Paternal BehaviorNCT05063448

DadSpace: Increasing Community Support Resources for Perinatal Fathers

A study testing DadSpace in people with Paternal Behavior and Father-Child Relations, run by Colorado State University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record

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Trial summary

Who is it for?: Ages 18 years and older, men onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for: Paternal Behavior, Father-Child Relations, Family Relations
What is being tested?: DadSpace
Type of treatment: Lifestyle or therapy programme
Could I receive a placebo?: No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people: 20 participants
Where: 1 siteUnited States
Study dates: 6 Aug 2021to 31 Dec 2022
Phase: Interventional
Are there results?: Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

Ages 18 years and older
Men only
Healthy volunteers accepted
Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

Participants must be expecting a baby or have a baby less than one year of age and planning to take the DadSpace mentoring program.

Who cannot join

Non-English speaking

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site

Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523-1570

Other trials in United States

About this study

The project is aimed at meeting the support needs of community fathers who are expecting a baby or who have recently had a baby. This work is being conducted in conjunction with community partners through The Women's Clinic of Northern Colorado (WCNC). Researchers and WCNC staff will work together to develop and implement programs for prenatal and postpartum fathers. Participants will be invited to a group mentoring program and also will be provided access to supplementary educational podcasts focused on topics relevant to prenatal and postpartum fathers. The investigators are seeking to understand what participants like and don't like about the program and how participation in the program affects participants' stress, well-being, and parenting.

Read the detailed description

The investigators are building on previous work to identify opportunities to meet the needs of perinatal fathers. The term perinatal encompasses the time leading up to and immediately following the birth of a child. Father involvement in child rearing is beneficial to mothers and children, but fathers are routinely overlooked by available support opportunities at the transition to parenthood. This pilot project seeks to apply research evidence and best practices to address the disparity in socioemotional community support and education programs serving perinatal fathers. In a previous pilot study, the investigators learned from fathers participating in focus groups that participants were interested in opportunities to connect with other fathers in the same life stage to talk about personal experiences and learn from each other. The investigators also learned that fathers worry about meeting varied role expectations, that available resources tend to overlook the unique experiences of fathers, and that it can be challenging to find quality information in a digital world saturated with conflicting information about parenting. This project seeks to address these primary issues through community-based, father-centric support and educational programs. WCNC education staff will facilitate a discussion-based group mentoring program for fathers who are expecting or recently had a baby. This program seeks to increase connection with other fathers, reduce stress related to parenting a baby, and increase parenting confidence. The investigators plan to evaluate the feasibility of the program through satisfaction surveys and other measures of the program's implementation. The investigators also plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the program by providing participants with surveys asking about their well-being, knowledge, confidence in parenting, and their satisfaction with their social networks. The investigators are additionally developing educational podcasts focused on topics relevant to prenatal and postpartum fathers, which will be evaluated as a supplementary component to the mentoring program. Research objectives are the following: Study 1, Objective 1 (Primary): The investigators seek to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a program targeting perinatal fathers offered in a community clinic setting. Study 1, Objective 2 (Primary): Examine whether participating in a discussion-based group mentoring program increases the likelihood of positive short-term outcomes for fathers. Study 1 Objective 3 (Secondary): Identify whether listening to brief, targeted educational podcasts predicts increased positive outcomes for fathers over and above the mentoring group alone. Study 2 Objective 1 (Primary): Identify whether participants who listen to brief, targeted educational podcasts find the podcasts satisfactory and acceptable as a method of gaining information about perinatal fatherhood.

Conditions: Paternal Behavior, Father-Child Relations, Family Relations
Being tested: DadSpace
Keywords: Perinatal

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

DadSpaceBehavioural
A group educational support and mentoring program for perinatal fathers.

