Engaging African American Fathers in Behavioral Parent Training: To Adapt or Not Adapt

The Positive Parenting Program, Triple P, is an evidence-based parenting program with strong empirical support that increases parenting skills and decreases child behavior problems. Few studies on Triple P include fathers or African American fathers. This study was undertaken to determine if adaptation to Triple P level 4 is necessary to ensure fit with urban African American fathers. Qualitative focus groups and interviews were conducted with African American fathers. Some received a brief overview of the program before giving feedback (series A) and others received the entire intervention (series B). Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze transcripts and codebooks were developed through an iterative process. Series B fathers had fewer negative perceptions and a more detailed perspective. Limited exposure to an intervention may cause participants to provide inaccurate data on intervention acceptability. The fathers' initial perceptions of interventions, regardless of accuracy, will affect recruitment and engagement and must be addressed. One strategy is to tailor program examples and language to reflect the experiences of African American fathers.