Effects of Relationship-Strengthening Interventions on Parenting Behaviors

Gender Differences

Gender appeared to moderate the effects of the intervention on certain parenting outcomes.

Men in the intervention group showed more positive parenting experiences compared to men in the control group both at four months and at eight months.

Men in the intervention group had less parenting engagement compared to men in the control group at four months only.

Women in the intervention group demonstrated increased parenting engagement compared to women in the control group at eight months.

Most other studies on similar interventions focused on families with predominantly white, wealthy, and adult couples, unlike this study. Because similar intervention effects were observed here, this shows that couple-based interventions for improving parenting should be made more effective and accessible for low-income, young, Black and Latino parents.