Progress 07/01/14 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the project includes divorcing parents with minor children who have filed for divorce and are either enrolled in a co-parenting through divorce educational program (treatment group) or who are not mandated for such a course (control group). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The CR project has included multiple opportunities for educators throughout Oklahoma to become trained to deliver the CR program in their county. Specifically, multiple inservices were provided that included the core training for the CR program (delivered by the PIs approximately twice each year), online modules related to aspects of human development, stress theory, communication processes, and relationship development (developed by the PIs and delivered through D2L), and additional inservice programs provided by the PIs or HDFS department affiliatesrelated to peripheral aspects of divorce (e.g., Oklahoma divorce laws, reconciliation, mediation, child abuse reporting laws, trauma). Additional training opportunities were developed that center on content mastery involving online quizzes via D2Lfor extension educators as well as a course fidelity checklist that is currently being used to verify adherence to program delivery processes. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of the CR evaluation have been disseminated to numerous communities of interest. Specifically, results of both the quantitative and qualitative findings have been presented at national, international, and state conferences. The theoretical foundation and design procedures for the CR program were presented at a specific national extension/outreach conference and aspects related to fatherhood have been presented at a nationalfatherhood conference. In order to reach communities that are typically not as informed about initiatives such as the CR program, the results of the evaluation as well as the content and foundation for the program were presented at the annual Oklahoma Home and Community Education (OHCE) conference, to the Oklahoma Judicial Council meeting, and to two Oklahoma Bar Association meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. Treatment group participants were recruited from the ongoing Co-Parenting for Resilience (CR) program in five counties (Garfield, Nowata, Custer, Oklahoma, and Payne). Data collection occurred over approximately six months. Parents attending the CR program took the baseline survey as part of the requirement to register for the program. At the end of the class, participants were provided a consent form and asked permission to use their baseline data in a research project and for the research team to contact them in approximately six months for follow-up. Participants were mailed a co-parenting newsletter to help maintain contact over the follow-up period in addition to the detailed contact information collected at baseline. Once calculations were conducted on costs associated with control group recruitment, modifications to recruitment protocol were modified such that participants in the treatment group completed baseline with no incentive but offered $40 if they agreed to be contacted for the follow-up survey and completed the questionnaire. Modifications to incentives were made also allowing the researchers to oversample in the treatment group. Participants in the treatment group for this study consisted of 290 adults mandated by the court to attend a divorce education program as a condition of being granted a divorce. Participants were from five counties in the state of Oklahoma, had a child under the age of 18, had a mean age of 33 (SD=8.5), were 57% female (n=165), had an average annual income of approximately $33,000, and were 60% rural (n=174). Approximately 90% consented to baseline data being used and provided their contact information for researchers to contact them to participate in the follow-up survey. Of those individuals 70% were able to be contacted and then actually completed the follow-up survey. For the control group, because the Oklahoma legislature passed a law requiring all divorcing couples to attend a divorce education class at the beginning of the proposed study, it was not possible to collect a control group from Oklahoma. Instead, the research team contracted with Qualtrics, a nationally recognized data management firm, to collect a control group from states that did not have a statewide mandate to attend divorce education classes in place. A total of 320 participants were recruited for the control group from 4 states (Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, & South Dakota), had a mean age of 37 (SD=8.4), were 73% female (n=235), had an average annual income of approximately $44,000, and were 50% rural (n=160). Data for the control group were collected online and participants were given a portion of the $27 paid to Qualtrics per completed survey. For the qualitative research component of this study, following the class participants are asked to complete a time 2 survey and are provided with an informed consent in which they are asked permission to use their information as part of a research study and to be contacted for the opportunity to participate in a future co-parenting research. Following the time 3 data collection participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. The qualitative sample consisted of 113 possible participants for the study from which 36 declined to participate in an interview, 43 were unable to be contacted, 16 initially agreed to participate in an interview but failed to do so, and 13 parents participated in the study. The project had an 11% participant response rate of parents who had consented to participate in follow up research after attendance of a co-parenting class. Of the 13 participants in this study 38% were male and 62% were female, and participants from urban (61%) and rural (39%) areas. 