Fathering dynamics: Linking depressive symptomology, parenting stress, and paternal warmth with beliefs in paternal role.

Research has established the impact of paternal depression on fathering behaviors and child outcomes. Despite this, less is known about the mechanisms linking paternal depressive symptomology to paternal warmth, particularly regarding the role of parenting stress and beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role. The aim of this study was to examine factors potentially associated with paternal warmth. Specifically, we explored the association between paternal depressive symptomology and paternal warmth, examining the mediating role of paternal parenting stress in this association. Moreover, we tested the moderated role of beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role in the association between paternal parenting stress and paternal warmth. We utilized a subsample of fathers (n = 756; Mage = 34.3) with young children from the Survey of Contemporary Fatherhood study. Moderated mediation analysis was performed to test the association between paternal depressive symptomology, parenting stress, paternal warmth, and beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role among fathers. Results indicate a significant association between higher paternal depressive symptomology and increased parenting stress, which, in turn, was associated with reduced paternal warmth. Furthermore, positive beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role buffered the association between parenting stress and paternal warmth. These findings underscore the importance of considering parenting stress and fathering beliefs in psychosocial intervention programs aimed at improving fathering behaviors. Targeting fathers with mental health problems and negative parenting beliefs in intervention approaches may yield the most significant benefits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Association of Moral Injury and Healthcare Clinicians' Wellbeing: A Systematic Review.

Research focused on elucidating moral injury amongst healthcare workers (HCWs) is essential due to the deep connection with morality and individuals' overall wellbeing. Examining moral injury provides an avenue through which researchers can connect individual experiences with systemic level causes (i.e., structural power imbalances between clinicians and health systems) to better study workplace wellbeing. The omnipresence of the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need to study moral injury. This paper describes a systematic review conducted using PRISMA-P guidelines to answer the question, "what is the association between moral injury and professional wellbeing and mental health amongst healthcare workers." Twelve databases were searched to identify specified studies. This study's criteria included: (1) articles published through December 2022; (2) qualitative and quantitative empirical studies; (3) articles written in English; (4) articles including moral injury; and (5) articles including at minimum one other measure of professional or personal wellbeing. The initial search produced 248 articles, and 18 articles were ultimately included in the final review. To confirm that no articles were left out of this study, the first author of each included article was contacted to inquire about any additional works that met the inclusion criteria of this study. The elements of the 18 included articles described in this review are discussed. The results indicate that moral injury is associated with both professional wellbeing factors and mental health outcomes. Further theoretical development, including (professional- and identity-based) exploratory research on moral injury, and evidenced-based interventions for moral injury are needed.

Engaging fathers to strengthen the impact of early home visitation on physical child abuse risk: Findings from the dads matter-HV randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Despite growing recognition of the importance of fathers in child abuse risk, the field of perinatal home visitation has only begun to consider fathers' roles in the implementation of such services. OBJECTIVES: This study examines the effectiveness of Dads Matter-HV ("DM-HV"), a father-inclusion enhancement to home visitation, and hypothesized mediators of impact. METHODS: A multisite cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted with 17 home visiting program teams serving 204 families across study conditions. Program supervisors and their teams were randomized to deliver home visiting services plus DM-HV enhanced services (intervention) or home visiting services alone (control). Data were collected at three time points: baseline, 4 months post-baseline immediately following the intervention, and 12 months post-baseline. We employed structural equation modeling to estimate the effect of the intervention on physical child abuse risk and to trace hypothesized mediators, including the quality of the father-worker relationship, parents' partner support and abuse, and the timing of service initiation. RESULTS: Results indicated that the DM-HV enhancement improved home visitor relationships with fathers, but only for families receiving services initiated postnatally. For these families, the improved quality of the father-worker relationship predicted improved parents' support of one another and reduced bidirectional mother-father partner abuse at 4-month follow-up, which in turn lowered maternal physical child abuse risk and paternal physical child abuse risk at 12-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: DM-HV can strengthen the impact of home visitation services on physical child abuse risk for families when services are initiated postnatally.

The Effect of Dads Matter-HV on Father Engagement in Home Visiting Services.

