Positive father involvement is critical to the healthy social, emotional, and academic outcomes of children at all stages of development. The purpose of this integrative review was to identify, categorize, and evaluate the potential impact of fatherhood interventions on father and child outcomes. A systematic search of four major research databases yielded 44 studies published between 1988 and 2018 that met study inclusion criteria. The most effective interventions were delivered in the community, with fathers convened in groups. Content focused on promoting positive parenting, co-parenting, and father/child relationships. Consequently, father involvement and child cognitive and socioemotional development were improved. Academic settings were underutilized in the fatherhood interventions in this review. We conclude that in order to optimize healthy child development, school officials must adopt a more inclusive stance toward the involvement of fathers in their children’s education. Future randomized trials of fatherhood interventions delivered within school-based settings are warranted.
AdamsonsK.JohnsonS. K. (2013). An updated and expanded meta-analysis of nonresident fathering and child well-being. Journal of Family Psychology, 27, 589–599.
2.
AshburnK.KernerB.OjamugeD.LundgrenR. (2017). Evaluation of the responsible, engaged, and loving (REAL) fathers initiative on physical child punishment and intimate partner violence in Northern Uganda. Prevention Science, 18, 854–864.
3.
BakerC. E. (2018). When daddy comes to school: Father–school involvement and children’s academic and social–emotional skills. Early Child Development and Care, 188, 208–219.
4.
BakerC. E.KainzK. L.ReynoldsE. R. (2018). Family poverty, family processes and children’s preschool achievement: Understanding the unique role of fathers. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 1242–1251.
5.
BakerC. E.Vernon-FeagansL.Family Life Project Investigators. (2015). Fathers’ language input during shared book activities: Links to children’s kindergarten achievement. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 36, 53–59.
6.
BanduraA. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education & Behavior, 31, 143–164.
7.
BarkerB.IlesJ. E.RamchandaniP. G. (2017). Fathers, fathering and child psychopathology. Current Opinion in Psychology, 15, 87–92.
8.
BarthR. P.ClaycombM.LoomisA. (1988). Services to adolescent fathers. Health & Social Work, 13, 277–287.
9.
BhargavaS.WitherspoonD. P. (2015). Parental involvement across middle and high school: Exploring contributions of individual and neighborhood characteristics. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 1702–1719.
10.
BiermanK. L.WelshJ. A.HeinrichsB. S.NixR. L.MathisE. T. (2015). Helping head start parents promote their children’s kindergarten adjustment: The research based developmentally informed parent program. Child Development, 86, 1877–1891.
11.
BlairI. V.SteinerJ. F.FaircloughD. L.HanrattyR.PriceD. W.HirshH. K.…HavranekE. P. (2013). Clinicians’ implicit ethnic/racial bias and perceptions of care among Black and Latino patients. The Annals of Family Medicine, 11, 43–52.
12.
BlockS.BrownC. A.BarrettiL. M.WalkerE.YudtM.FretzR. (2014). A mixed-method assessment of a parenting program for incarcerated fathers. Journal of Correctional Education, 65, 50.
13.
BunstonW. (2013). ‘What about the fathers?’ Bringing ‘Dads on Board™’ with their infants and toddlers following violence. Journal of Family Studies, 19, 70–79.
14.
CabreraN. J.HofferthS. L.ChaeS. (2011). Patterns and predictors of father–infant engagement across race/ethnic groups. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26, 365–375.
15.
CaldwellC. H.AntonakosC. L.AssariS.KrugerD.De LoneyE. H.NjaiR. (2014). Pathways to prevention: Improving nonresident African American fathers’ parenting skills and behaviors to reduce sons’ aggression. Child Development, 85, 308–325.
16.
CaldwellC. H.RaffertyJ.ReischlT. M.De LoneyE. H.BrooksC. L. (2010). Enhancing parenting skills among nonresident African American fathers as a strategy for preventing youth risky behaviors. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45, 17–35.
17.
CartmillE. A. (2016). Mind the gap: Assessing and addressing the word gap in early education. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 3, 185–193.
18.
ChackoA.FabianoG. A.DoctoroffG. L.FortsonB. (2018). Engaging fathers in effective parenting for preschool children using shared book reading: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 47, 79–93.
19.
CloutierM. M.WileyJ. F.TrappC.HaileJ.GorinA. A. (2018). The childcare center: An untapped opportunity to engage and educate families in healthy behaviors. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 5, 430–438.
20.
ColferS.Turner-UaandjaH.JohnsonL. (2015). Young dads TV: Digital voices of young fathers. Families, Relationships and Societies, 4, 339–345.
