parenting Education Curriculum Parenting Education Curriculum + Case Management Waiting List Control

Age range

16 year–105 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Elizabethtown, Kentucky, United States

About this study

Fathers' involvement in their children's lives has received increased attention in recent years. In response, support has grown for responsible fatherhood programs aimed at improving the quantity and quality of fathers' involvement. Research on these programs has concluded that factors such as fathers' parenting skills, co-parenting relationship quality, and socioeconomic status all impact fathers' ability to contribute to their children's growth and development. Using this previous research as a foundation, the Stepping Up 4 Your Child project will go beyond traditional fatherhood initiatives by integrating the provision of responsible parenting, economic stability, and relationship education services to fathers at risk for paternal disengagement. To do so, the University of Louisville's Kent School of Social Work will leverage its existing relationship with the Kentucky Office of Child Support Enforcement. Specifically, through Stepping Up 4 Your Child, non-custodial fathers will be provided with a comprehensive, solution-oriented program featuring group based parent education and individualized case management to help them achieve financial independence, increase their parenting skills, and develop a co-parenting alliance. Given that each of these focus areas have all been cited as three of the strongest predictors of paternal engagement, Stepping Up 4 Your Child and the results of its evaluation will have significant implications for the families it serves, as well as the practitioners, researchers, and policymakers interested in responsible fatherhood. 1

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

non-custodial father AND
age 16-24 OR
age 24 up + low income OR
age 24 up + child support payment delinquent

Exclusion criteria

female
custodial father
male but not a father
younger than age 16

Treatment and study plan

4 Your Child Program

Behavioral

Integrates the provision of responsible parenting, economic stability, and relationship education services to fathers at risk for paternal disengagement.

Primary outcomes

Change in Fathering Knowledge and Skills.

Time frame: immediate after intervention, at 3 months later and at 6 months later

Fathering knowledge and skills will be measured using the 24/7 Dad Fathering Skills Survey (National Fatherhood Initiative, 2010). This survey has 25 items that are multiple choice response questions. This survey comes with the 24/7 Dad curriculum packet. Given that this survey is a measure of fathering knowledge and not a standardized scale, no reliability data are available.
Change in Fathers' Parenting Behavior.

Time frame: immediate after intervention, at 3 months later and at 6 months later

Fathers' reported parenting behavior will be measured using the Index of Father Involvement (Hawkins et al., 2002). This measure has 9 factors loaded as subscales designed to tap direct and indirect forms of involvement and a total of 26 items. All items are measured on a 5 point scale ranging from A (excellent) to F (failing). The measure has a reported reliability/internal consistency score of .69
Change in Child Support Compliance.

Time frame: immediate after intervention, at 3 months later and at 6 months later

These payment data will be obtained via reports from the Kentucky Office of Child Support Enforcement.
Change in Co-Parenting Relationship Quality.

Time frame: immediate after intervention, at 3 months later and at 6 months later

Co-Parenting Relationship Quality. Co-parenting relationship quality will be measured using the Co-parenting Questionnaire (CQ, Margolis, Gordis, & John, 2001). This measure is a 14-item self-report instrument examining: 1) the amount of conflict between parents surrounding parenting issues, 2) cooperation as the extent to which mothers and fathers support, value, and respect each other as parents and the degree to which they ease one another's parenting burden, and 3) triangulation, the extent to which parents distort parent-child boundaries by attempting to form a coalition with the child that undermines or excludes the other parent. The 14 items form a three factor structure and have good internal consistency with alphas for the 3 factors and the total scale ranging from .69 to .87.

Secondary outcomes

Change in Conflict Resolution Skills.

Time frame: immediate after intervention, at 3 months later and at 6 months later

The Stanley-Markman Relationship Dynamics Scale (Renick et al, 1992) will be used to measure conflict resolution skills. This measure has reported Chronbach's alpha levels of .73 and .81 (Stanley et al, 2006) and strong predictive validity for relationship failure.
Change in Communication Skills.

Time frame: immediate after intervention, at 3 months later and at 6 months later

Communication skills will be measured through the Communication Patterns Questionnaire to assess communication skills. This measure has strong discriminant validity and Chronbach's alpha levels ranging from .73 to .88 (Noller & White, 1990).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Louisville

Other

Collaborators

Kentucky Cabinet for Health & Family Services

Registry information

Official study title

Stepping Up 4 Your Child: The Impact of an Educational Program and Social Case Work Involvement on Single Fathers

Acronym: 4yourchild

Important dates

Study start: 2016
Primary completion: 2020
Study completion: 2020
First posted: Jul 25, 2016
Registry last updated: Jul 28, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.