Evaluation of Phase I Fathering In Recovery Prototype
Phase: NA
Conditions: Parenting, Opioid-use Disorder, Father-Child Relations, Fathers
Sponsor: Oregon Research Behavioral Intervention Strategies, Inc.

ORI IRB# 00000278 
Protocol Version 10.26.2021 
Official Title: Evaluation of Phase I Fathering In Recovery Prototype   
Principal Investigators: Jeremy Jones, Ph.D. 
Influents Innovations 
Award No. R43DA052949-01 
Protocol Version Date: 10.26.2021 
 
 

Study Protocol 
Thirty fathers were enrolled in the Fathering In Recovery (FIR) Phase I pilot study. Fathers were recruited 
through residential and outpatient drug and alcohol treatment centers located across the nation. The 
majority were recruited from Hazelden drug and alcohol treatment centers (83%) and CODA opioid 
treatment centers (7%). Drug treatment staff identified individuals who they believed met eligibility 
criteria and were currently or had recently participated in either residential or outpatient treatment. 
Those individuals were provided with brief information describing the study and provided with a 
website address that took them to a Qualtrics screener to assess eligibility. If individuals were eligible, 
they were asked to provide their contact information so that research staff could follow up to provide 
additional information regarding the study and a consent document to enroll in the study. 
Fathers were invited to complete the 4-session FIR program over 4 weeks. Fathers completed outcome 
questionnaires approximately 1 week prior to starting the program and approximately 1 week after 
completing the program. Fathers also evaluated acceptability and usability. Twenty-eight fathers 
completed post-intervention assessments (93% retention). 
Statistical Analysis Plan 
To address promise of efficacy, the primary approach will be standard normal paired sample t-tests for 
evaluation of pre-post improvements in the benchmark outcomes. Although this is not a randomized 
trial and we therefore cannot demonstrate program efficacy, a critical component of the feasibility 
analysis will be observed pre-post improvements in parenting knowledge, parenting efficacy, parenting 
skill, and pre-post reductions in substance use. We will test the hypothesis H1: µ POST > µ PRE for 
knowledge, efficacy, and parenting skill, and µ POST < µ PRE for substance use. The paired t-test assumes 
that the paired differences individual i (µPOST - µ PRE) are a simple random sample from a population of 
normally-distributed difference values that all have the same mean and variance. This assumption 
implies that the data are continuous, and their distribution is symmetric. The paired sample t is the 
same formula shown above with the standard deviation given as the paired differences:   
𝑠= √∑𝑖 = 1
𝑛
(𝑋𝑖− 𝑋̅)2      
𝑛−1
  
The primary outcomes, parenting efficacy and parenting skill 
are measured on a Gaussian normal, the test µ POST > µ PRE is 
powered .802 to detect a pre-post effect size of .46 standard 
deviations, a medium effect; likewise, for substance use also 
on a continuous scale on the PhenX, the test µ POST < µ PRE is 
powered .80 to detect an effect size of .46. For all discrete 
outcomes such as the Phenx psychopathology, a sample size 
of 30 is powered .809 to detect pre-post change of .22 in 
proportions of the sample above item thresholds. For 
example, items are measured on a scale of 0 to 4, with 1 
“slight” the threshold for suicidality, psychosis, and 
substance use, and 2 “mild” the threshold for depression, anxiety, or sleep disorder, etc. For Poisson 
frequencies of substance use, the study is powered .802 to detect a .58 mean reduction in the pre-post 
rate of use, and effect size of .46.