African-American Social Support Effectiveness Treatment- Partners Alleviating Perinatal Depression (ASSET-PPD)

This Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (R21) addresses perinatal depression in African-American (AA) women. AA mothers have a higher risk for perinatal depression than Caucasian women that is attributable to increased socio-environmental stressors. AA women have poor healthcare utilization and compliance with psychiatric treatment compared to Caucasian women. An intervention is required to supplement and support the clinical objectives of the mother’s depression care without requiring the mother’s direct involvement. Fathers are an underutilized resource to reduce the mother’s environmental stress and encourage healthy maternal behaviors. The PI will test the African-American Social Support Effectiveness Treatment- Partners alleviating Perinatal Depression (ASSET-PPD) protocol, a supplemental intervention to maternal perinatal psychiatric treatment. ASSET-PPD will target the fathers’ support of the mothers’ mental health treatment and their active engagement in the family to reduce maternal stress. The ASSET-PPD intervention will be designed to have 4 active modules that address key factors to reduce maternal stress during the prenatal period and 2 postpartum review sessions. ASSET-PPD is designed as individual sessions. The intervention is based on the theoretical models of the stress-generation and cognitive-behavior theories. The modules will be individual sessions constructed to provide training, information, and behavioral assignments to increase fathers’: 1) prenatal and postpartum family involvement; 2) mental health psychoeducation; 3) interparental communication and relationship skills; and 4) balanced division of family tasks. A post-intervention focus group of mothers and fathers will inform the PI of the utility and acceptability of the intervention. In addition, a panel of subject matter experts will be part of an external advisory board to provide feedback on the intervention development. The finalization of the manual wil