21.
ConchaM.VillarM. E.Tafur-SalgadoR.IbanezS.AzevedoL. (2016). Fatherhood education from a cultural perspective: Evolving roles and identities after a fatherhood intervention for Latinos in south Florida. Journal of Latinos and Education, 15, 170–179.
22.
CornilleT. A.BarlowL. O.ClevelandA. D. (2006). DADS family project: An experiential group approach to support fathers in their relationships with their children. Social Work With Groups, 28, 41–57.
23.
CowanC. P.CowanP. A.HemingG. (2005). Two variations of a preventive intervention for couples: Effects on parents and children during the transition to school. In CowanC. P.CowanP. A.AblowJ.JohnsonV. K.MeaselleJ. (Eds.), The family context of parenting in children’s adaptation to elementary school (pp. 277–312). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
24.
CowanP. A.CowanC. P.PruettM. K.PruettK.GilletteP. (2014). Evaluating a couples group to enhance father involvement in low income families using a benchmark comparison. Family Relations, 63, 356–370.
25.
CowanP. A.CowanC. P.PruettM. K.PruettK.WongJ. J. (2009). Promoting fathers’ engagement with children: Preventive interventions for low income families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 663–679.
26.
DeGarmoD. S.JonesJ.RainsL. A. (2018). A pilot study evaluation of Marte Meo for divorced fathers. Journal of Family Therapy, 41, 232–250.
27.
DilorioC.McCartyF.DenzmoreP. (2006). An exploration of social cognitive theory mediators of father–son communication about sex. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 31, 917–927.
28.
DohertyW. J.EricksonM. F.LaRossaR. (2006). An intervention to increase father involvement and skills with infants during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 438.
29.
DownerJ.CamposR.McWayneC.GartnerT. (2008). Father involvement and children’s early learning: A critical review of published empirical work from the past 15 years. Marriage & Family Review, 43, 67–108.
30.
EllisK. R.CaldwellC. H.AssariS.De LoneyE. H. (2014). Nonresident African-American fathers’ influence on sons’ exercise intentions in the fathers and sons program. American Journal of Health Promotion, 29, 89–98.
31.
FaganJ.IglesiasA. (1999). Father involvement program effects on fathers, father figures, and their Head Start children: A quasi-experimental study. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 14, 243–269.
32.
FaganJ.KaufmanR. (2015). Reflections on theory and outcome measures for fatherhood programs. Families in Society, 96, 133–140.
33.
FaganJ.PalmG. (2015). Intervention with fathers. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. Retrieved fromhttp://www.child-encyclopedia.com/
34.
FaganJ.StevensonH. C. (2002). An experimental study of an empowerment-based intervention for African American Head Start fathers. Family Relations, 51, 191–198.
35.
FergusonS.MorleyP. (2011). Improving engagement in the role of father for homeless, noncustodial fathers: A program evaluation. Journal of Poverty, 15, 206–225.
36.
FischerA. H.KretM. E.BroekensJ. (2018). Gender differences in emotion perception and self-reported emotional intelligence: A test of the emotion sensitivity hypothesis. PLoS One, 13, e0190712.
37.
FriedewaldM. (2008). Discussion forums for expectant fathers: The perspectives of male educators. The Journal of Perinatal Education, 17, 10.
38.
GearingR. E.ColvinG.PopovaS.RegehrC. (2008). Re:Membering fatherhood: Evaluating the impact of a group intervention on fathering∗. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 33, 22–42.
39.
GewirtzA. H. (2018). A call for theoretically informed and empirically validated military family interventions. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10, 587–601.
40.
GilletteM. T.GudmunsonC. G. (2014). Processes linking father absence to educational attainment among African American females. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24, 309–321.
41.
GridleyN.BlowerS.DunnA.BywaterT.WhittakerK.BryantM. (2019). Psychometric properties of parent–child (0–5 years) interaction outcome measures as used in randomized controlled trials of parent programs: A systematic review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 22, 253–271.
42.
HarrisonK. (1997). Parental training for incarcerated fathers: Effects on attitudes, self-esteem, and children’s self-perceptions. The Journal of Social Psychology, 137, 588–593.
43.
HoughtonL. J.O’DwyerM.FoweatherL.WatsonP.AlfordS.KnowlesZ. R. (2015). An impact and feasibility evaluation of a six-week (nine hour) active play intervention on fathers’ engagement with their preschool children: A feasibility study. Early Child Development and Care, 185, 244–266.
44.
