Predictors and Benefits of Fathers’ Parenting Program Attendance: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials

Background Parenting programs are widely used to reduce disruptive child behaviour. However, they are mainly attended by mothers and there is limited understanding of when fathers attend and whether this yields greater benefits for children with disruptive behaviour. We aimed to identify predictors and effects associated with fathers’ attendance. Methods We pooled individual participant data from 785 families randomised to the Incredible Years parenting program across 10 European randomised trials. We examined child age and gender, family income, household unemployment, and baseline levels of disruptive child behaviour as predictors of father attendance. We compared intervention effects on mother-reported disruptive child behaviour for families with mother-only vs. mother- and father attendance, using generalised estimating equations. Results We found that fathers in families with younger children odds ratio (OR = 0.94; 95% CI 0.89, 0.9995; p = 0.048), and in families with more severe disruptive child behaviour OR = 1.06, 95% CI 1.02, 1.10; p = 0.003) were more likely to attend parenting programs. However, for children where fathers attended in addition to mothers, we did not find evidence for additional intervention benefits according to mother report. Conclusion The identified predictors of father attendance in parenting programs may help to inform their development in ways that better support the inclusion of fathers. Also, research designs tailored to disaggregate co-parenting effects are needed to explore the nature and extent of the association between father attendance and intervention effects.