Engaging fathers early in child and family services has the potential to promote positive father contributions towards positive child development, improve family well-being, and enhance service outcomes over time. However, low father engagement in child and family services remains a persistent problem, and few interventions designed to improve father engagement in these services have been rigorously tested. The current study assesses the effect of a service enhancement intervention called Dads Matter-Home Visiting (Dads Matter-HV) on biological father engagement in home visiting services when compared to home visiting services delivered as usual. To assess the efficacy of the Dads Matter-HV intervention, the research team used a stratified cluster randomized clinical trial design with five agencies delivering early home visiting service programs. Seventeen teams across the five agencies were randomly assigned to either the control group condition (i.e., standard home visiting services as usual) or the intervention condition (i.e., Dads Matter-HV). Data were collected from a total of 204 families at baseline, 4 months postbaseline (92% retention rate), and 12 months postbaseline (84% retention rate). The results suggest that Dads Matter-HV increases biological father engagement for fathers who begin services in the postnatal period, but reduces engagement when services are initiated prenatally. Findings suggest some pathways through which the intervention effects engagement.

Just Research: Advancing Antiracist and Antioppressive Social Work Research.

The Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) created its Research Capacity and Development Committee in 2017 to build research capacity across the careers of social work scholars. The committee has initiated multiple conferences and webinar sessions that have increasingly focused on antiracist and antioppressive (ARAO) research, including "Mentorship for Antiracist and Inclusive Research" and "Strategies for Supporting Antiracist Pedagogy & Scholarship: Reimagining Institutional Systems & Structures." This commentary integrates themes from these sessions and other discussions among committee members about strategies to advance ARAO research. Although SSWR board members reviewed and approved this submission, it is not an official statement of SSWR or its board of directors.

Father Involvement and Behavior Problems among Preadolescents at Risk of Maltreatment.

Although there is a well-established connection between father involvement and children's positive behavioral development in general, this relation has been understudied in more vulnerable and high-risk populations. The aims of this study were to examine how the quantity (i.e., the amount of shared activities) and quality (i.e., perceived quality of the father-child relationship) of father involvement are differently related to internalizing and externalizing behavior problems among preadolescents at risk of maltreatment and test if these associations are moderated by father type and child maltreatment. A secondary data analysis was conducted using data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Generalized estimating equations analysis was performed on a sample of 499 preadolescents aged 12 years. The results indicated that higher quality of father involvement was associated with lower levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems whereas greater quantity of father involvement was associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The positive association between the quantity of father involvement and behavior problems was stronger in adolescents who were physically abused by their father. The association between father involvement and behavior problems did not differ by the type of father co-residing in the home. The findings suggest that policies and interventions aimed at improving the quality of fathers' relationships and involvement with their children may be helpful in reducing behavior problems in adolescents at risk of maltreatment.

Promoting father involvement in early home visiting services for vulnerable families: Findings from a pilot study of "Dads matter".

Despite mounting evidence on the importance of fathers in children's development, evidence-based perinatal home visitation programs have largely overlooked fathers in the design and delivery of services. This paper describes the design, development, and pilot testing of the "Dads Matter" enhancement to standard home visiting services. Dads Matter is a manualized intervention package designed to fully incorporate fathers into perinatal home visiting services. Twenty-four families were enrolled in a pilot study to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of the intervention. Using a quasi-experimental time-lagged design, 12 families received standard home visiting services and completed baseline and four-month post-tests. Home visitor staff were then trained and supervised to implement the Dads Matter enhancement in addition to standard services. Twelve additional families were then enrolled and completed baseline and four-month post-tests. Implementation data indicated that Dads Matter was implemented as planned. Cohen's d scores on outcome measures indicate positive trends associated with Dads Matter in the quality of the mother-father relationship, perceived stress reported by both parents, fathers' involvement with the child, maltreatment indicators, and fathers' verbalizations toward the infant. Effect sizes generally ranged from moderate to large in magnitude and were larger than overall effect sizes of home visitation services alone reported in prior meta-analyses. Dads Matter appears to be a feasible, acceptable, and promising approach to improving fathers' engagement in home visiting services and promoting family and child well-being.

Implementing evidence-based practice: practitioner assessment of an agency-based training program.

