Fatherhood Programs to Improve Father and Family Functioning and Economic Stability: A Core Components Meta‐Analysis

Objective The aim of this meta‐analysis is to identify the components of fatherhood programs associated with improved father and family functioning and economic stability. Background Fatherhood programs—which seek to strengthen fathers' parenting, healthy relationships, and economic stability outcomes—have demonstrated mixed effects in previous research. However, there is variation across studies in the size and significance of effects. Furthermore, little is known about whether some features of programs are related to larger impacts. Understanding those features can help identify how best to strengthen fatherhood programs so that they yield larger positive and more consistent impacts for fathers and their families. Methods The current study reports on a meta‐analytic core components analysis of fatherhood programs. We estimate the strength of the relationship of each core component with program impacts in two broad outcome domains (father and family functioning; economic stability). Results Estimated impacts are larger from programs that provided opportunities for program operators to work one‐on‐one with individual families, couples, or fathers. Results also demonstrated the benefits of targeting program content to the outcomes of interest. Implications Implications for future testing of these components and adapting these components for specific settings and types of participants in fatherhood programs are discussed.