Young Parenthood Program (YPP)

Adolescents and/or transition-age youth/young adults in the child welfare system who are pregnant or are parenting young children

The Young Parenthood Program (YPP) is a brief program (12-14 sessions), initiated prior to childbirth when both parents are more willing and able to participate in co-parent counseling. The program is intended to teach the young couple a basic set of interpersonal communication and problem-solving skills to provide a foundation for a co-parenting model for raising their child.

Paul Florsheim, PhD

• Website: https://uwm.edu/publichealth/directory/florsheim-paul/
• Email: paulf@uwm.edu
• Phone: (414) 227-4490

Manual Information

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

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

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

• Florsheim, P., McArthur, L., Hudak, C., Heavin, S., & Burrow-Sanchez, J. (2011). The young parenthood program: Preventing intimate partner violence between adolescent mothers and young fathers. Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, 10(2), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332691.2011.562823

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Participants: 105 couples

  Sample / Population:

  • Age — Mothers: Mean=16.1 years; Fathers: Mean=18.3 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 45% Latino, 42% White, and 13% Other
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status —

    Participants were pregnant adolescents and the biological fathers of their children who were recruited through prenatal clinics and schools for pregnant adolescents.

  Location/Institution: A medium-sized city in a Western state

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to test the Young Parenthood Program (YPP), a coparenting counseling program designed to support positive communication and prevent the occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among pregnant adolescents and their biological partners. Participants were randomly assigned to YPP or treatment as usual. Measures utilized include the Drug Use Index (DUI) and a semistructured interview that focused on a number of issues, including relationship conflict and physical aggression. Results indicate that couples randomly assigned to the YPP were significantly less likely to have engaged in IPV at the first follow-up compared to couples in the “treatment as usual” control group, but the strength of this finding diminished over time. Limitations include the lack of psychometrics for measurements; a small sample size; lack of systematically collected data on process variables that could help determine whether specific therapeutic strategies or techniques were particularly effective; the focus on couples and insistence on including biological partners systematically excluded pregnant adolescents whose partner was uninvolved or uninterested, which limits the generalizability of the findings; and the open-ended approach to assessing IPV was somewhat imprecise.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None

• Florsheim, P., Burrow-Sánchez, J. J., Minami, T., McArthur, L., Heavin, S., & Hudak, C. (2012). Y Young Parenthood Program: Supporting positive parental engagement through coparenting counseling. American Journal of Public Health, 102(10), 1886–1892.  https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300902

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Participants: 105 couples

  Sample / Population:

  • Age — YPP Group: Male: Mean=18.4 years, Female: Mean=16.6 years; Control Group: Male: Mean=18.7 years, Female: Mean=16.4 years; Noncompleters: Male: Mean=18.7 years, Female: Mean=16.4 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — 45% Latino, 43% White, and 12% Other
  • Gender — Not specified
  • Status —

    Participants were pregnant adolescents and the biological fathers of their children who were recruited through prenatal clinics and schools for pregnant adolescents.

  Location/Institution: A medium-sized city in a Western state

  Summary:

  The study used the same sample as Florsheim, et al. (2011). The purpose of the study was to test the efficacy of the Young Parenthood Program (YPP), a 10-week counseling program administered during pregnancy and designed to facilitate interpersonal skill development and positive parenting among adolescent parents. Participants were randomly assigned to YPP or treatment as usual. Measures utilized include the Capacity for Interpersonal Bonding (CIB) interview, the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI), nine items from the Parenting Behavior Checklist (PBC), and the Quality of Relationship Inventory (QRI). Results indicate that fathers completing YPP demonstrated more positive parenting than did fathers in the control group. Moreover, the positive outcomes in paternal functioning were mediated through changes in the mother’s interpersonal skill development. Limitations include the lack of psychometrics for some measurements, a small sample size, and the study relying solely on self-report methods.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None

There are currently no references available for Young Parenthood Program.