Responding to the call for evidence-based practice (EBP) in social work, the authors conducted a multiphase exploratory study to test the acceptability of a training-based collaborative agency-university partnership strategy supporting EBP. The Bringing Evidence for Social Work Training (BEST) study includes an agency training component consisting of 10 modules designed to support the implementation of EBP in social agencies. Qualitative data from post-training participant focus groups were analyzed in order to describe practitioner perceptions of the 10 training modules and trainer experiences of implementation. Based on the findings from this study the authors suggest that the BEST training was generally acceptable to agency team members, but not sufficient to sustain the use of EBP in practice.

The influence of stress and social support on depressive symptoms in mothers with young children.

Limited research has examined the associations of stress, social support, and depression among mothers with young children over time. Longitudinal studies are needed to identify risk and protective factors for maternal depression given that depression can be cyclical and may affect women through the early years of their children's development. This study examined the relationships among stress, social support, and depressive symptoms in a national sample of low-income urban American women with young children. A secondary data analysis of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national longitudinal panel study of nearly 5000 births across 20 cities with populations of 200,000 or more in the United States, was conducted. The analytic sample included all mothers (N = 3675) who completed assessments at baseline through year 5 of the study between 1998 and 2005. Multivariate models using generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the probability of being depressed as a function of stress-related risk factors, social support factors, and sociodemographic variables. The rate of depression each year ranged from 15% to 21%. The results suggest that stress related to economic hardship, parenting, and poor physical health increases the risk of depression among low-income urban mothers with young children. Instrumental and partner support were found to be potential protective factors in reducing the negative effects of stress, but only to a certain degree. Future efforts are needed to strengthen social support and mitigate chronic stressors that contribute to mental health problems in low-income communities.

Paternal depression and risk for child neglect in father-involved families of young children.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of paternal depression with risk for parental neglect of young children. STUDY DESIGN: The sample was derived from a birth cohort study of 1,089 families in which both biological parents resided in the home when the target child was 3- and 5-years old. Prospective analyses examined the contribution of paternal and maternal parenting risks (e.g., depression, alcohol use, and parenting stress) to the incidence of neglect of the target child. Models accounted for a comprehensive set of factors associated with parental child neglect in 2-parent families, including quality of the parental relationship, household economic conditions, and paternal demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Approximately 12% of families reported at least 1 instance of neglect; 10% of fathers were depressed when their child was 3-years old. Rates of paternal and maternal depression were twice as high in families in which child neglect was present. Paternal depression when a child was 3-years old was associated with increased odds of child neglect at age 5 [adjusted odds ratio: 1.94 (95% confidence interval: 1.18-3.19); P<.01]. Father-related risks for neglect remained statistically significant after accounting for strong, significant effects of maternal parenting risks, including maternal depression, and household economic hardship. Paternal parenting stress was also associated with heightened risk for neglect, although only at the level of marginal significance after accounting for maternal parenting risks [adjusted odds ratio: 1.40 (95% confidence interval: 0.97-2.04); P=.075]. CONCLUSIONS: Screening fathers for parenting risks such as depression during well-baby visits and social work intervention to facilitate fathers' help-seeking behaviors related to treatment of depression may help to prevent and reduce risk of neglect.

A national study of the impact of outpatient mental health services for children in long-term foster care.

Despite the tremendous mental health need evidenced by children in foster care and high rates of use of mental health services among children in foster care, little is known about the impact of outpatient mental health services on the behavioral health of this population. This study utilizes data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW), the first nationally representative study of child welfare in the United States. A subsample of 439 children who have experienced long-term foster care were included in this study. These data were used to estimate the impact of outpatient mental health services on the externalizing and internalizing behavior problems of children in long-term foster care. A propensity score matching model was employed to produce a robust estimate of the treatment effect. Results indicate that children who have experienced long-term foster care do not benefit from the receipt of outpatient mental health services. Study results are discussed in the context of earlier research on the quality of mental health services for children in foster care.

Fathers, physical child abuse, and neglect: advancing the knowledge base.

Fathers are overrepresented as perpetrators of physical child maltreatment, particularly in its most severe forms. Despite this, the research literature continues to lack specificity regarding the role fathers play in risk for physical child abuse or neglect (PCAN). Furthermore, although fathers have received more attention with respect to child sexual abuse and its treatment, their influence has been largely disregarded in many intervention efforts to reduce PCAN. Inadequate attention to the role of fathers, both in research and practice, has numerous problematic implications for the prevention of child maltreatment. The goal of this special issue is to disseminate new research that examines fathers' roles by focusing on multiple fathering factors that may directly and indirectly shape both maternal and paternal risk of engaging in PCAN. In the introduction to the special issue, we highlight key questions in the research literature and present our perspective on how the articles included in this special issue address some of these gaps.

