BC Council for Families

Few father engagement programs have been systematically evaluated to figure out what it is that makes them effective. A group of researchers conducted the study "Promoting Fathers' Engagement With Children: Preventive Interventions for Low-Income Families" out of the University of California, Berkeley to do just this. They compared a fathers’ group, couples’ group and one-to-one parenting support.

Their literature review revealed that fathers are more likely to be engaged positively with their young children when:

• They have few symptoms of poor mental health.
• Are securely attached to their own parents.
• Communicate effectively with the child’s mother.
• Are under less external life stress.
• Have more social support.

Previous research has also shown that the single most powerful predictor of fathers’ engagement with their children is the quality of the mother and father’s relationship. In the current study, participants in couples' groups showed more consistent, lasting benefits, in terms of relationship satisfaction and declines in parenting stress. This all suggests that involving mothers in fathering programs can make overall quality of life better for fathers who will then, inevitably, focus on their children. The study was published in the Journal of Marriage and Family in July 2009.

Read the full study here: