Psychosocial risk screening of expectant fathers in an urban home visiting service population

OBJECTIVE: To examine the occurrence of psychosocial risk factors among expectant fathers whose female partners were enrolled in prenatal home visiting services. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, exploratory, quantitative design. SAMPLE: Expectant father-mother pairs were recruited from two urban home visiting programs to participate in a randomized controlled trial of a father advocate intervention. The study sample consisted of 66 father-mother pairs who completed structured interviews at baseline, before randomization. MEASUREMENTS: Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. This study focused on their responses related to 11 psychosocial risk factors, as measured by the Brief Risk Overview (BRO) for men and the Prenatal Risk Overview (PRO) for pregnant women. RESULTS: Moderate- or high-risk classification of psychosocial risk factors was prevalent among expectant fathers. The risk factors that fathers reported were diverse, related to their basic needs, social support, mental health, and substance use; risk factors frequently co-occurred. Fathers' and mothers' total risk scores, calculated as a composite of all 11 risk factors, were significantly correlated. CONCLUSIONS: Expectant fathers who have a partner enrolled in home visiting would benefit from psychosocial risk screening. Addressing fathers' risk factors may improve paternal health, their involvement in parenting, and the well-being of their partners and children.