Gentle Warriors Academy Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Program Evaluation

Gentle Warriors Academy Program Evaluation

The purpose of this descriptive study is to explore whether there is an association between participation in the Gentle Warriors Academy and improvements in outcomes related to parenting, co-parenting, and parental well-being. Participants are surveyed at program entry, program exit, and 12 months following program enrollment, and changes in participant attitudes and behaviors are assessed over time.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Fathers
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Primary Services

Detailed Description

This study is a descriptive evaluation of the Gentle Warriors Academy program offered to fathers in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Program participants are informed about the study and asked to provide consent to participate in the evaluation of the program. Consenting participants complete surveys at program enrollment, program exit, and 12 months after program enrollment, and survey data is used to determine if the program is associated with short-term and long-term changes in attitudes and behaviors among participants. Changes in parenting attitudes and parental well-being are assessed by comparing survey answers before and after participating in 26 hours of the Next Level Fatherhood primary curriculum. Changes in behaviors related to parenting and co-parenting are assessed from program entry to 12 months post-enrollment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 731
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Georgia
    • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30338
      • Fathers Incorporated

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult (age 18 and older)
• Father/father figure
• With children under age 16
• Reside in Metro Atlanta area

Exclusion Criteria:

• Minor (under the age of 18)
• Not a father/father figure
• Children older than 16 years old
• Reside outside of Metro Atlanta area

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Primary Services; Participants receive 26 hours of Next Level Fatherhood curriculum, 2 hours of child maltreatment workshops, 2 hours of anger management workshops, and 2 hours of optional legitimation workshops. Participants also receive ongoing case management and support services.	Behavioral: Primary Services; Participants receive 26 hours of Next Level Fatherhood curriculum, 2 hours of child maltreatment workshops, 2 hours of anger management workshops, and 2 hours of optional legitimation workshops. Participants also receive ongoing case management and support services.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
1) Healthy Parenting Attitudes Measurement #1	Will participants report significantly healthier parenting attitudes after completing primary workshops, as compared to responses at program enrollment? Items measured include: Parenting attitudes measured with: 7 items - frequency of feelings about participant's youngest child (categorical, 5-point scale) Measured on the parenting attitudes scale #1 as: 1 = always, 2 = often, 3 = sometimes, 4 = rarely, 5 = never The construct is created by adding all 7 scores together and dividing by 7. The higher the score on a scale of 1-5, the better the outcome. The lower the score, the worse the outcome. Maximum score: 5.0, minimum score: 1.0	baseline and program exit at 10 weeks post-enrollment
2) Healthy Parenting Behaviors Measurement #1	Will participants report significantly healthier parenting behavior one year after enrolling in the program, as compared to responses at baseline? Items measured include: Parenting behavior measured with: 11 items - frequency of key behaviors with participant's youngest child (categorical, 5-point scale) Measured on the parenting behavior scale #1 as: 1 = never, 2 = 1 to 2 days per month, 3 = 3 or 4 days per month, 4 = 2 or 3 days per week, 5 = every day or almost every day The higher the rating, the better the score. The construct is created by adding all 11 scores together and dividing by 11. The higher the score on a scale of 1-5, the better the outcome. The lower the score, the worse the outcome. maximum score: 5.0, minimum score: 1.0	Time frame: change from baseline in parenting behaviors (interactions with child) from enrollment to 1 year post-enrollment.
3) Healthy Co-parenting Behaviors Measurement #1	Will participants report significantly healthier co-parenting behavior one year after enrolling in the program, as compared to responses at baseline? Items measured include: 11 items: frequency of agreement with key co-parenting behaviors (categorical, 5-point scale) Measured on the co-parenting behavior scale #1 as: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree The construct is created by adding all scores together and dividing by 11. The higher the score on a scale of 1-5, the better the outcome. The lower the score, the worse the outcome.	change from baseline in co-parenting behaviors (interactions with co-parent) from enrollment to 1 year post-enrollment.
4) Parent Wellbeing Measurement #1	Will participants report significantly higher parental wellbeing after completing primary workshops, as compared to responses at program enrollment? 1 item: frequency of feeling overwhelmed by parenting responsibilities (categorical, 4-point scale) 1 = never, 2 = hardly ever, 3 = sometimes, 4 = often The lower the number, the better the score. Maximum score=4.0, minimum score=1	change from baseline in parental wellbeing (feelings about parenting) from enrollment to program exit (10 weeks).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Midwest Evaluation & Research
• Collaborators: Fathers Incorporated
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Matt D Shepherd, PhD, Midwest Evaluation and Research

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 28, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): August 29, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 21, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 21, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): March 27, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 5, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 9, 2025
• Last Verified: October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: #2021/03/42

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: All participant data will be confidential and aggregated. No individual participant data will be released unless requested by the courts. This study looks at data as a whole.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No