Connect to Baby A Study of a 6-Session Parenting and Coparenting Program for Low-Income Parents of Infants

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating a new 6-session parenting and coparenting program called Connect to Baby CTB for low-income parents of infants. This randomized control trial is conducted within Early Head Start EHS centers in Washington, DC, aiming to improve parenting and coparenting quality, as well as parent and child well-being. The program addresses challenges in existing interventions by involving both mothers and fathers, focusing on coparenting communication, and using hybrid delivery to enhance participation and retention. The study compares two groups one receives the CTB program delivered as a hybrid of in-person and remote sessions using video-enabled tablets, while the other receives usual EHS digital services with access to CTB content via text messages but no live sessions. CTB introduces four key interaction skillsNoticing, Following, Talking, and Encouragingto promote serve-and-return interactions and supportive coparenting. The intervention lasts about 10 weeks, with sessions spaced one to two weeks apart. Participants will undergo a pre-assessment before the program starts, a post-assessment three months after random assignment, and a follow-up six months after. Assessments include parent-child interaction quality, coparenting measures, parent mental health, and child language and socioemotional development. Data collection is done remotely using tablets and Zoom, with program fidelity monitored through video recordings and feedback. The studys total duration for each participant covers the intervention and two follow-up assessments.

Connect to Baby: A Pilot Study of a Parenting and Coparenting Program