A Community-Led Social and Emotional Well-being Trial Intervention With First Nations Male Parents in Remote Australian Indigenous Communities

TL;DR

A community-led program for Indigenous Australian fathers in remote areas improved their mental health and emotional well-being.

Contribution

This study introduces a culturally designed and led intervention to improve mental health outcomes for a neglected demographic.

Findings

The ED intervention group showed higher scores on emotional well-being indicators compared to the control group.

Qualitative insights confirmed and expanded on the quantitative results of improved well-being.

The study concludes that group-based parenting programs may benefit First Nations fathers' mental health.

Abstract

Australian First Nations men are a specific and neglected demographic group at substantially higher than average risk for mental disorders, trauma, and suicide. A mixed methods investigation, including a randomised, controlled feasibility trial was undertaken into the effectiveness of a First Nations designed and led men’s parenting and social and emotional well-being (SEWB) intervention. The aim was to test if the intervention group improved on two validated measures for SEWB, compared with the control group. The SEWB intervention known as Enabling Dads (ED) was conducted in three remote Aboriginal communities in Far North Queensland, Australia, with 68 adult men. Outcome measures included the Indigenous Growth and Empowerment Measure and the Kessler 6 Distress Scale (K6). Before the intervention, no significant differences were found between the control and intervention groups for any variables, indicating that the groups were comparable at baseline. Post-intervention, the ED intervention group showed notably but not significantly higher scores on theoretically germane items including feeling more energetic, having a sense of belonging in the community, more confidence, feeling centred and focused, and experiencing less anger compared to the control group. Qualitative data with the intervention group provided confirmatory and new insights that strengthen the quantitatively indicated benefits that men gained from the ED program. The conclusion is that a group-based parenting intervention for First Nations dads may improve important indicators of their SEWB.

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