Parenting Together Project (PTP)

Couples that just became first-time parents and could use assistance in developing the father's role in parenthood

PTP is an educational intervention for first-time parents that focuses on the development of fathers' knowledge, skills, and commitment to the fatherhood role. The programs goals are to increase mothers' support and expectations for the fathers' involvement; to foster co-parental teamwork in the couple; and to have the couple deal more constructively with contextual factors such as work and cultural expectations. The intervention consists of eight 2-hour sessions that are spread out between the second trimester of pregnancy and five months postpartum.

William J. Doherty, PhD

• Agency/Affiliation: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• Email: bdoherty@umn.edu
• Phone: (612) 625-4752

Publicly available information indicates there is some training available for this program. See contact info.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

"What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section?"

• Doherty, W. J., Erickson, M. F., & LaRossa, R. (2006). An intervention to increase father involvement and skills with infants during the transition to parenthood, Journal of Family Psychology, 20(3), 438–447. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.438

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Participants: 168

  Sample / Population:

  • Age — 18–45 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 16% Multiracial, 3% African American and Asian/Pacific Islander, all others not specified
  • Gender — 50% Male and 50% Female
  • Status —

    Participants were couples recruited from a local health maintenance organization who were from a low-risk community sample.
    

  Location/Institution: University of Minnesota

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to examine whether a group educational intervention [now called the Parenting Together Project (PTP)] during the transition to parenthood can enhance the quality of father-child interaction and increase father involvement for first-time parents. Participants were randomly assigned to either an 8-session treatment (beginning during the second trimester of pregnancy and ending at 5 months postpartum) or to a control group. Measures utilized include Interaction/Accessibility Time Chart, Parent Behavior Rating Scale, and the Parental Responsibility Scale (PRS) at 6 months and 12 months postpartum. Results indicate that the intervention had positive effects on fathers' skills in interacting with their babies and their involvement on work days, but not home days. Limitations included difficulty with attrition and generalizability to child welfare populations due to low-risk sample characteristics.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 7 months after end of intervention (12 months postpartum).

There are currently no references available for Parenting Together Project.