Father involvement and family well-being

Last registered on October 07, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Father involvement and family well-being
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014240
Initial registration date
August 30, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
September 12, 2024, 5:22 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
October 07, 2024, 5:54 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Anne Brenøe
Affiliation
University of Zurich
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Xiaoyue Shan
PI Affiliation
National University of Singapore
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PI Name
Victoria Baranov
PI Affiliation
University of Melbourne
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PI Name
Jiangqin Liu
PI Affiliation
Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital
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PI Name
Pietro Biroli
PI Affiliation
University of Bologna
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-09-24
End date
2028-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Gender
Additional Keywords
Fatherhood, fathers, parental investment, paternal investment, parenting, family wellbeing, gender, China, mental health, maternal gatekeeping
JEL code(s)
I31, J1, J2
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Across the world, women take on a larger share of childcare than men. This traditional division of labor may stifle maternal labor market opportunities while simultaneously limiting paternal attachment to their children. Increasing father involvement in childrearing is a pressing challenge for many families and policymakers alike. In this study, we conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) among new parents in China to study how encouraging father involvement affects paternal investment, family dynamics, and family well-being.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Baranov, Victoria et al. 2024. "Father involvement and family well-being ." AEA RCT Registry. October 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14240-1.2
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We have two treatment arms: father-only treatment (T1) and couples treatment (T2). For participants randomly allocated to either of the two treatment conditions, enumerators deliver the intervention, either to the father alone (in a separate room from the mother) for T1 or jointly to the couple for T2. Fathers in T1 and both parents in T2 receive a bundled intervention aimed to increase father involvement.
Intervention Start Date
2024-09-24
Intervention End Date
2025-08-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Primary outcomes measured 1-3 months after treatment
a. Father involvement
b. Parental well-being
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary outcomes measured 1-3 months after treatment
a. Interactions within couples
b. Father’s parenting self-efficacy, identity, and bonding
c. Beliefs about paternal investment
d. Labor market expectations
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We recruit couples who just had their first child in the maternity hospital. We randomly assign participating couples into three arms: the control group, father-only treatment (T1), and couples treatment (T2). In expectation, there will be equal numbers of participants in each arm. The randomization is stratified by the type of rooms: i) single rooms, ii) rooms with two beds, and iii) rooms with three beds.

Participants are screened based on inclusion criteria, provide consent (both mother and father must consent to participation to be included in the study), and then fill out a baseline survey on tablets in the hospital. For participants randomly allocated to either of the two treatment conditions, enumerators then deliver the intervention, either to the father alone (in a separate room from the mother) for T1 or jointly to the couple for T2. Fathers in T1 and both parents in T2 receive a bundled intervention aimed to increase father involvement.

We conduct three monthly follow-up surveys over the following three months via online surveys of both fathers and mothers. We measure the primary outcomes in all three follow-up surveys, while the timing of the secondary outcomes varies.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer.
Randomization Unit
room in maternity ward by day (single rooms) or week (ordinary rooms)
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
3,000
Sample size: planned number of observations
3,000 couples (3,000 mothers and 3,000 fathers)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1,000 control couples; 1,000 T1 couples; 1,000 T2 couples
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
We expect 30 percent attrition, such that we have 700 observations for respectively mothers and fathers per study arm. This gives an MDE of 0.15 SD.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee, Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital
IRB Approval Date
2020-06-02
IRB Approval Number
KS20192
Analysis Plan

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