Family Foundations
Problems addressed
Externalizing behaviors/problems
Internalizing behaviors/problems
Low parental skills
Family breakdown and/or dysfunctionality
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Early childhood (0 to 3 years)
Where the program was applied
Ambulatory - Health service centers
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a prevention program to improve the quality of co-parenting for couples who are expecting their first child or have a baby from 0 to 2 years old.
The program content covers emotional self-management, conflict management, problem-solving, communication, and mutual support strategies in caregiving and parenting.
It is presented in three main domains: feelings, thoughts, and communication. Parenting strategies include understanding temperament, encouraging children’s self-regulation, and promoting secure attachment.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies found significant improvements in co-parental support, maternal depression and anxiety, parent-child relationship distress, child regulation [1] [2], child behavior, and couple relationship quality [3]. Teachers reported significantly lower levels of internalizing and externalizing problems among children [4] and domestic violence [5].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Feinberg, M. E. & Kan, M. L. (2008). Establishing family foundations: Intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations. Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 22(2), 253–263. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.2.253

[2] Feinberg, M. E., Kan, M. L. y Goslin, M. C. (2009). Enhancing coparenting, parenting, and child self-regulation: Effects of family foundations 1 year after birth. Prevention Science: The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 10(3), 276–285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-009-0130-4

[3] Feinberg, M. E., Jones, D. E., Kan, M. L. & Goslin, M. C. (2010). Effects of family foundations on parents and children: 3.5 years after baseline. Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 24(5), 532–542. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020837

[4] Feinberg, M. E., Jones, D. E., Roettger, M. E., Solmeyer, A. & Hostetler, M. L. (2014). Long-term follow-up of a randomized trial of family foundations: Effects on children's emotional, behavioral, and school adjustment. Journal of Family Psychology: JFP: Journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43), 28(6), 821–831. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000037

[5] Feinberg, M. E., Jones, D. E., Roettger, M. E., Hostetler, M. L., Sakuma, K.‑L., Paul, I. M. & Ehrenthal, D. B. (2016). Preventive Effects on Birth Outcomes: Buffering Impact of Maternal Stress, Depression, and Anxiety. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 20(1), 56–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-015-1801-3

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