Impact evaluation of the family expectations program and moderation by sociodemographic disadvantage

The federal government, through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), has funded community‐based relationship education programs for couples, individuals, and families, with a strong focus on serving economically disadvantaged and racially diverse families. This study evaluated the impact of a 36‐hour, workshop‐based couple relationship education program that was funded by ACF using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design and intent‐to‐treat (ITT) analyses. Participants were 1320 couples who were either expecting a baby or had a baby within the past 3 months, at the time of enrollment. Follow‐up surveys were administered 12 months later. Analyses evaluated program impacts on relationship stability, constructive communication, and destructive conflict compared to a no‐treatment control group. Analyses showed a statistically significant impact of the program on destructive conflict (d = 0.10) but not on constructive communication (d = 0.06) or stability (dCox = 0.10). Based on findings from previous evaluations, we also examined whether participants’ levels of sociodemographic disadvantage moderated these effects. There was significant moderation by sociodemographic disadvantage on constructive communication and destructive conflict, but not on stability. Effects were observed for those at higher levels of sociodemographic disadvantage. 摘要 联邦政府通过儿童和家庭管理局（ACF）资助了以社区为基础的夫妻、个人和家庭的关系教育计划，重点是为经济困难和种族多样化的家庭服务。本研究采用随机对照试验（RCT）设计和意向治疗分析（ITT），评估了由ACF资助的36小时的讲习班式伴侣关系教育项目的影响。参与研究的1320对夫妇在注册时正在怀孕或在过去三个月内已经有了孩子。随访调查在12个月后进行。分析评估项目对关系稳定、建设性沟通和破坏性冲突的影响，与无治疗对照组进行比较。分析显示，该项目在破坏性冲突(d = 0.10)上有显著的统计影响，但在建设性沟通(d = 0.06)或稳定性(dCox = 0.10)上没有显著影响。基于先前评估的结果，我们还检查了参与者的社会经济背景不利水平是否会调节这些效应。社会经济背景方面的不利情况对建设性沟通和破坏性冲突有显著的调节作用，但对稳定性没有显著的调节作用。对那些处于较高社会经济背景不利水平的人，影响是明显的。