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Mothers carry much of the burden of healthy development for children from pregnancy to teenagers.
However, a large and new study adds to the increased evidence that fathers are also responsible for the types of development that help children develop physically, emotionally and cognitively.
A study published Monday published in Jama Pediatrics found that fathers’ mental distress is slightly associated with the development of inferior children, including cognitive, social emotions, language and physical development. The researchers defined mental distress as a diagnosis of symptoms or depression, anxiety, or a mixture of both or stress. The findings were particularly true in the perinatal period, ranging from late pregnancy to two years after birth.
During this time, developing fetuses, infants, and subsequent infants are particularly sensitive to the experiences of parents, especially mothers, according to research.
“Men are at risk of increased mental distress during the transition to paternity, with the prevalence of perinatal men being 8% for clinical depression, 11% for anxiety, and 6% to 9% for stress,” the authors wrote in the study.
“This represents the most comprehensive global review to date on the association between fathers’ perinatal mental health and offspring development.” Dr. Delyse Hutchinson, a senior author of the study at the Seed Life Span Research Centre at Deakin University in Australia, said in an email.
“What stood out was the incredible consistency of the trends observed in the results,” Hutchinson said. The clinical psychologist said. “This underscores the importance of supporting fathers if they want to see better results for their families.”
Previous studies have linked fathers’ poor mental health with potential harm to child development, but results were limited by the number of developments examined or the strength of the outcome.
The authors wanted to fill in the gaps between these studies in addition to expanding this type of study beyond mother-child pairs. They analyzed the relationships between paternal depression, anxiety or stress, and six child development: social emotions, adaptation, cognitive, language, physical development, and motor development from birth to age 18.
Factors of social emotional development included the child’s ability to form positive relationships with peers, benefit others, have healthy relationship attachments, self-fulfilling, and behave in a healthy temperament. Adaptability refers to a child’s ability to respond to changing and managing daily needs. Cognitive development includes the health of children’s executive function skills, decision-making, memory, attention, learning, IQ and academic achievement.
Physical developmental factors include preterm birth, pregnancy growth and childhood height, weight, stunting, abdominal pain, and sleep health. Motor development refers to fine motor skills, including the use of small muscles for writing and behaviors such as buttoning. These latter skills use large muscles in movements such as swinging, walking, or biting your arms.
The findings stem from 84 previous studies that combined the total of father-child pairs. All studies measured mental distress from pregnancy to two years after birth, followed by participants over time, Hutchinson said. The authors ruled out studies with fathers who had medical conditions and took medication or consumed alcohol.
There was no evidence of a link between paternal psychological distress and adaptability and motor development, the study found. However, minor connections with other developmental outcomes, such as social emotions, cognitive, language, and physical maturation, could be ignored. The biggest influences were in childhood, in childhood and in middle age.
The association generally indicates postnatal mental distress is stronger than preconceived mental distress, suggesting that a father’s mental state may have a more direct effect on postnatal developing children,” the authors said. The father’s mental distress affects his sensitivity and reactivity in interactions with his child, and can disrupt the security of his attachment, Hutchinson said.
“The timing of this review is excellent,” wrote independent experts Dr. Craig Garfield, Dr. Clarissa Simon, and Dr. John James Parker of Anne & Robert H. Luley Children’s Hospital in a commentary on the study. “Fathers spend more time raising children than ever, and are increasingly recognized as an important contributor to the health and well-being of their families.”
The results confirm established evidence of the importance of supportive parenting regarding the well-being of children, Dr. Alwa Nasir, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, said in an email. Nasir was not involved in this study.
Nasir’s research into the role fathers play in their children’s lives is important.
It remains unknown
Though the idea of father’s happiness affecting the father’s child can be a natural conclusion, one of the drawbacks of this study is its partial reliance on grey literature. In this case, it is an unpublished study that includes interviews with authors of published studies that meet the criteria but do not report relevant data. Of the 674 associations found, 286 came from unpublished jobs.
However, the authors of the new study stated that when comparing results relying on published studies and unpublished studies, the new association remained similar in most categories of development.
Furthermore, while the study is “well designed,” Nasir said, it does not prove causality and lacks a greater context.
“Both fathers and children’s emotional health are simply affected by the same greater psychosocial factors and socioeconomic pressures, such as poverty, structural racism, and health disparities,” Nasir explained. “By presenting a link between father’s mental health and child’s health outcomes, there is a risk that fathers present as the cause of their child’s problems, isolated from greater social factors.”
This interpretation can also be stigmatized, Nasir added. “If the goal supports children’s optimal health and development, I think that focusing on research and behavior is to explore ways in which society can support parents through economic security, equity and justice.”
The study highlights the importance of assessing and treating the well-being of both parents during perinatal medical visits, experts said.
“Borrowing from a decades-old strategy of perinatal maternal screening for (postpartum depression), clinicians, researchers, and policy makers, can design ancestral programs and policies to improve the mental health of fathers and families based on existing maternal infrastructure,” writes Garfield, Simon and Parker.
Parents are guardians of “future generations of society,” Nasir added. “Supporting the well-being of our families should be a national priority.”
But to get help, the father must speak up and answer questions honestly about his mental health concerns, they added.
“It’s a challenging time for fathers to become parents, and it’s important to recognize that many fathers experience the ups and downs during this period,” Hutchinson said.
Seeking support early can make a difference, she added, and it’s a strength, not a weakness. The father can talk to a general physician, therapist, or health care provider at a specialized pregnancy or postnatal clinic about mental health symptoms, Hutchinson said. Peer group support and online apps that help you manage your mood using mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy are also effective, she added.
Even if your child is older, it’s not too late to prioritize your health, Hutchinson said. The age and stage of the child’s overall development is important not only in one period but also in one.