https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-Zhang2021

Zhang, J., Zhang, N., Piehler, T. F., & Gewirtz, A. H. (2023). Emotion regulation difficulties in military fathers magnify their benefit from a parenting program. Prevention Science, 24, 237-248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01287-8

This study examined the impact of After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools program (ADAPT) on 181 fathers’ parenting practices over time (i.e., baseline and 1-year follow-up) by randomly assigning fathers to the ADAPT program (n = 108) or control group (n = 73). Parents reported their emotion regulation difficulties (e.g., nonacceptance of emotion, impulse control difficulties), and negative parenting practices (e.g., distress avoidance, reactivity coercion) were observed by researchers. Fathers in the ADAPT program showed reductions in emotion regulation difficulties compared to those on the waitlist.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01287-8

Children
Couples
Deployment
Mental health
Parents
Programming
Trauma

Air Force
Army
Navy
Multiple branches

Guard
Reserve
Active Duty

Active duty service member
Guard/Reserve member

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)

Longitudinal Study
Quantitative Study

Zhang, Jingchen, Zhang, Na, Piehler, Timothy F., Gewirtz, Abigail H.

Military service members who were exposed to combat-related traumatic events may exhibit emotion regulation problems, which can compromise emotion-related parenting practices (ERPPs). After Deployment, Adaptive Parenting Tools (ADAPT) is a preventive intervention developed for military families to improve parenting behaviors, including ERPPs. Parental emotion regulation difficulties may affect parents' responses to this parenting program. Thus, this study aimed to use a baseline target moderated mediation design to examine the intent-to-treat (ITT) effect of the ADAPT program on deployed fathers' emotion-related parenting practices (ERPPs) at the 1-year follow-up as well as the moderation and mediation effect of fathers' emotion regulation difficulties. The sample consisted of 181 deployed fathers and their 4-13-year-old children. At both baseline and 1 year, fathers' ERPPs (i.e., positive engagement, withdrawal avoidance, reactivity-coercion, and distress avoidance) were observed during a series of structured parent-child interaction tasks. Results of path analyses showed no ITT effects on fathers' ERPPs, but emotion regulation difficulties significantly moderated ITT effects on distress avoidance. Fathers with higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties at baseline showed decreases in distress avoidance behaviors at 1 year if randomized to the intervention condition. Emotion regulation difficulties also significantly mediated the program's effect on reductions in reactivity coercion for fathers with high levels of emotion regulation difficulties at baseline. These findings highlight parental emotion regulation as a key baseline target of the ADAPT program and provide insight into how and for whom a parenting program improves parenting practices. (© 2021. Society for Prevention Research.)

Springer

Article
REACH Publication

Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, JZ
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, NZ
Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, TFP
Department of Family Social Science and Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, AHG