Using Technology to Engage at-Risk Fathers in Services to Prevent Child Maltreatment

Background & Purpose: Although mothers spend substantially more time caring for children than fathers, fathers and father surrogates are disproportionately represented as perpetrators in the most severe forms of physical child abuse and neglect. Yet, there are few services targeting fathers, and those that do face the challenge of engaging and retaining fathers in services. Technology may help to address this issue. In this study, I build on methodologies from studies using web-based (Feil et al., 2008; Thraen et al., 2008) and cell phone (Bigelow, Carta, & Lefever, 2008) technology with at-risk mothers. I utilize similar methodologies to target at-risk fathers. The presentation will present data from a funded pilot study that has two specific aims: 1) to conduct focus groups with men in Detroit, intended to gauge the extent of their technology use and to develop culturally appropriate parenting messages that focus on specific parenting behaviors, such as spanking; and 2) to examine the logistics of implementing a technology-based intervention platform intended to engage at-risk fathers in existing services. The data collection strategy is qualitative and examines the process of engagement.

Methods: Focus groups are conducted using a semi-structured interview that asks about fathers' perceived norms about the acceptability and utility of various parenting practices, from whom fathers obtain parenting information, the types of parenting services men are aware of, and their attitudes about participating in such services. Two focus groups have been conducted thus far, and several more are scheduled. The technology component of this pilot study (to be implemented summer 2010) will use widely available cell phone technology to deliver parenting messages to at-risk men. Process data will focus on: tracking how responsive men are to text messages (e.g., how quickly they respond to messages, whether text messages increase engagement in existing services), their ratings of the cultural appropriateness of the parenting-focused text messages (developed based on focus group data), and their responsiveness to use of the cell phones to deliver existing video-based intervention curricula. Results: The initial data (n = 25) indicate that although men are willing to engage with questions of parenting and discipline of children, they do not participate in parenting programs. The majority indicate that they use cell phones frequently, suggesting this may be an effective engagement mechanism. In the presentation, I will additionally report on the process data mentioned above, the logistic feasibility and expense of using technology with men, and the use of an innovative incentive structure as another mechanism to increase father engagement.

Implications: The goal of this project is to develop an intervention delivery platform that is flexible enough to meet the needs of at-risk young fathers and to capitalize on widely-used communication technologies to deliver existing intervention curricula, while tailoring messages to individual clients. This project emphasizes the potential for wide dissemination of a less-intensive, client-tailored intervention for the prevention of child maltreatment, rather than traditional approaches, such as parenting programs, already shown in past research to be unattractive to at-risk fathers.