IcardL. D.DilorioC.FaganJ. S. (2012). Fathers and HIV/AIDS: A missing factor in developing interventions but not in the lives of their children. In PequegnatW.BellC. C. (Eds.), Family and HIV/AIDS (pp. 135–151). New York, NY: Springer.
45.
IsaacsJ. B. (2012). Starting school at a disadvantage: The school readiness of poor children. The Social Genome Project. Washington, DC: Center on Children and Families at Brookings.
46.
JarrettR. L.Coba-RodriguezS. (2017). “We keep the education goin’ at home all the time”: Family literacy in low-income African American families of preschoolers. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), 22, 57–76.
47.
JeynesW. H. (2015). A meta-analysis: The relationship between father involvement and student academic achievement. Urban Education, 50, 387–423.
48.
JeynesW. H. (2016). Meta-analysis on the roles of fathers in parenting: Are they unique?Marriage & Family Review, 52, 665–668.
49.
JulionW. A.BreitensteinS. M.WaddellD. (2012). Fatherhood intervention development in collaboration with African American non‐resident fathers. Research in Nursing & Health, 35, 490–506.
50.
KnoblauchD.ChaseM. A. (2015). Rural, suburban, and urban schools: The impact of school setting on the efficacy beliefs and attributions of student teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 45, 104–114.
51.
LandrethG. L.LobaughA. F. (1998). Filial therapy with incarcerated fathers: Effects on parental acceptance of child, parental stress, and child adjustment. Journal of Counseling & Development, 76, 157–165.
52.
LangstonJ. (2016). Invisible fathers: Exploring an integrated approach to supporting fathers through the Mellow Dads Parenting Programme piloted in a UK prison. Journal of Integrated Care, 24, 176–187.
LucassenN.TharnerA.Van IJzendoornM. H.Bakermans-KranenburgM. J.VollingB. L.VerhulstF. C.TiemeierH. (2011). The association between paternal sensitivity and infant–father attachment security: A meta-analysis of three decades of research. Journal of Family Psychology, 25, 986.
55.
MathwasaJ.OkekeC. I. O. (2016). Barriers educators face in involving fathers in the education of their children at the foundation phase. Social Science Journal, 46, 229–240.
56.
McAllisterF.BurgessA. (2012). Fatherhood: Parenting programs and policy. London, England: Fatherhood Institute.
57.
McBrideB. A. (1991). Parent education and support programs for fathers: Outcome effects on paternal involvement. Early Child Development and Care, 67, 73–85.
58.
McConnellN.BarnardM.TaylorJ. (2017). Caring dads safer children: Families’ perspectives on an intervention for maltreating fathers. Psychology of Violence, 7, 406.
59.
McCruddenE.BraidenH. J.SloanD.McCormackP.TreacyA. (2014). Stealing the smile from my child’s face: A preliminary evaluation of the “being a dad” programme in a Northern Ireland Prison. Child Care in Practice, 20, 301–312.
60.
McLanahanS.TachL.SchneiderD. (2013). The causal effects of father absence. Annual Review of Sociology, 39, 399–427.
61.
MendezJ. L. (2010). How can parents get involved in preschool? Barriers and engagement in education by ethnic minority parents of children attending Head Start.Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16, 26.
62.
MeuwissenA. S.CarlsonS. M. (2018). The role of father parenting in children’s school readiness: A longitudinal follow-up. Journal of Family Psychology, 32, 588.
63.
MorrillM. I.HawrilenkoM.CórdovaJ. V. (2016). A longitudinal examination of positive parenting following an acceptance-based couple intervention. Journal of Family Psychology, 30, 104.
64.
MurrayK. W.Finigan-CarrN.JonesV.Copeland-LinderN.HaynieD. L.ChengT. L. (2014). Barriers and facilitators to school-based parent involvement for parents of urban public middle school students. SAGE Open, 4, 2158244014558030.
NeumannL.CombeL.LambertP.BartholomewK.MorganS.BoboN. (2017). Whole school, whole community, whole child: Implications for 21st Century School Nurses. Position Statement. Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Nurses.
Panter-BrickC.BurgessA.EggermanM.McAllisterF.PruettK.LeckmanJ. F. (2014). Practitioner review: Engaging fathers–recommendations for a game change in parenting interventions based on a systematic review of the global evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55, 1187–1212.
69.
PerryA. R. (2011). Man up: Integrating fatherhood and community engagement. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 4, 15–24.
70.
PowellD. R.SonS. H.FileN.San JuanR. R. (2010). Parent–school relationships and children’s academic and social outcomes in public school pre-kindergarten. Journal of School Psychology, 48, 269–292.
71.