Study groups in NCT05063448
Study group	Role	What they receive
DadSpace Intervention	Experimental	Participants will take part in a 12-hour educational discussion-based mentoring program intervention over 8 weeks. The intervention will be facilitated by a trained father facilitator and will include education and support on topics relevant to perinatal fathers. Topics include father identity, stress management, infant development, co-parenting, masculinity and caregiving, healthy communication, and work-life balance. Participants will additionally have access to a brief educational podcast series on related topics. Participants will also be invited to monthly follow-up daddy/baby drop-in groups. Receives: Behavioral: DadSpace

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

Change in Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory
This 19-item abbreviated version of the inventory assesses accurate knowledge of infant development. The first 11 items are rated as true or false and include questions such as "Babies may cry for 20-30 minutes at a time, no matter how much you try to comfort them" and "Some parents do not bond until their baby starts to smile and look at them." An additional 6 items ask parents to rate whether they think babies can do something at the age listed in the item or whether the developmental task (e.g., "Six-month-olds know what 'no' means.") occurs in younger or older children. Two additional items ask respondents to choose the best way to respond to potentially stressful infant behaviors (breaking things and fussing at night). Item responses are scored as correct or incorrect with percent correct as the final measure.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Self-Perceptions of the Parental Role-Competence Scale
A 6-item measure of feelings of efficacy/competence in the parental role. Items are weighted on a range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating higher confidence in the parental role, a better outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 4 to 24.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Social Network Questionnaire-Satisfaction Scale
7 yes/no items on satisfaction with the support received from one's social network. More "yes" answers indicates lower satisfaction with the social network, a worse outcome. Scores are reverse-scored and totaled with a possible range from 0 to 7 so that higher scores indicate more satisfaction.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Role Conflict Scale
2 subscales that assess work conflict with family life, family life conflict with work, and work-family balance. Item values range from 1 to 6. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range of 8 to 48.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Perceived Stress Scale
10 items related to anxiety, stress, and coping with upsets. Items values range from 0 to 4 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 0 to 40.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
10 items that measure core features of postnatal depression. Item values range from 0 to 3 with a higher score indicating higher depressive symptoms, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 0 - 30.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Spielberger State Anxiety Scale (Short Form)
10 items assessing feelings of upset and anxiety versus contentment at the present time. Item values range from 1 to 4 with a higher score indicating higher state anxiety, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a total possible range from 6 to 24.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Coparenting Relationship Scale - Brief
13 items assessing coparent collaboration versus conflict related to child rearing. Items values range from 0 to 6 with higher scores indicating a better coparenting relationship. Items are totaled with a possible range from 0 - 72.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up

Secondary outcomes (2)

Change in Pearlin Mastery Scale
7-item measure of general self-efficacy versus helplessness. Item values range from 1 to 6 with higher scores indicating worse self-efficacy. Scores are totaled with a total possible range from 6 to 42.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Paternal Postnatal Attachment Scale
Assesses fathers' positive feelings versus lack of enjoyment with the baby. Item values have been revised from the original scale to range from 1 to 6 with higher scores indicating more positive feelings toward the baby. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 19 to 114.
Measured: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

6 Aug 202131 Dec 2022

First posted1 Oct 2021
Study start6 Aug 2021
Primary completion31 Dec 2022
Study completion31 Dec 2022

Resources

Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
Other trials for Paternal BehaviorStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design

Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase N/A
Primary purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Not applicable
Intervention model: Single group
Model description: Perinatal father support primary intervention is small group mentoring program (with pre/post test data) run by educators at The Women's Clinic (TWC). Participants who sign up for the program early enough will be provided surveys approximately 1 month prior to the intervention start to provide a non-randomized wait-list comparison. Participants will additionally have access to follow-up daddy/baby drop-in groups and a podcast series and may be provided satisfaction surveys for both.
Masking: None (open label)
Enrolment: 20 participants (actual)

IDs, dates and publications

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05063448
Sponsor's protocol ID: 1754
Status last verified: Nov 2025
First submitted: 8 Sep 2021
Last updated: 2 Dec 2025
Results posted: Yes, on ClinicalTrials.gov
Data monitoring committee: No
FDA-regulated drug: No
FDA-regulated device: No
Individual data sharing: No

Want to know more?

The sponsor has not listed a contact. The official record may have more details.

Talk to your doctor first and take this page with you. Only the study team can confirm whether you can join.

