Researchers from the School of Social Work, led by principal investigator Professor Jeff Edleson, Director of the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA) and graduate research assistants Robert Wilson, Juliana Carlson, and Ericka Kimball, completed a two-part study called “First Time Fathers” exploring new and expectant fathers’ experiences of support during their transition to fatherhood from both the perspective of practitioners as well as parents themselves. The first part of the study gathered data from practitioners who serve new and expectant parents in the Twin Cities, including professionals from health care, home visiting, parent education, and fatherhood programs, to map how the process of engagement. Then, eight focus groups with fathers and mothers were conducted to explore the supports and barriers for new and expectant fathers. Data also included the fathers’ and mothers’ responses to the questions: What a program to support expectant and new fathers would include? And, how would it best be administered?

One of the goals of the research is building knowledge on the content to meaningfully connect with new and expectant fathers and strategies to successfully meet them where they are. Another goal is to understand how formal supports for new and expectant fathers could expand and increase their informal connection to each other. This knowledge will help inform a prevention focused intervention to both help provide formal support for fathers during the transition to fatherhood, as well to reduce risks associated, including child exposure to domestic violence and violence against women, issues central to Professor Edleson’s current research agenda.