Randomized Controlled Trial of a Prenatal Focused Coparenting Consultation for Unmarried African American Families: One-Year Infant and Family Outcomes

Despite a nonmarital birth rate of 70% for non-Hispanic Black women in the United States, there is a dearth of research on culturally grounded coparenting interventions for unmarried Black families with infants. Accordingly, this randomized controlled trial investigated one-year post-partum child and family outcomes of a novel modest dosage (6 session) Focused Coparenting Consultation (FCC) offered prenatally. One-hundred-thirty-eight families led by unmarried Black coparents were randomized to an intervention (N=70) or Treatment-As-Usual (TAU; control) condition (N=68). TAU families received navigational support in accessing existing community services for pregnant and parenting families. Intervention families also received TAU along with 6 dyadic FCC sessions led by a Black male-female mentor team. When infants were three and 12 months of age, parents reported on coparenting, father engagement, physical and psychological IPV, depressive symptoms, and infant social and emotional adjustment. Intent-to-treat analyses utilizing the 12-month post-partum data indicated significant intervention effects on coparenting, interparental psychological IPV, and infants’ emotional adjustment. Improvement was also seen in depression and father engagement, with gains found for both groups. Results indicate that a culturally centered FCC offered to unmarried Black fathers and mothers transitioning to parenthood supports infant and family adaptation during the baby’s first year of life