Supporting Fathering: a Systematic Review of Parenting Programs that Promote Father Involvement

Changes in social paradigms that guide fathers’ participation in parenting tasks have broadened father involvement. Parenting programs that help parents in these tasks have also changed to explicitly include fathers. Thus, it is important to analyze what researchers have learned about fathers’ participation in parenting programs. This systematic literature review includes publications up to April of 2019, retrieved from the Portal de Periódicos CAPES, Bireme, PsycNET, and IndexPsi Periódicos . The descriptors used (in Portuguese, Spanish, and English) were “father involvement” or “father engagement,” combined with “training,” “intervention,” or “program.” The parenting programs used intervention strategies that focused on knowledge or skills acquisition. Program effects were positive for the fathers, but participant retention rates varied. The main outcomes for the fathers were increased paternal involvement and better interactions with their children and spouse. Participation of both parents in the programs enhanced the gains for their children. Thus, many parenting programs are indeed helping fathers construct stronger family relationships, but further research is needed to verify the maintenance of these gains, longitudinally.