PruettM. K.InsabellaG. M.GustafsonK. (2005). The Collaborative Divorce Project: A court-based intervention for separating parents with young children. Family Court Review, 43, 38–51.
72.
ReynoldsR. E.HowardT. C.JonesT. K. (2015). Is this what educators really want? Transforming the discourse on Black fathers and their participation in schools. Race Ethnicity and Education, 18, 89–107.
73.
RienksS. L.WadsworthM. E.MarkmanH. J.EinhornL.Moran EtterE. (2011). Father involvement in urban low-income fathers: Baseline associations and changes resulting from preventive intervention. Family Relations, 60, 191–204.
74.
RobbersM. L. (2009). Facilitating fatherhood: A longitudinal examination of father involvement among young minority fathers. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 26, 121–134.
75.
SandlerI.GunnH.MazzaG.TeinJ. Y.WolchikS.BerkelC.…PorterM. (2018). Effects of a program to promote high quality parenting by divorced and separated fathers. Prevention Science, 19, 538–548.
76.
SchoemakerN. K.JagersmaG.StoltenborghM.MarasA.VermeerH. J.JufferF.AlinkL. R. (2018). The effectiveness of Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting for Foster Care (VIPP-FC): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychology, 6, 38.
Self-BrownS.Cowart-OsborneM.BakerE.ThomasA.BoydC.JrChegeE.…LutzkerJ. (2015). Dad2K: An adaptation of SafeCare to enhance positive parenting skills with at-risk fathers. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 37, 138–155.
79.
Self-BrownS.OsborneM. C.LaiB. S.BrownN. D. V.GlasheenT. L.AdamsM. C. (2017). Initial findings from a feasibility trial examining the SafeCare Dad to Kids Program with marginalized fathers. Journal of Family Violence, 32, 751–766.
80.
SiuG. E.WightD.SeeleyJ.NamutebiC.SekiwungaR.ZalwangoF.KasuleS. (2017). Men’s involvement in a parenting programme to reduce child maltreatment and gender-based violence: Formative evaluation in Uganda. The European Journal of Development Research, 29, 1017–1037.
81.
SkarA. M. S.von TetzchnerS.ClucasC.SherrL. (2014). Paradoxical correlates of a facilitative parenting programme in prison—counter-productive intervention or first signs of responsible parenthood?Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 15, 35–54.
82.
SmithT. K.TandonS. D.Bair-MerrittM. H.HansonJ. L. (2015). Parenting needs of urban, African American fathers. American Journal of Men’s Health, 9, 317–331.
83.
TellegenC. L.JohnstonE. (2017). A service-based evaluation of the effectiveness of an all-day group parenting program. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26, 664–673.
84.
VarelaN.MunozP.TessierR.PlataS.CharpakN. (2014). Indian fathers and their premature baby—An early beginning: A pilot study of skin-to-skin contact, culture and fatherhood. Fathering: A Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice about Men as Fathers, 12, 211–217.
85.
WatermanE. A.LefkowitzE. S. (2017). Are mothers’ and fathers’ parenting characteristics associated with emerging adults’ academic engagement?Journal of Family Issues, 38, 1239–1261.
86.
WellsM. B. (2017). Is all support equal? Head Start preschool teachers’ psychological job attitudes. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 103–115.
87.
WhittemoreR.KnaflK. (2005). The integrative review: Updated methodology. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 52, 546–553.
88.
WhyteD. (2017). Non-resident fathers: A literature review of factors influencing their World. Journal of Social Care, 1, 5.
89.
WilczakG. L.MarkstromC. A. (1999). The effects of parent education on parental locus of control and satisfaction of incarcerated fathers. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 43, 90–102.
90.
WillgerodtM. A.BrockD. M.MaughanE. D. (2018). Public school nursing practice in the United States. The Journal of School Nursing, 34, 232–244.
91.
WilsonK. R.HavighurstS. S.HarleyA. E. (2014). Dads tuning in to kids: Piloting a new parenting program targeting fathers’ emotion coaching skills. Journal of Community Psychology, 42, 162–168.
92.
WilsonK. R.HavighurstS. S.KehoeC.HarleyA. E. (2016). Dads tuning in to kids: Preliminary evaluation of a fathers’ parenting program. Family Relations, 65, 535–549.
93.
WoodR. G.MooreQ.ClarkwestA.KillewaldA. (2014). The long-term effects of building strong families: A program for unmarried parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76, 446–463.
94.
ZempM.MilekA.CummingsE. M.CinaA.BodenmannG. (2016). How couple-and parenting-focused programs affect child behavioral problems: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 798–810.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
