Impact Evaluation of MotherWise Program

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Mathematica was awarded a contract by ACF to conduct the evaluation of selected grantees offering Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Programs.This particular evaluation will focus on the University of Denver's MotherWise program, which offers relationship education and other supports to low-income women expecting a baby. The program has three core components: (1) 18 hours of core workshop sessions using the Within My Reach relationship education curriculum supplemented with content on mother-infant relationships; (2) case management services; and (3) optional relationship education workshops for couples. The evaluation will test the effect of this full package of services on mothers' relationship outcomes, as well as other outcomes related to child well-being, such as co-parenting and father involvement.

Detailed Description
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), is conducting an evaluation of healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programs. Mathematica was awarded a contract by ACF to conduct the evaluation of selected programs/grantees.This segment of the larger evaluation will focus on the University of Denver's MotherWise program. The Mother Wise program will offer relationship education and other supports to low-income women expecting a baby. The program will have three core components: (1) 18 hours of core workshop sessions using the Within My Reach relationship education curriculum supplemented with content on mother-infant relationships; (2) case management services; and (3) optional relationship education workshops for couples. The evaluation will test the effect of this full package of services on mothers' relationship outcomes, as well as other outcomes related to child well-being, such as co-parenting and father involvement. If feasible, the evaluation will also examine some measures available through hospital records, such as birth weight. Mother Wise will enroll women who are expecting a baby and those who have had a baby within the past month. Control group members will not be eligible for Mother Wise but will be eligible for other services available in the community. To document the outcomes of study participants, survey data will be collected at two time points: (1) a baseline survey administered at study enrollment, a (2) a 12-month follow-up survey, and (3) a 30-month follow-up survey. Surveys will be conducted by staff at Mathematica's Survey Operations Center using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). Survey data may be supplemented with administrative records data from the Denver Health system.

Official Title
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Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services - Impact Evaluation of MotherWise Program

Conditions
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Parenting, Family Relations, Marriage, Mother-Child Relations

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: MotherWise Program


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: To be eligible, women must be expecting a baby or had a baby in the past 3 months. Exclusion Criteria: To be eligible, women must not be incarcerated.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: MotherWise Programming<br>Three components: (1) 18 hours of core workshop sessions using the Within My Reach relationship education curriculum supplemented with content on mother-infant relationships; (2) case management services; and (3) optional relationship education workshops for couples. | Behavioral: MotherWise Program<br>* Healthy Marriage or Relationship Education services for pregnant women.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control<br>No program services | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Perceived romantic relationship skills | Six-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4) | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Perceived romantic relationship skills | Six-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4) | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Perceived conflict management skills | Five-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4) | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Perceived conflict management skills | Five-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4) | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Support for going slow in romantic relationships | One-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4) | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Support for going slow in romantic relationships | One-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4) | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Disapproval of couple violence | Five-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4) | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Disapproval of couple violence | Five-item scale (ranges from 1 to 4) | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Any psychological abuse | A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother indicates that a romantic partner has subjected her to psychological abuse in the past year. | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Any psychological abuse | A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother indicates that a romantic partner has subjected her to psychological abuse in the past year. | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Any physical abuse | A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother indicates that a romantic partner has pushed, shoved, kicked, punched or beaten her up in the past year. | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Any physical abuse | A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother indicates that a romantic partner has pushed, shoved, kicked, punched or beaten her up in the past year. | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Had an unintended pregnancy since program enrollment | A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother reported having had an unintended pregnancy since random assignment. | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Had an unintended pregnancy since program enrollment | A binary variable equal to 1 if the mother reported having had an unintended pregnancy since random assignment. | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Quality of co-parenting relationship with baby's father | Ten-item scale (ranges from 0 to 10) | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Quality of co-parenting relationship with baby's father | Ten-item scale (ranges from 0 to 10) | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Depressive symptoms | Eight-item scale (ranges from 0 to 24; based on PHQ-8) | 1 year after random assignment | 
| Depressive symptoms | Eight-item scale (ranges from 0 to 24; based on PHQ-8) | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Number of relationship transitions | This is a continuous variable representing the number of relationship transitions the mother reported since random assignment. A relationship transition occurs each time a romantic relationship begins or ends. | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Material hardship | This continuous variable ranges from 0 to 6 and reflects how many of six possible things a mother had done in the past year because she did not have enough money. | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Child social-emotional and behavioral problems | This 31-item scale is a measure of the child's social-emotional and behavioral problems with higher scores indicating more problems. | 30 months after random assignment | 
| Child social-emotional abilities | This 11-item scale is a measure of the child's social-emotional abilities-such as empathy, prosocial behaviors, and compliance-with higher scores indicating higher competence. | 30 months after random assignment |