Summary: A father’s level of stress during the first few months of their child’s life impacts the emotional and behavioral development of their child at age two.
Source: King’s College London
New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and others has found an association between fathers who experience too much stress in the months following the birth of their child, and the child’s subsequent development of emotional and behavioral problems at age two.
The research, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, suggests that new fathers should be assessed for stress during the perinatal period as it presents an opportunity for early intervention to help prevent future difficulties for both father and child.
The study used data from the Finnish CHILD-SLEEP birth cohort. 901 fathers and 939 mothers completed questionnaires on stress, anxiety and depression during pregnancy and three stages in the postpartum period, with a final survey taking place at 24 months.
The new fathers were asked a number of questions about their levels of stress, including how often they felt that they were unable to control important things in their life, and how confident they felt handling personal problems.
Their stress levels were scored on a 20-point scale, with those scoring 10 or more being considered as experiencing “high” levels of stress. Participants were also asked to report on their child’s emotional and behavioral problems at 24 months.
Overall, around 7% of participating fathers experienced high stress at the first three stages measured in the perinatal period. This then rose to 10% at two years postpartum.
Researchers identified the strongest association between paternal stress at three months postpartum and childhood emotional and behavioral problems at age two, even when accounting for other factors like maternal stress, anxiety and depression. Paternal stress was more strongly associated with childhood outcomes than paternal depression or anxiety.
Dr. Fiona Challacombe, Clinical Psychologist at King’s IoPPN and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and lead author of the study says, “Our study found that paternal stress makes a unique contribution to child outcomes, particularly during the early postpartum months.
“Nonetheless, men may be reluctant to seek help or express their needs during this time and may feel excluded from the maternal focus of perinatal services.
“Explicit effort may be required to engage fathers in discussions about the types of support they may need to manage stress and well-being and help prevent future difficulties for their children at what might be a sensitive stage of development.
“Future research needs to focus on understanding the mechanisms by which this effect may be acting—whether it is paternal behaviors or the impact on maternal behaviors. This will help design the right interventions for fathers.
“The rise in paternal stress at two years indicates that this does not dissipate over time—returning to work, chronic sleep difficulties and behavioral difficulties becoming more apparent may all contribute.”
About this stress and developmental neuroscience research news
Author: Press Office
Source: King’s College London
Contact: Press Office – King’s College London
Image: The image is in the public domain
See also
Original Research: Open access.
“Paternal perinatal stress is associated with children’s emotional problems at 2 years” by Fiona L. Challacombe et al. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Abstract
Paternal perinatal stress is associated with children’s emotional problems at 2 years
Background
Paternal mental health in pregnancy and postpartum has been increasingly highlighted as important both in its own right, but also as crucial for the development of children. Rates of help-seeking among fathers is low, possibly due to conceptualising their own difficulties as stress rather than problems with mood. The relationship between paternal stress and child outcomes has not been investigated.
Methods
This study used data from the Finnish CHILD-SLEEP birth cohort. Data were available for 901 fathers and 939 mothers who completed questionnaires on demographics, stress, anxiety and depression at 32 weeks gestation, 3 months, 8 months and 24 months postpartum. Parental report of child emotional and behavioural problems was collected at 24 months.
Results
Around 7% of fathers experienced high stress (over 90% percentile) at each timepoint measured in the perinatal period, rising to 10% at 2 years postpartum. Paternal stress measured antenatally, at 3 and 24 months was associated with child total problems at 24 months, while paternal depression and anxiety were not related to child outcomes when in the same model. After adjusting for concurrent maternal depression, anxiety and stress, an association remained between paternal stress at each timepoint and child total problem scores at 24 months. The strongest association was with paternal stress at 3 months (OR 3.17; 95% CI 1.63–6.16). There were stronger relationships between paternal stress and boys’ rather than girls’ total problem scores, although the interactions were not statistically significant.
Conclusions
Paternal stress is an important manifestation of perinatal distress and is related to child mental health, particularly when present in the early postpartum months. Paternal stress should therefore be assessed in the perinatal period, which presents opportunities for early intervention and prevention of difficulties for both father and child.