Questions to ask the study team

What is the study trying to find out?
What would I need to do, and how often would I visit?
Could I receive a placebo instead of the treatment?
What are the possible risks and benefits for me?
Will it cost me anything? Are travel or time paid for?
Can I keep seeing my own doctor during the study?
What happens when the study ends?

See locations

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All Paternal Behavior trials

Study at a glance

From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Dec 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.

Official title: DadSpace: Increasing Community Support Resources for Perinatal Fathers
ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05063448
Acronym / sponsor ID: 1754
Conditions: Paternal Behavior, Father-Child Relations, Family Relations
Keywords: Perinatal
Study type: Interventional
Recruitment status: Completed
Enrolment: 20 participants (actual)
Lead sponsor: Colorado State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
Collaborators: Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute
Study start: 6 Aug 2021 (actual)
Primary completion: 31 Dec 2022 (actual)
Study completion: 31 Dec 2022 (actual)
First posted: 1 Oct 2021 (actual)
Results: Posted 2 Dec 2025

Clinical summary

The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.

Detailed description

Study design

Primary purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Not applicable
Intervention model: Single group
Masking: None (open label)
Number of arms: 1
Model description: Perinatal father support primary intervention is small group mentoring program (with pre/post test data) run by educators at The Women's Clinic (TWC). Participants who sign up for the program early enough will be provided surveys approximately 1 month prior to the intervention start to provide a non-randomized wait-list comparison. Participants will additionally have access to follow-up daddy/baby drop-in groups and a podcast series and may be provided satisfaction surveys for both.

Arm	Type	Receives
DadSpace Intervention	Experimental	Behavioral: DadSpaceParticipants will take part in a 12-hour educational discussion-based mentoring program intervention over 8 weeks. The intervention will be facilitated by a trained father facilitator and will include education and support on topics relevant to perinatal fathers. Topics include father identity, stress management, infant development, co-parenting, masculinity and caregiving, healthy communication, and work-life balance. Participants will additionally have access to a brief educational podcast series on related topics. Participants will also be invited to monthly follow-up daddy/baby drop-in groups.

Who may qualify

Ages: 18 years and older
Sex: Male only
Healthy volunteers: Accepted
Age groups: Adult, Older adult

Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)

Participants must be expecting a baby or have a baby less than one year of age and planning to take the DadSpace mentoring program.

Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)

Non-English speaking

Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Interventions

Intervention	Type	Arms
DadSpaceA group educational support and mentoring program for perinatal fathers.	Behavioural	DadSpace Intervention

Primary outcome

Change in Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
This 19-item abbreviated version of the inventory assesses accurate knowledge of infant development. The first 11 items are rated as true or false and include questions such as "Babies may cry for 20-30 minutes at a time, no matter how much you try to comfort them" and "Some parents do not bond until their baby starts to smile and look at them." An additional 6 items ask parents to rate whether they think babies can do something at the age listed in the item or whether the developmental task (e.g., "Six-month-olds know what 'no' means.") occurs in younger or older children. Two additional items ask respondents to choose the best way to respond to potentially stressful infant behaviors (breaking things and fussing at night). Item responses are scored as correct or incorrect with percent correct as the final measure.
Change in Self-Perceptions of the Parental Role-Competence Scale
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
A 6-item measure of feelings of efficacy/competence in the parental role. Items are weighted on a range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating higher confidence in the parental role, a better outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 4 to 24.
Change in Social Network Questionnaire-Satisfaction Scale
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
7 yes/no items on satisfaction with the support received from one's social network. More "yes" answers indicates lower satisfaction with the social network, a worse outcome. Scores are reverse-scored and totaled with a possible range from 0 to 7 so that higher scores indicate more satisfaction.
Change in Role Conflict Scale
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
2 subscales that assess work conflict with family life, family life conflict with work, and work-family balance. Item values range from 1 to 6. Higher scores indicate a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range of 8 to 48.
Change in Perceived Stress Scale
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
10 items related to anxiety, stress, and coping with upsets. Items values range from 0 to 4 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 0 to 40.
Change in Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
10 items that measure core features of postnatal depression. Item values range from 0 to 3 with a higher score indicating higher depressive symptoms, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a possible range from 0 - 30.
Change in Spielberger State Anxiety Scale (Short Form)
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
10 items assessing feelings of upset and anxiety versus contentment at the present time. Item values range from 1 to 4 with a higher score indicating higher state anxiety, a worse outcome. Scores are totaled with a total possible range from 6 to 24.
Change in Coparenting Relationship Scale - Brief
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
13 items assessing coparent collaboration versus conflict related to child rearing. Items values range from 0 to 6 with higher scores indicating a better coparenting relationship. Items are totaled with a possible range from 0 - 72.

