Depression and paternal adjustment and attitudes during the transition to parenthood

Background: Depression symptoms may negatively affect the achievement of developmental tasks within the transition to parenthood, increasing the risk of paternal adjustment problems and negative paternal attitudes. Objective: This study analysed the effect of men's depression symptoms on paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes trajectories from the second trimester of pregnancy to six months postpartum. Methods: A sample of 127 men completed measures of depression symptoms and paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes at the second trimester of pregnancy and at six months postpartum. Results: From the second trimester of pregnancy to six months postpartum, men with more depression symptoms revealed a decrease on positive attitudes towards sex (while men with fewer depression symptoms revealed an increase), a steeper decrease in the satisfaction with marital relationship (than men with fewer depression symptoms), and a decrease in positive attitudes towards pregnancy and the baby (while men with fewer depression symptoms revealed an increase). Conclusion: Depression symptoms early in pregnancy may represent a risk factor to increased paternal adjustment problems and negative paternal attitudes during the transition to parenthood.
This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of
Minho, and at the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia - Instituto de Saúde Pública da
Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UID/DTP/04750/2013). It was supported by the Foundation for
Science and Technology (Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science) through National
funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership
Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653) and through the Operational Programme Factors of
Competitiveness–COMPETE within the project ‘Health, Governance and Accountability in Embryo
Research: Couples’ Decisions About the Fates of Embryos’ (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014453), the
FCT Investigator contract IF/01674/2015 and PhD grants (SFRH/BD/115048/2016, SFRH/BD/75807/
2011 and SFRH/BD/40146/2007). This study was also funded by FEDER Funds through the
Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade–COMPETE and by National Funds through
FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/SAU/SAP/116738/2010).