The Dedicated African American Dad Study

NCT02412748 | Completed Results DMC

• 1 other identifier: 2R01NR011182-03
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 308
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The number of children living apart from their fathers has grown nationally, and the greatest percentage is evident among African American (AA) families; two-thirds of all African American children live in households without their biological father. Research supports the importance of positive fathering in the lives of children. But in order for children to benefit from their fathers' involvement, the father-child relationship must be timely and sustained. This study will test culturally relevant interventions aimed at increasing non-resident (not living with the child) AA fathers' involvement with their children.

Conditions

Father - Child Relations

Keywords

Non-Resident; Fathers; African American

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Father Involvement as Measured by the Fragile Families Survey - Father Report

  The Fragile Families Survey (FFS) Measures the frequency with which fathers provide material and in-kind support and directly interact with their child The minimum score is 13, and the maximum score is 52. Higher scores mean a better outcome.

  Mean/Standard Error (SE) at Baseline, 12, and 24 weeks

• Father Involvement as Measured by the Julion Index of Paternal Involvement - Father Report

  The Julion Index of Paternal Involvement (JIPI) measured the frequency with which fathers provide material and in-kind support and engage in direct father-child interaction. The minimum value is 19 and the maximum value is 76. Higher scores mean a better outcome.

  Change from baseline to 12 and 24 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (20)

• Taylor Inventory of Self-Esteem (Positive)

  Mean/SE at Baseline, 12, and 24 weeks

• Taylor Inventory of Self-Esteem (Negative)

  Baseline, 12, and 24 weeks

• Perceived Stress Scale (Negative)

  Baseline, 12, and 24 weeks

• Perceived Stress Scale (Positive)

  Baseline, 12, and 24 weeks

• Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale

  Baseline, 12, and 24 weeks

Other Outcomes (1)

• Building Bridges To Fatherhood (BBTF) Social Context Validity

  9 weeks post baseline

Study Arms (2)

Financial Literacy Program

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The Financial Literacy Program (FLP) attention control condition will not receive any information on fatherhood. They will participate in a nine-session financial education program, called "Money Smart," which has modules that will be facilitated by a group leader that focus on banking, borrowing, checking accounts, money management, saving, establishing and repairing a credit history, using credit cards responsibly and learning about borrowing and home ownership. They will also receive a booster session 6 weeks after the final session that focuses on setting financial goals.

Behavioral: Financial Literacy Program

BBTF Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

The Building Bridges to Fatherhood (BBTF) intervention employs the following key features: a collaborative model for working with parents; vignettes of father-child models engaged in situations typical of non-resident fathers with young children for stimulating discussion and problem-solving; group discussion format, which allows fathers to support one another and share ideas on using program principles to fit within the contexts of fatherhood; "homework assignments" that help fathers practice the new skills at home; weekly handouts summarizing the major points discussed each week, which can be shared with others and used to gain greater support from extended family; and a Leader's Manual that standardizes the program across groups and group leaders.

Behavioral: BBTF Intervention

Interventions

BBTF Intervention BEHAVIORAL

The Building Bridges to Fatherhood (BBTF) intervention consists of 9 group sessions and 1 booster session as described in the arm/group descriptions.

BBTF Intervention

Financial Literacy Program BEHAVIORAL

The Financial Literacy Program (FLP) attention control condition consists of 9 group sessions and 1 booster session as described in the arm/group descriptions.

Financial Literacy Program

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• AA biological father of a child 2 to 5 years old
• Child lives with father no more than 48 hours per week (e.g., spends the weekends with his or her father)
• The child lives with the biological mother (or other custodial relative such as grandmother) in the metropolitan Chicago area.
• These fathers are referred to as AA non-resident fathers. Additional criteria include: (1) child's mother is willing to consent to complete the child assessments; - Child's mother is amenable to facilitating opportunities for fathers to interact with their children in order to practice skills learned in the program
• Father is able and willing to travel to one of two intervention sites to attend a weekly program.
• The study is limited to fathers with a target child aged 2-5 years.
• The rationale for this limit is based on the developmental phase when families are most vulnerable to decreased father involvement and children are highly dependent on parenting for their growth and development.

You may not qualify if:

• Fathers with histories of child abuse, neglect, or violence perpetuated against the child or the child's mother (based on mother or father report).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Rush University Medical Center: lead
• National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Rush University Medical Center

Chicago, Illinois, 60612, United States

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Julion WA, Breitenstein SM, Waddell D. Fatherhood intervention development in collaboration with African American non-resident fathers. Res Nurs Health. 2012 Oct;35(5):490-506. doi: 10.1002/nur.21492. Epub 2012 Jun 8.

  PMID: 22685066 BACKGROUND

• Julion W, Gross D, Barclay-McLaughlin G, Fogg L. "It's not just about MOMMAS": African-American non-resident fathers' views of paternal involvement. Res Nurs Health. 2007 Dec;30(6):595-610. doi: 10.1002/nur.20223.

  PMID: 18022813 BACKGROUND

• Julion WA, Sumo J, Bounds DT, Breitenstein SM, Schoeny M, Gross D, Fogg L. Study protocol for a randomized clinical trial of a fatherhood intervention for African American non-resident fathers: Can we improve father and child outcomes? Contemp Clin Trials. 2016 Jul;49:29-39. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2016.05.005. Epub 2016 May 28.

  PMID: 27241687 RESULT

• Julion WA, Sumo J, Bounds DT. A tripartite model for recruiting African-Americans into fatherhood intervention research. Public Health Nurs. 2018 Sep;35(5):420-426. doi: 10.1111/phn.12411. Epub 2018 May 9.

  PMID: 29740854 RESULT

• Julion W, Sumo J, Schoeny ME, Breitenstein SM, Bounds DT. Recruitment, Retention, and Intervention Outcomes from the Dedicated African American Dad (DAAD) Study. J Urban Health. 2021 Oct;98(Suppl 2):133-148. doi: 10.1007/s11524-021-00549-8. Epub 2021 Jul 1.

  PMID: 34196905 RESULT

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Wrenetha Julion, Professor
• Organization: Rush University College of Nursing

Wrenetha_A_Julion@rush.edu

3129426272

Study Officials

• Wrenetha Julion, PhD

  Rush University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 6, 2015
• First Posted: April 9, 2015
• Study Start: February 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: September 24, 2018
• Study Completion: September 24, 2018
• Last Updated: April 20, 2023
• Results First Posted: April 20, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-04

Locations

US (1)