e-Family Foundations (FF) is a universal parenting intervention for couples expecting their first child. It is a self-paced, online self-study course involving eight modules of one hours’ duration (five pre-birth and three post-birth) that couples can complete at their own pace. The sessions are designed to begin at any point during the mother’s pregnancy.
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Antenatal to 0 years old
Individual
e-Family Foundations is a universal coparenting intervention for all couples expecting their first child. It aims to support couples at the transition to parenthood, by helping them to build supportive and cohesive co-parenting relationships, and in so doing, improving both parent and child outcomes.
e-Family Foundations is an online self-study intervention, originally designed to appeal to families where one or both parents are serving in the US military. It is based on the Family Foundations model, but the content has been modified to apply to military families’ specific circumstances. This includes cosmetic alterations (e.g. using images of military families in visuals throughout the intervention), and limited modifications to FF intervention content to provide skills and resources to help families cope with challenges specific to military families (e.g. extended periods of deployment and training).
It is delivered to individual families in eight sessions of one hours’ duration each. It is intended for parents to access five sessions prior to the baby’s birth and then reconvene for four additional sessions when the baby is between four and six months old.
The first five sessions acquaint parents with the stresses that are typical after the birth of a child and the ways these stresses can negatively the quality of the couple and co-parenting relationship. Parents receive strategies for improving communication and are also encouraged to develop plans for sharing the childcare duties after the baby is born.
The last three sessions take place after the baby is born providing parents with strategies for understanding and responding to their child’s temperament, helping their child sleep and self-sooth, and promoting attachment security in their child.
Perinatal
All parents expecting the birth of their first child.
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
The birth of child frequently introduces high levels of stress into the inter-parental relationship.
Science-based assumption
High levels of interparental stress can increase the risk of ongoing couple conflict and diminish parents’ ability to respond appropriately to their child’s needs.
Science-based assumption
All parents expecting their first child.
Intervention
Parents learn:
Plans for managing the stress associated with new parenthood
Techniques for improving couple communication and resolving conflict
Strategies for supporting each other as parents
How to understand and respond to their child’s temperament
How to support their child’s sleep and ability to self-sooth
How to implement positive family routines.
Short-term
Better parent communication
Parents are better able to support each other as parents
Parents are better able to manage common stressful situations after the child is born
Parents are more likely to implement positive family routines
Reduced reports of couple conflict
Improved parent mood.
Medium-term
Improved quality of the co-parenting relationship
Improved child sleep and self-soothing
Reduced child maltreatment risk.
Long-term
Improved child self-regulation
Improved child prosocial behaviour
Reduced child behavioural problems.
Family Foundations is for couples expecting their first child.
e-Family Foundations is an online self-study programme, delivered to individual families in eight sessions of 1 hours’ duration each, over a period of 4-8 weeks.
Parents learn skills, tools and perspectives to better cope with the transition to parenthood, specifically around adjusting expectations, adopting a realistic vision and preparing for the strains of parenthood. Parents develop skills to reduce conflict, enhance problem solving and increase supportive and cohesive coparenting communication.
Parents access five sessions online prior to the birth of their child, providing them with information about what to expect after the baby is born and providing them with strategies for coping with potentially stressful situations.
Three additional modules are designed to be accessed after the baby’s birth. Topics covered include parenting behaviours that foster infant attachment and improve parents’ ability to support each other as a team.
Parents use the online material to read, listen to narration, and watch videos to take in information, practice skills through partner exercises, engage in online and written exercises, and watch vignettes of other families.
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Email address: info@FamFound.net
Website: www.famfound.net
*Please note that this information may not be up to date. In this case, please visit the listed intervention website for up to date contact details.
e-Family Foundations’ most rigorous evidence comes from a single RCT conducted in the United States, consistent with Foundations’ L3 evidence strength criteria.
This study observed statistically significant improvements in parent reports of infant sadness.
This means that e-Family Foundations can be described as evidence-based: it has evidence from at least one rigorously conducted RCT or QED demonstrating a statistically significant positive impact on at least one child outcome.
Reduced infant sadness
immediately after the intervention
Improvement index
Interpretation
Study
| Identified in search | 1 |
| Studies reviewed | 1 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 0 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 1 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 0 |
| Study design | RCT |
| Country | United States |
| Sample characteristics | 56 heterosexual couples expecting their first child where at least one partner was serving in the US military. At least one member of all 56 couples was in the military, with some couples (20%) having both members in the military. |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities |
|
| Population risk factors |
|
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes | Reduced infant sadness (parent report) |
| Other outcomes | None |
| Study rating | 3 |
| Citations | Feinberg, M. E., Boring, J., Le, Y., Hostetler, M. L., Karre, J., Irvin, J. & Jones, D. E. (2020). Supporting military family resilience at the transition to parenthood: A randomized pilot trial of an online version of Family Foundation. Family Relations. 69 (1), 109–124. |
No other studies were identified for this evidence assessment.
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to Foundations’ terms of reference (or the Early Intervention Foundation's terms of reference), and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the intervention provider.
Rated 1: Set up and delivery is low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
Rated 2: Set up and delivery is medium-low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
Rated 3: Set up and delivery is medium cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.
Rated 4: Set up and delivery is medium-high cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.
Rating 5: Set up and delivery is high cost. Equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.
Set up and delivery cost is not applicable, not available, or has not been calculated.
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Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing substance abuse: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
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Rated 2: Has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome from a quantitative impact study, but there is not yet evidence of causal impact.
Rated 2+: Meets the level 2 rating and the best available evidence is based on a study which is more rigorous than a level 2 standard but does not meet the level 3 standard.
Rated 3: Has evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous study.
Rated 3+: Meets the level 3 rating and has evidence from other studies with a comparison group at level 2 or higher.
Rated 4: Has evidence of a long-term positive impact through at least two rigorous studies.
Rated 4+: Meets the level 4 rating and has at least a third study contributing to the Level 4 rating, with at least one of the studies conducted independently of the intervention provider.
Rating has a *: The evidence base includes mixed findings i.e., studies suggesting positive impact alongside studies, which on balance, indicate no effect or negative impact.
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