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Dads Tuning In to Kids: Preliminary Evaluation of a Fathers' Parenting Program
Author(s) -
Wilson Katherine R.,
Havighurst Sophie S.,
Kehoe Christiane,
Harley Ann E.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
family relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1741-3729
pISSN - 0197-6664
DOI - 10.1111/fare.12216
Subject(s) - empathy , psychology , intervention (counseling) , socialization , developmental psychology , positive parenting , parenting skills , clinical psychology , randomized controlled trial , parent training , social psychology , medicine , psychiatry , surgery
We investigated outcomes of Dads Tuning In to Kids, a new seven‐session group program targeting paternal emotion‐socialization practices, which are related to children's social and emotional functioning. In a randomized control trial with 162 fathers of children between 3 and 6 years of age, intervention fathers ( n = 87) and waitlist control fathers ( n = 75) completed questionnaires at baseline (pre‐program) and 10 weeks later (post‐program). Compared to control fathers, intervention fathers statistically increased in empathy, encouragement of emotion expression, and parenting efficacy, and decreased in emotion‐dismissing beliefs, dismissive reactions to children's negative emotions, and hostile parenting responses. They also reported improved child behavior. These findings offer preliminary support for this program for fathers.