Father Participation in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: Predictors and Therapist Perspectives

Figures & data

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of survey and interview samples.

	Survey Sample (n = 267)	Interview Sample (n = 23)
Variable (response)	Frequency (%) OR Mean (SD)	Frequency (%) OR Mean (SD)
Therapist Demographics & Professional Characteristics
Age	35.76 (8.54)	37.30 (6.68)
Gender
Female	244 (91.4%)	20 (87%)
Male	22 (8.2%)	3 (13.0%)
Non-binary/Genderqueer	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)
Ethnicity
Non-Latinx White	201 (75.6%)	16 (69.6%)
Latinx/Hispanic	36 (13.5%)	7 (30%)
Other	29 (10.9%)	0 (0%)
Race	n = 261	n = 22
White	233 (85.4%)	22 (100%)
Black/African American	8 (3.1%)	0
Asian American/Pacific Islander	7 (2.7%)	0
American Indian/Alaska Native	2 (0.8%)	0
Multiracial/ Other	21 (8.1%)	0
Language of service provision
English only	211 (79.0%)	11 (47.8%)
Spanish	46 (17.2%)	9 (39.1%)
Other	10 (3.7%)	3 (13%)
Professional Discipline	n = 266
Clinical Psychology	96 (36.1%)	8 (34.8%)
Social Work	57 (21.4%)	5 (21.7%)
Counseling	52 (19.5%)	3 (13%)
Marriage Family Therapy	52 (19.5%)	5 (21.7%)
Other (e.g., School Psychology)	9 (3.4%)	2 (8.7%)
Highest Degree Obtained	n = 266
Master’s degree	183 (68.8%)	16 (69.6%)
Doctoral degree	75 (28.2%)	7 (30.4%)
Other	8 (3.0%)	0
Current Caseload Characteristics
PCIT Caseload, n = 266	6.06 (4.91)	6.26 (3.85)
PCIT cases where father is available	3.88 (3.39)	3.96 (2.75)
PCIT cases where father attends sessions regularly	2.23 (2.22)	2.43 (1.88)
% of caseload belonging to racial/ethnic minority	42.6% (33.5%)	58.9% (34.2%)

Table 2. Multiple linear regression results predicting rates of father engagement in PCIT.

Variable (Response)	b	SE	Beta	t	p
Intercept	.185	.156		1.183	.238
Therapist Characteristics
Gender (Male)*	.038	.083	.028	.456	.649
Race/Ethnicity^+ (Latinx/Hispanic)	.076	.076	.070	.999	.319
Race/Ethnicity (Other Minority)	.027	.076	.022	.350	.727
Years in practice as therapist	.006	.003	.122	1.926	.055
Caseload Characteristics
Percentage of client caseload that is racial/ethnic minority	−.001	.001	−.097	−1.365	.173
FEQ Scales
Confidence	−.005	.047	−.008	−.116	.908
Frequency of Strategy Use	.080	.031	.174	2.589	.010
Organizational Practices	.041	.027	.104	1.559	.120

Note. FEQ = Father Engagement Questionnaire

* Reference group: Female or Non-binary/genderqueer

⁺Reference group: Race/Ethnicity: non-Latinx white

Table 3. Themes and illustrative quotes.

Theme	Quote
Barriers to Father Engagement
Scheduling and availability	“most of the time they’re working one or two jobs, they’re getting home late.”
Family gender roles	“the family’s belief about gender roles and if it’s dad’s role to engage in things like the child therapy or if that’s one of mom’s duties. Families are really rigid in that, it can be hard to bring dads in”
Perceptions of child problem	“I think this dad had a lot resistance to participation in PCIT because he felt like it wasn’t really needed … ”
Mental health treatment stigma	“the biggest issue in getting fathers involved is the stigma behind mental health and counseling … a lot of dads will say ‘Okay, you can take them but I’m not going over there with you.’”
Treatment-specific aversions	“there are more dads who just like think the whole thing is really weird. Everything from sitting down and playing, to getting coached with a walkie-talkie, to ignoring a tantrum, you know, just all of it, it’s like ‘what are you guys doing.’ That’s a barrier”
Therapist identity	“it can be hard for parents in general, but particularly fathers, to receive directives from a young female therapist”
Father Engagement Strategies
Reaching out	“I will just call and introduce myself and say ‘hey I need you here. I really need you in the team.’”
Flexible scheduling	“trying to be flexible for them to come in in the evening”
Individual sessions	“I offered to meet with him individually or talk to him on the phone”
Incremental engagement	“When I have a dad that shows up that says ‘Look, you know, I just can’t be here every week’ I would say ‘Okay, can you give me this’ And I asked for a behavior observation, a first teach, and then if I can get one or two coaches, then bring them back in for a second teach … ”
Providing information	“I do a lot of front work in explaining why we’re even using play interventions, why is that so important for young kids, why are we using these techniques of play therapy and of child-directed interaction to address these really difficult behaviors that your child is having, so a lot of that is psycho-education.”
Stressing father’s important role	“I also try to emphasize how for male children, you are their model, I mean for girls too, but this is how he’s learning to be a man, that a man can be, that a grown-up, discipline doesn’t have to be scary, it can be calm but assertive, it can be loving and kind, it doesn’t have to always look like punishment. I try to emphasize that part of it, and then also when I’m working with dads and their daughters thinking about this relationship is so unique and important and why that is. So, I really try to be strength-based and emphasize dad why you’re so important
Connecting over shared characteristics	“it’s just not what we see in our culture, it’s just not how we were raised, so I have to just try to empathize with them, I am Hispanic as well … so it just takes a little bit more understanding where they’re coming from … ”