Testing the Effectiveness of Offering Relationship Skills Education Services With a Robust Economic Security Component to Low-income Couples Raising Children.
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 1,758
- 试验地点
- 2
- 主要终点
- Employed or taking steps to find a job
研究概览
简要总结
The Parenting Center (TPC) offers the Empowering Families program, which integrates a relationship education curriculum (Family Wellness) into a comprehensive set of services that includes case management, employment services, and financial coaching. The evaluation will test the effectiveness of offering relationship skills education services with a robust economic security component to low-income couples raising children.
详细描述
The evaluation of Empowering Families will test the effectiveness of offering relationship skills education services with a robust economic security component to low-income couples raising children. The program is built on Family Wellness, a relationship education curriculum that has not yet been rigorously studied. The Parenting Center (TPC) has integrated Family Wellness into a comprehensive set of services that includes case management, employment services, and financial coaching. The evaluation will test the effect of this full package of services on couples' relationship and employment outcomes. The evaluation will also examine effects on outcomes related to child well-being, such as co-parenting and father involvement.
The Empowering Families evaluation will be conducted with low-income couples raising children. To be eligible for program services, both members of the couple must: (1) be age 18 or older, (2) report that they are in a committed relationship with their partner; (3) speak a language in which programming is being offered; (4) be interested in participating in a program that offers both relationship skills and economic stability services; (5) be available to participate in programming for the next six months; (6) pass a domestic violence screen; and (7) not have an open case with child protective services. In addition, at least one member of the couple must have a biological or adopted child who is under age 18 and lives with them at least half time. The Parenting Center will aim to recruit couples who are economically disadvantaged and likely to want both relationship skills and employment services.
The evaluation plan for the Empowering Families program calls for the enrollment and random assignment of 1,000 couples over the course of two years. This target requires The Parenting Center to recruit approximately 42 couples for the study each month. Half of these couples will be randomly assigned to the Empowering Families program; the other half will be assigned to a control group that is not eligible for program services.To document the outcomes of study participants, survey data will be collected at two time points: (1) a baseline survey administered at study enrollment and (2) a follow-up survey conducted about a year later. The investigators will also conduct a process study to document how Empowering Families was implemented.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Treatment
- 盲法
- None
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •(Necessary for eligibility)
- •age 18 or older
- •report that they are in a committed relationship with their partner
- •speak a language in which programming is being offered
- •be interested in participating in a program that offers both relationship skills and economic stability services
- •be available to participate in programming for the next six months;
- •pass a domestic violence screen
- •not have an open case with child protective services.
- •at least one member of the couple must have a biological or adopted child who is under age 18 and lives with them at least half time.
排除标准
- •Ineligible if do not meet any of the above.
结局指标
主要结局
Employed or taking steps to find a job
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
a binary variable equal to 1 if a respondent was ever employed at any time during the first year after study enrollment or indicates that in the past year he/she has done any of the following: * Created or updated a resume * Looked for a job * Submitted a job application * Gone on a job interview
Avoidance of destructive conflict behaviors
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This eight-item scale (α = 0.92) is the average frequency-from "never" (= 1) to "often" (= 4)-that a respondent reports experiencing destructive conflict behaviors with his or her partner, constructed by averaging across partners' responses
Couple married to each other
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This is a binary variable equal to 1 if both partners report that they are married to each other
Relationship commitment
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This continuous variable ranges from 0 to 10, with higher values indicating that both partners are more committed to their romantic relationship. The measure is the average across the two partners' responses.
Monthly earnings
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This continuous variable uses survey data and is based on average monthly earnings from all jobs in the first year following study enrollment. It will be analyzed separately for men and women.
Family economic hardship scale
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This scale represents how many of six economic hardships the family experienced in the past year.
Quality of co-parenting relationship
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This 10-item scale (α = 0.94) is the average level of agreement-from "strongly disagree" (= 1) to "strongly agree" (= 4)-with statements about the respondent's partner, constructed by averaging across partners' responses.
Support and affection
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This 12-item scale is the average level of agreement-from "strongly disagree" (= 1) to "strongly agree" (= 4)-with statements about the respondent's partner, constructed by averaging across partners' responses
Couple married or romantically involved
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This is a binary variable equal to 1 if both partners report that they are married to each other or in a romantic relationship with each other
Constructive conflict behaviors
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This seven-item scale (α = 0.87) is the average frequency-from "never" (= 1) to "often" (= 4)-that a respondent reports experiencing constructive conflict behaviors with his or her partner, constructed by averaging across partners' responses
Relationship happiness
时间窗: 1 year after random assignment
This continuous variable ranges from 0 to 10, with higher values indicating that both partners report greater happiness with their romantic relationship. The measure is the average across the two partners' responses.
次要结局
未报告次要终点