If We Build It,They Will Come: Exploring Policy and Practice Implications of Public Support for Couple and Relationship Education for Lower Income and Relationally Distressed Couples

Over the past decade, public funding for Couple and Relationship Education programs has expanded. As program administrators have been able to extend their reach to low‐income individuals and couples using this support, it has become apparent that greater numbers of relationally distressed couples are attending classes than previously anticipated. Because psychoeducational programs for couples have traditionally served less distressed couples, this dynamic highlights the need to examine the policy and practice implications of more distressed couples accessing these services. This paper reviews some of the most immediate issues, including screening for domestic violence and couple needs, pedagogical considerations, and the potential integration of therapy and education services. We also make suggestions for future research that can inform policy and practice efforts.     

More than One Way to Get There: Pathways of Change in Coparenting Conflict after a Preventive Intervention

This study explored pathways of change in the levels of conflict couples experienced after Supporting Father Involvement, an evidence‐based, prevention‐oriented couples and parenting intervention that included a diverse low‐income and working class group of participants. Pathways of change were examined for couples with baseline conflict scores that were initially low, medium, and high. The growth mixture model analysis found that the best‐fitting model for change in couples' conflict was represented by three distinctly different change patterns. The intervention was most successful for High‐Conflict couples. This finding contributes to a growing literature examining variations in how relationships change over time and the process of change, especially for couples in distress. This study supports further investigation into the impact and costs associated with universal interventions versus those that target specific groups of higher risk families.     

Reproductive justice and support for young fathers

The current article addresses the interests and contributions of fathers to child development and well-being within a reproductive and social justice framework. We present an overview of research on the role of fathers in the lives of children from the prenatal period through early childhood, with an emphasis on fathers as partners and caregivers in promoting the reproductive health and safety of women and the healthy development of young children. We explore especially the challenges of young, at-risk fathers as well as system and practice opportunities that support their contributions as partners and parents. Our goal of the article is to extend the discourse on reproductive and social justice to include the shared responsibility of all parents and facilitate circumstances whereby children experience the support needed to become nurturing caregivers for the next generation.     

Effectiveness of the ‘Hold me Tight’ Relationship Enhancement Program in a Self‐referred and a Clinician‐referred Sample: An Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy‐Based Approach

While evidence‐based couple therapies are available, only a minority of troubled couples seek help and they often do this too late. To reach more couples earlier, the couple relationship education (CRE) group program “Hold me Tight” (HmT) based on Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) was developed. This study is the first to examine the effectiveness of HmT. Using a three‐wave (waiting period, treatment, and follow‐up) within‐subject design, HmT was delivered to 79 self‐referred couples and 50 clinician‐referred couples. We applied a comprehensive outcome measure battery. Our main findings were that (1) self‐referred couples significantly improved during HmT on all measures, that is relationship satisfaction, security of partner‐bond, forgiveness, daily coordination, maintenance behavior, and psychological complaints, with a moderate‐to‐large mean effect size (d = .63), which was maintained (d = .57) during the 3.5 month follow‐up; (2) in clinician‐referred couples, who were vulnerable in terms of insecure attachment status and psychopathology, the improvement during HmT was moderate (d = .42), but this was reduced during the 3.5‐month follow‐up to a small effect (d = .22); (3) emotional functioning (typical HmT target) as well as behavioral functioning (typical Behavioral Couples Therapy‐based CRE target) improved during HmT; and (4) individual psychological complaints, although not specifically targeted, were reduced during HmT. These findings suggest that HmT is a promising intervention for enhancement of relationship functioning. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Predictors of Involvement and Warmth of Custodial Fathers in Israel: Comparison with Married and Noncustodial Divorced Fathers

This study compared the levels and predictors of paternal warmth and involvement of 218 custodial fathers to 222 married fathers and 105 noncustodial (NC) divorced fathers in Israel. The examined predictors were fathers' perceptions of their own fathers; their own caregiving behaviors and parental self‐efficacy; and child characteristics and coparental coordination. Results indicated that being a custodial father was associated with more involvement than being a married or NC divorced father. Regression analyses revealed that experience of care with own father predicted fathers' involvement, whereas own father control was related to lower paternal warmth. Lower avoidant caregiving and high paternal self‐efficacy predicted both paternal involvement and warmth, whereas perceiving the child as more difficult predicted lower paternal warmth. Higher levels of coparental coordination were associated with more paternal involvement, whereas low coparental coordination was associated with less involvement, primarily among NC divorced fathers. These interactions highlight the distinct paternal behavior of custodial fathers. Unlike married and NC divorced fathers, they showed more warmth, regardless of their avoidant caregiving. Results are discussed in light of the different roles played by fathers in the three groups.     

Enhancing parental reflective functioning through early dyadic interventions: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is an important predictor of infant attachment, and interventions that target parent–infant/toddler dyads who are experiencing significant problems have the potential to improve PRF. A range of dyadic interventions have been developed over the past two decades, some of which explicitly target PRF as part of their theory of change, and some that do not explicitly target PRF, but that have measured it as an outcome. However, no meta‐analytic review of the impact of these interventions has been carried out to date. The aim of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of dyadic interventions targeting parents of infant and toddlers, in improving PRF and a number of secondary outcomes. A systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted in which key electronic databases were searched up to October 2018. Eligible studies were identified and data extracted. Data were synthesised using meta‐analysis and expressed as both effect sizes and risk ratios. Six studies were identified providing a total of 521 participants. The results of six meta‐analyses showed a nonsignificant moderate improvement in PRF in the intervention group (standardised mean difference [SMD]: –0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] [–0.97, 0.04]) and a significant reduction in disorganised attachment (risk ratio: 0.50; 95% CI [0.27, 0.90]). There was no evidence for intervention effects on attachment security (odds ratio: 0.71; 95% CI [0.19, 2.64]), parent–infant interaction (SMD: –0.10; 95% CI [–0.46, 0.26]), parental depression (SMD: –1.55; 95% CI [–3.74, 0.64]) or parental global distress (SMD: –0.19, 95% CI [–3.04, 22.65]). There were insufficient data to conduct subgroup analysis (i.e. to compare the effectiveness of mentalisation‐based treatment with non‐mentalization‐based treatment interventions). Relational early interventions may have important benefits in improving PRF and reducing the prevalence of attachment disorganisation. The implications for future research are discussed.