Greater Father Involvement in Infant Parenting Tied to Less Paternal Depression

Fathers who actively involve in parenting an infant experience a lower risk of paternal depressive symptoms later on, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.// The author of the study conducted home interviews with 881 ethnically and racially diverse, low-income fathers from 5 different sites in the US. They studied the three parenting indicators: father time spent with the infant, parenting self-efficacy, and material support for the infant. They also evaluated paternal depressive symptoms at regular intervals using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale.

The study found that fathers were less likely to be depressed in later life when they were more involved with their kids shortly after their birth, reports Dr. Olajide N. Bamishigbin Jr., the first author of the paper.

This study's findings have important implications for future research on the contributors to father involvement, the impact of early involvement, the connection between parental self-efficacy and depression, and the link between paternal and maternal depression. The authors highlight that a deeper understanding of these and related variables might help design interventions for expecting fathers and shape public policies.

Hence, the new study suggested paid paternal leave policies which can allow fathers to be more involved with their children and gain confidence as a parent early on in their lives, without having to bother about their economic security, and may help allow fathers more opportunities to be involved with their kids and be part of shaping healthier and thriving future generations. In turn, this could improve the well-being of the entire family.

Source-Medindia