2. To improve participant acceptability of the program, several changes were developed and implemented in the CR program. First, to reach parents who are not able to attend a CR program in person, an online program was offered. This program was a result of a collaboration between Nebraska Cooperative Extension and OCES and entailed the PIs developing two additional modules required within Oklahoma law pertaining to specific content (e.g., effects of family violence on children, and reconciliation) and adding it to Nebraska's current online co-parenting program. Another strategy to improve participant acceptability of the CR program content involved loosening the specific language on 'divorce' to encompass a broader definition of the terms by which parents would be attending the CR program (e.g., modifications for custody issues, non-married custody processes). We also shifted the program content to focus more heavily on positive parenting practices and healthy adult coping while normalizing the stresses of divorce and single-parenting. A final content modification involved a greater emphasis on the effects of family violence on children, child abuse and neglect, and when not to co-parent. In order to identify additional strategies to modify and enhance the CR program, a curriculum development team has been created. This team includes eight extension educators with extensive experience teaching the CR program, the CR project coordinator, and the two faculty developers of the CR program (the PI and the first project collaborator) and aims to improve content and delivery and participant engagement within the program. In order to reach a greater audience, the CR program and supporting fact sheets/resources has also been translated into Spanish. The Spanish CR program including surveys and program resources has been piloted and delivered three times in Oklahoma and is now being scheduled and marketed by a contracted facilitator in Oklahoma City. 3. To determine the efficacy of CR to change parental behaviors and increase child adjustment to divorce a pre-post study with control was conducted. The study examined change in participant hope, perceived stress, parenting practices, and parental assessment of their child's behavior. Two approaches were used to examine this change. First, a modified within group analyses was used to assess change from time-1 (baseline) to a six-month follow-up (time-2) using independent sample t-tests. Second, between group analyses assessed mean differences between time-2 treatment and a control group using independent sample t-tests. Participants showed significant positive change from time-1 to time-2 on the hope construct, and significant reductions in perceived stress and parental assessment of problematic child behaviors. Change in positive parenting as measured by the APQ was not significant. Between group analyses followed the same pattern found in the within group analyses. Significant differences between the treatment group and the control group were found for the hope construct, perceived stress and parental assessment of problematic child behaviors in the expected directions. No differences were found in positive parenting practices between the treatment and control groups Significant differences were found in parental sense of hope, perceived stress, and child adjustment suggesting that CR was successful in initiating substantial movement in parents toward more adaptive coping strategies that were reflected in their perception of their child's behavior. Results from this evaluation study suggest that increasing hope may also be an effective strategy for prevention programs like CR for working with high-risk families. By increasing hope and reducing stress associated with divorce and separation, parents are free to explore and find other coping strategies that are more aligned with their goals and vision for the future. Although we did not assess for changes parental conflict in this study, reduction in child maladjustment as measured by the SDQ would suggest that the repertoire of successful coping strategies were increased, which may include some reduction in conflict.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Brosi, M. W., Spencer, T., Barth, K., & Cox, R., (2016). Change facilitation within a co-parenting through divorce program. Paper submission for the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Orlando, FL.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Brosi, M. W., Spencer, T., Barth, K., & Cox, R., (2016). A feminist and narrative critique of father involvement post-divorce. Roundtable discussion at the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Brosi, M. W., Cox, R., Spencer, T., & Barth, K. (2016). Utilizing change theory and brief strategic
intervention models in a co-parenting through divorce education program: Innovative methods to enhance positive co-parenting and increase father involvement post-divorce. Paper presentation at the 18th Annual International Fatherhood Conference, Kansas City, MO.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Brosi, M. W., Cox, R., Spencer, T., & Barth, K. (2016). Innovative Techniques within a Co-parenting Through Divorce Education Program. Paper presentation at the iThree Extension Conference, San Antonio, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Spencer, T., Brosi, M. W., Cox, R., & Barth, K. (2016). A proposed model for conceptualizing father identity and subsequent involvement post-divorce. Paper presentation at the Oklahoma Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Oklahoma City, OK.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Barth, K., Brosi, M. W., Spencer, T., & Cox, R., (2016). Post-Divorce Adjustment: Factors Influencing Divorcing Parents Readiness to Co-Parent. Paper submission for the Oklahoma Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Oklahoma City, OK.