2 secondary outcomes

Change in Pearlin Mastery Scale
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
Change in Paternal Postnatal Attachment Scale
Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up

Results and safety

Results posted to the registry on 2 Dec 2025, as reported by the sponsor. Figures are copied from the record, not re-analysed. Full results on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Participant flow

Group	Started	Completed
DadSpace Intervention	20	19

Primary outcome: Change in Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory

Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Mean (Standard Deviation). Unit: Percent correct

Measure	DadSpace Intervention n = 18
Baseline	77.78 (10.3)
Mid-intervention	81.87 (6.56)
Posttest	67.25 (13.70)
Follow-up	78.95 (11.43)

Population analysed: Participants who participated in baseline and posttest surveys.

Primary outcome: Change in Self-Perceptions of the Parental Role-Competence Scale

Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Mean (Standard Deviation). Unit: score on a scale

Measure	DadSpace Intervention n = 18
Baseline	17.18 (3.57)
Mid-intervention	18.39 (3.24)
Posttest	18.89 (3.12)
Follow-up	19.33 (3.70)

DadSpace Intervention: Slope: 1.00 (95% CI -1.47 to 3.47)
DadSpace Intervention: p = 0.022, t-test, 2 sided

Population analysed: DadSpace participants who completed the posttest survey

Primary outcome: Change in Social Network Questionnaire-Satisfaction Scale

Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Mean (Standard Deviation). Unit: score on a scale

Measure	DadSpace Intervention n = 18
Baseline	4.56 (2.23)
Mid-intervention	4.72 (2.32)
Posttest	4.67 (2.38)
Follow-up	4.80 (2.37)

DadSpace Intervention: Slope: 1.00 (95% CI -0.84 to 2.84)

Population analysed: DadSpace participants who completed surveys at any of the time-points.

Primary outcome: Change in Role Conflict Scale

Time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Mean (Standard Deviation). Unit: score on a scale

Measure	DadSpace Intervention n = 18
Baseline	21.50 (7.22)
Mid-intervention	21.00 (7.98)
Posttest	22.22 (7.47)
Follow-up	20.80 (8.81)

DadSpace Intervention: Slope: 1.00 (95% CI -4.97 to 6.97)

Population analysed: Participants who completed surveys at any time point.

2 secondary outcomes are reported in the full results.

Adverse events

Time frame: Adverse event data were collected during study surveys at mid-intervention (4 weeks), posttest (8 weeks), and follow-up (12 weeks). Other adverse events reported at 5% frequency or more

Group	Serious adverse events	Other adverse events	Deaths
DadSpace Intervention	0 of 19 (0%)	1 of 19 (5.3%)	0 of 19

Limitations and caveats (from the sponsor): We were not able to recruit sufficient participants to have a wait-list comparison group, as originally intended. All outcomes should therefore be considered only exploratory in nature and not conclusive of intervention effectiveness.

Loading the posted results from ClinicalTrials.gov…

Research links

Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Dec 2025.
Posted resultsParticipant flow, baseline, all outcome measures and adverse events.
Individual participant dataSharing planned: No

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Referral and contact

AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.

Julie Braungart-Rieker, PhD principal investigator

Colorado State University

1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing DadSpace in people with Paternal Behavior and Father-Child Relations, run by Colorado State University at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Dec 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 2 Dec 2025). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change in Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory (time frame: Every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks, including pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up). The study lists 8 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05063448.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Dec 2025.