Impact

Program aims to help members of the Guard, Reserve transition to parenthood

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Family Foundations, an evidence-based, transition to parenthood program for couples, is testing an online, interactive version designed specifically for members of the National Guard and U.S. Reserve.

Family Foundations is an evidence-based family-strengthening program that focuses on easing the transition to parenthood. This civilian program has been adapted to meet the specific needs of Guard and Reserve families. Most importantly, the Guard and Reserve adaptation is a fully interactive online version, making it easily accessible for families not located near active duty installations.

Family Foundations was developed by Mark Feinberg, a research professor at Penn State’s Prevention Research Center, with funding provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

Evidence shows Family Foundations provides many benefits to new parents and children in the civilian population, including reduced postpartum depression, lower parental stress, decreased couple conflict and violence, and higher quality parenting. Children of these parents have shown better self-regulation, fewer behavior problems and better school adjustment. The Family Foundations team expects this adaptation to yield similar outcomes. This program has received international visibility and the research studies have been published in leading scientific journals. The United Kingdom government has funded the training of family educators across the country to deliver Family Foundations. In addition, the U.S. Department of Defense plans to start providing the face-to-face group version of Family Foundations to eligible active duty military families in 2014.Family Foundations is currently seeking National Guard or Reserve couples who are expecting their first child and not expecting deployment within six months of starting the program. There is no cost to participate and compensation is available.

If you are interested in participating or would like more information, contact Jamie Irvin by email at FamFound@psu.edu or by phone at 814-867-4809. Additional information is also available on the website.

Last Updated April 30, 2014