Led by Drs. Erin Holmes and Alan Hawkins, a team of Brigham Young University researchers conducted an FRPN-funded meta-analysis of studies of fatherhood programs targeting unmarried, never married and low-income fathers. A search of published and unpublished articles and reports from academic databases and government agencies yielded 270 studies that were potentially eligible for the analysis but only a fraction met the inclusion criteria.

Twenty-four of the 270 studies that employed a control/treatment design were included in the study. Results showed that the identified programs produce small but statistically significant effects for the populations they serve. The researchers found that father involvement, parenting and co-parenting were significantly impacted, with the strongest effect in co-parenting skills. 

The full study can be downloaded below. Download the summary report here or the executive summary here. This table contains references to articles located in the literature search that were excluded from the meta-analyses.