Paternal Mental Health and Socioemotional and Behavioral Development in Their Children

Abstract

WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Paternal mental disorders during the postnatal period are associated with an increased risk for behavioral and emotional problems in their children; however, less is known about the effect of fathers' mental health during pregnancy on children' s development. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:The study demonstrated a positive association between fathers' prenatal mental health and their children' s subsequent socioemotional and behavioral development. Psychological distress in fathers was associated with a risk for emotional difficulties in their children at 36 months of age. abstract OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between symptoms of psychological distress in expectant fathers and socioemotional and behavioral outcomes in their children at age 36 months. METHODS:The current study is based on data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study on 31 663 children. Information about fathers' mental health was obtained by self-report (Hopkins Symptom Checklist) in week 17 or 18 of gestation. Information about mothers' pre-and postnatal mental health and children' s socioemotional and behavioral development at 36 months of age was obtained from parent-report questionnaires. Linear multiple regression and logistic regression models were performed while controlling for demographics, lifestyle variables, and mothers' mental health.RESULTS: Three percent of the fathers had high levels of psychological distress. Using linear regression models, we found a small positive association between fathers' psychological distress and children' s behavioral difficulties, B = 0.19 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.15-0.23); emotional difficulties, B = 0.22 (95% CI = 0.18-0.26); and social functioning, B = 0.12 (95% CI = 0.07-0.16). The associations did not change when adjusted for relevant confounders. Children whose fathers had high levels of psychological distress had higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems.CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that some risk of future child emotional, behavioral, and social problems can be identified during pregnancy. The findings are of importance for clinicians and policy makers in their planning of health care in the perinatal period because this represents a significant opportunity for preventive intervention. Ms Kvalevaag has made a substantial contribution to concept and design of the study and to the analysis and interpretation of data. She is the first author of the manuscript and thus has drafted it and has been responsible for coordinating the communication between coauthors in all stages of the work. Dr Ramchandani made a substantial contribution to the development of research questions and hypotheses and made suggestions for analyses to be performed. He thoroughly revised the manuscript several times and approved of the final version of the manuscript. Dr Hove contributed to the concept and design of the study, development of research questions and hypotheses, and interpretation of results. He critically revised the manuscript, including the final versi...

Nurturing care: promoting early childhood development

“…A review of 86 randomized control trials (RCTs) showed that psychosocial programmes have been successful during pregnancy for smoking cessation, reducing low birthweight and preterm births, but evidence is limited on such interventions in LMICs. (57) Maternal nutrition, micronutrients and iodine supplementation The ability of a mother to support the health and development of her children is critically dependent on her own health and well-being before, during, and after pregnancy. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) influences multiple aspects of child development and has been linked to poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes, risks of prematurity, reduced school performance, and heightened behavioural problems in children.…”

Fathers’ Roles in the Care and Development of Their Children: The Role of Pediatricians

“…Mental health problems in fathers are also highly correlated with later emotional disorders in their children. 133,134 Becoming a father can be a transformative experience for men's physical health as well, during which men become motivated to take better care of themselves. President Barack Obama, in his Father's Day 2008 speech, 135 said, "When I was a young man, I thought life was all about mehow do I make my way in the world, and how do I become successful and how do I get the things that I want.…”

Parenting, the other oldest profession in the world – a cross-sectional study of parenting and child outcomes in South Africa and Malawi

“…Both maternal and paternal depression have been shown to negatively affect child development (Kvalevaag et al, 2013; Tsivos, Calam, Sanders, & Wittkowski, 2015). Parenting that involves violence has long-lasting negative sequelae on children, notably in educational and emotional outcomes (L.…”