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Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for the project includes divorcing parents with minor children who have filed for divorce and are either enrolled in a co-parenting through divorce educational program (treatment group) or who are not mandated for such a course (control group). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the past year, several in-service trainings have been provided for county extension educations as well as trainings for data collectors and online co-parenting graders. Specific in-servicetraining programs have centered on 1) Core CR training program, 2) divorce, remarriage, and step-family formation, 3) identifying domestic violence, child abuse, neglect, and reporting laws How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Initial findingshave been disseminated through local, state, and national conference presentations, letters and brochures to judges/court clerks, andmeetings with stakeholders within the Oklahaoma Cooperative Extension Service. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?A more comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of the CR program will be conducted both quantitatively and qualitatively to better understand what changes occur across time and for which specific subgroups of divorcing parents, attrition rates for survey completion, what areas of the program are most effective for implementing change forparticipants, etc.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
To date, frequency analyses have been conducted to determine how many participants have enrolled and completed the Co-parenting for Resilience (CR) program in each county delivering the program in Oklahoma. Areas of improvement for program design and delivery have been identified with initial changes being implemented and pilot tested withinin one county program. Fidelity checks to determine program adherence and delivery have been completed in approximately eight counties with additional checks scheduled in other counties. Initial evaluation of the CR program withinthetreatmentgroup shows significant positive change from time 1 to time 2 on the hope construct and significant reductions in perceived stress and parental assessment of problematic child behaviors. Evaluation of thebetween group comparisons (treatment and control) have demonstrated significant differences in the reductions in parent stress,in the hope construct,and differences in child problematic behaviors.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Cox, R., Brosi, M, Washburn, I, & Welch, T. (2015). Development and Evaluation of the OSU Co-Parenting for Resilience Program, Paper presentation for the National Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, VanCouver, BC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Brosi, M. W., Castilho, B., & Cox, R. (2015). A phenomenological exploration of the factors
affecting co-parenting. Paper presented at the American Association for Marital and Family
Therapy Annual Conference, Austin, TX.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Brosi, M. W., Castilho, B., & Cox, R. (2015). A phenomenological exploration of the factors
affecting positive and negative co-parenting. Paper presented at the Oklahoma Council on Family Relations Annual Conference, Edmond, OK.
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Progress 07/01/14 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The target audience for the project includes divorcing parents with minor children who have filed for divorce and are either enrolled in a co-parenting through divorce educational program (treatment group) or who are not mandated for such a course (control group). Changes/Problems: In November of 2014, a new Oklahoma law went into effect requiring all divorcing parents to complete a co-parenting class prior to the finalization of their divorce. This new law significantly decreased the window of opportunity for reaching recently divorced parents in Oklahoma who have not taken part in a co-parenting class. For this reason, project researchers have decided to broaden the study criteria for the time frame in which parents can file for divorce. This will allow researchers the ability to continue to recruit in Oklahoma even though this new law is in place. Researchers are also looking to broaden efforts in nearby states where laws requiring parents to take a co-parenting class do not exist. Additional changes to the original study protocol include the method of recruitment for control group participants. After finding limited success with court clerks and direct mailings using public records, researchers modified the IRB protocol to include social media and newspaper ads. Additionally, we are looking at working with businesses specializing in market research to purchase mailing/call lists to reach divorcing parents in Oklahoma. These delays in the recruitment of the control group will lead to modifications in both the data collection timeline as well as the payment schedule for the control, and possibly, the treatment group. The timeline and payments will need to be pushed back until a usable control group has been recruited. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project has spurred on discussions with other divorce experts in the family science field at the National Council on Family Relations annual conference. Project researchers are looking towards future development of collaborations with faculty in other states to address other dimensions of divorce and parenting with other curriculum. Conversations with researchers outside of Oklahoma have also taken place with the intention of developing evaluation measures that could be used in programs across the country. By using universal measures, researchers could compare outcomes across programs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Project researchers shared information on how the CR classes are addressing topics such as reconciliation and domestic violence in the new curriculum. Project researchers committed to working with other subcommittee members of developing common evaluation measures for programs in Oklahoma as well as developed guidelines for domestic violence portions of co-parenting programs across the state. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? During the next reporting period, project researchers plan to focus on recruitment of parents for the control group portion of the study. The plan is to broaden the time frame of when parents were divorced in an effort to aid in recruiting larger numbers of qualified participants. Recruitment methods will include continued distribution of flyers through court clerk offices, law offices, and direct mailing to divorced parents. The next phase of the project will also include educators beginning to teach CR classes across the state, and utilizing new evaluation materials. These completed evaluation materials will be received at the state office, then entered into our systems and prepared for analysis and follow up.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. Revision of CR curriculum, reflective of lessons learned during the pilot phase of the program (Per objective 2: Identify design features that could be modified to improve participant acceptability of program content). 2. Development of training materials for County Educators. 3. Hosted one of three in-service trainings for educators. 4 Revision of evaluation tools (T1, T2,T3 surveys). 5. IRB approval of new protocol, surveys, consent, recruitment brochures, etc.
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Co-Parenting Control Group Research webpage (coparentingresearchproject.okstate.edu). This site was produced so that parents could easily access the survey materials to take part in the study. While survey materials are accessible on the site, it is still in the development phase as researchers are still planning to add additional co-parenting resources and newsletters in the future.
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