Supporting Recruitment and Retention of Young African-American and Hispanic Fathers in Community-Based Parenting Interventions Research

Cristina Mogro-Wilson,Crystal Hayes,Alysse Melville Loomis,Judith Fifield,Melanie Martin-Peele,Aubri Drake

doi:10.18060/22293

Cristina Mogro-Wilson, Crystal Hayes + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.18060/22293

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Abstract

Few studies to date have provided strategies for maintaining low rates of attrition when conducting longitudinal, epidemiological, or community-based research with young, minority, urban fathers. This paper highlights lessons learned from a 5-year randomized controlled trial of a fatherhood intervention that designed and implemented state-of-the-art and culturally relevant recruitment and retention methods with 348 young fathers ages 15 to 25. Qualitative findings are drawn from interviews with fathers who had been enrolled in the fatherhood intervention (n=10). While traditional recruitment and retention methods, such as incentives, were employed in this study, non-traditional methods were used as well, such as intensive community outreach, staff relationship development, recruiting specialists, and flexible contact methods. These methods were found to be helpful to young fathers in the study. Future research should incorporate, and further study, such non-traditional methods for recruiting young, minority, urban fathers into studies of parenting programs, including randomized control trials, to improve services for this underserved population.

Highlights

Few studies to date have provided strategies for maintaining low rates of attrition when conducting longitudinal, epidemiological, or community-based research with young, minority, urban fathers
Young fathers, who have children as adolescents or young adults, are important to engage in parenting programs, as they are at higher risk for future unintended pregnancy and other health risk behaviors compared to older fathers (Khurana & Gavazzi, 2011)
Despite the risks associated with early fatherhood, there are limited pregnancy prevention and parenting programs targeted at young fathers (Aggleton & Campbell, 2000; Lewin, Mitchell, Burrell, Beers, & Duggan, 2011)

Summary

Introduction

Few studies to date have provided strategies for maintaining low rates of attrition when conducting longitudinal, epidemiological, or community-based research with young, minority, urban fathers. Despite the risks associated with early fatherhood, there are limited pregnancy prevention and parenting programs targeted at young fathers (Aggleton & Campbell, 2000; Lewin, Mitchell, Burrell, Beers, & Duggan, 2011). For those programs that do exist, there is a need for research examining recruitment and retention, for minority young fathers (Trivedi, Brooks, Bunn, & Graham, 2009) who have consistently higher birth rates compared to white fathers ages 15-25 years of age (Hamilton, Martin, & Osterman, 2016). Research shows that some of the negative consequences for young fathers can be tempered by parenting programs that help fathers become positively involved in their children’s lives and well-being (Buston, Parkes, Thomson, Wight, & Fenton, 2012; Carlson & Magnuson, 2011; Jeynes, 2015; Milkie & Denny, 2014; Palm & Fagan, 2008)

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