Systematic review of the impact of coparenting interventions on paternal coparenting behaviour.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of interventions to support coparenting, how partners relate to and support one another as parents, on paternal outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Despite societal shifts in gender roles leading to fathers' increasing involvement in parenting and growing recognition of the need for couples-based parenting interventions, fathers have been underrepresented in parenting research.

DESIGN: Systematic review.

DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, Healthstar, and PsycInfo.

REVIEW METHODS: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses to identify peer-reviewed articles published up to 2016 that evaluated the effectiveness of coparenting interventions for expectant fathers or fathers of children <18 years. Study quality was assessed using Cochrane risk of bias criteria for Effective Practice and Organisation of Care reviews; Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria were used to summarize quality of the evidence. The primary outcome was coparenting behaviour among men.

RESULTS: We identified 16 randomized controlled trials that evaluated 14 coparenting interventions. Nine interventions targeted partners in the perinatal period; five targeted parents of children. All but one involved face-to-face contact, but this varied in duration and intensity. Of the 12 trials that examined coparenting outcomes, eight reported an effect on at least one measure of paternal coparenting behaviour. The quality of the evidence was at a low level.

CONCLUSION: Success was moderate, supporting the need for future research to explore the use of additional approaches to increase efficacy, including technology-based interventions, to improve uptake among men.