A national study of male involvement among families in contact with the child welfare system.

Few studies inform the frequency and type of adult male involvement in families in contact with child welfare, and even fewer explore how male involvement relates to child welfare outcomes. This study employed data from a sample of 3,978 families in contact with the U.S. child welfare system, drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being. The nature of male involvement in these families and its relationship to (a) caseworkers' perception of children's risk for maltreatment rereport and (b) entry into out-of-home care were explored. Results indicate that most caregivers report male involvement, distinct types of male involvement are related to the likelihood of out-of-home care, and households that include nonparental adult males are perceived by caseworkers as relatively risky. No male involvement indicator tested, however, was related to maltreatment rereport. Implications include the need to appropriately assess, include, and engage adult male family members across diverse family systems.

The State of Parent Training: Program Offerings and Empirical Support.

Parent training programs, with a range of empirical support, are available to improve parenting skills and reduce child behavior problems. Yet, little is known about programs provided in typical communities. This pilot study's purpose was to identify and describe parent programs-and the agencies that provide them-in one midsized midwestern city. The sample included 21 program directors and 25 practitioners employed by 19 agencies. data were gathered using structured phone interviews. of the 35 programs represented, 37.1% were developed by the agency, while close to two thirds were previously developed interventions. only a small number of the parent programs identified were classified into the category of strong empirical support; however, several included hallmarks often associated with empirically supported parent programs.

Accelerating Research Productivity in Social Work Programs: Perspectives on NIH's Postdoctoral T32 Research Training Mechanism.

This article describes the experiences of four social work researchers who pursued an alternative career path immediately following their doctorate in social work by accepting a postdoctoral training fellowship funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As schools of social work look for creative ways to build research capacity, this article describes the authors' perspectives regarding the considerations to accept postdocs, key elements in their training programs, lessons learned, and outcomes from training. To provide an overview of the funding mechanism and distribution of funds to institutes and centers relevant to social work, data were obtained from databases that list NIH training grants awarded each year. Study results showed a limited amount of variation in fellows' training plans. The majority of training time was spent building skill in manuscript preparation, grant development, and socialization to the NIH culture. Above all other themes, the desire for advanced research training was a critically important factor in accepting a postdoctoral training position. Finally, the outcomes of training may have a profound effect on professional development, yet the long-term trajectory of postdoctoral fellows in academic positions as compared with people without postdoctoral training in social work programs requires further study.

The Current State of Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work: A Review of the Literature and Qualitative Analysis of Expert Interviews.

While there is recent movement toward Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in social work, criticisms subsist regarding the profession's translation of research into viable practices. Evidence describing effective interventions exists, but research that addresses dissemination and implementation is generally lacking. This paper highlights existing literature on dissemination and explores the barriers, themes, and trends in EBP through eight expert interviews. The interviews reflect the issues described in the literature and provide additional insight to the process of implementation and dissemination of EBP. Findings from the literature and interviews are synthesized into research and practice recommendations.While there is a call for Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in social work and mental health services, there have also been a number of criticisms about the implementation of research findings into viable methods of practice. These barriers range from the egregious lag-time between research development to dissemination of evidence to practice settings to a veritable lack of support and training for community practitioners. There is a growing body of evidence describing effective interventions, but there is not a substantial body of work addressing the dissemination of these programs and other research findings for use in the field. This paper highlights some of the work around dissemination of EBPs in the field of social work with an emphasis on mental health services including an overview of the barriers to the use of evidence in practice and proposed models of conceptualization and implementation of EBP. To further highlight the current barriers, themes, and trends in EBP eight experts in the field of EBP were interviewed. The goal of the interviews was to survey the opinions of expert researchers in the area of EBP to supplement knowledge described in the literature. The experts' responses reflected many of the same issues described in the literature as well as additional information regarding their efforts toward determining the most viable options to address the barriers to implementing and disseminating EBP. Findings from the literature review and interviews are synthesized into recommendations for future research and practice efforts.