Impact of Paternal Depression in Father's Perceptions About Infant’s Characteristics: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background:

Maternal postpartum depression is known to negatively affect parenting and the mother-child relationship. When compared with non-depressed mothers, depressed ones have more often negative perceptions about their child's characteristics. This cognitive distortion can be a mechanism that mediates mother-child relationship disorders. Postpartum depression in fathers and its effects on parenting are understudied and rarely recognised as relevant in clinical practice.

Aims: Our purpose with this work is to examine the association between paternal depression and the father's perceptions about his infant, namely the infant's temperament and the difficulty in dealing with the usual daily problems posed by the new baby.

Method:

50 families were recruited in primary care consultations. Data were collected at time points ranging from 3 months to 24 months postpartum. Paternal and maternal depression were measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The father's perceptions about the infant were measured using the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire and the Daily Hassles Scale.

Results and conclusion:

The study is still ongoing.