Father’s Mental Health

“There are so many things that shape each person’s idea of masculinity, from social norms to cultural influences,” said NICHQ Senior Project Director, Kenn Harris. “And sometimes it can be difficult to reconcile all these expectations. This is especially true for fathers who face additional structural barriers — such as employment and economic challenges or living in different housing than their child — which disrupt their ability to connect with their children during the early years of life.”

What is mental health?

Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects us on multiple levels such as the way we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle and react to stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood, and in both sexes.

Over the course of our life, experiencing mental health problems may lead to an affected way of thinking, mood, and behavior. Some factors may  contribute to mental health problems, such as: 

• Biological factors: genes or brain chemistry
• Life experiences: as trauma or abuse
• Family history of mental health problems

Mental health problems are frequent, yet help is available. People with mental health problems can get better and many recover completely.

Modern dad and mental health

The modern dad is more involved in familial responsibilities than the dads of our ancestors. They are pushing the boundaries of “manly” stereotypes and doing activities that differentiate them from the past generations. They may have to handle a full-time job, come home and clean, care for the kids…. This comes with a lot of “new” responsibilities.Therefore, this shift of power makes many fathers feel this weight as a burden to their mental health.

How Paternal Mental Health Affects the Family

Dads’ emotional well-being is on the decline, and it is being overlooked. Recent research shows that when fathers’ mental health declines, so does the quality of their co-parenting relationships. Families with fathers who struggle with mental health issues, particularly during early childhood, tend to have children with more difficulties managing their emotions and behaviors.

Men’s options are a little more limited in mental health clinicians. Clinicians are not often equipped to navigate the complexities of working with men and boys, and there are a number of gender-specific issues that men and boys need attending to. The mental health landscape is primarily made up of clinicians who have been trained almost solely with female clientele (men don’t seek treatment at the same rate that women do). Men don’t have as many options — and the options they do have may not be best suited to their needs.

With these barriers in mind, it is essential to acknowledge paternal mental health and to encourage dads, and all men, to seek mental health care when they are struggling.

Putting fathers’ mental health into perspective

Becoming a father is an extremely important life event for a man. Fathers can experience new emotions, feelings, and changes initiated by the transition into parenthood. Some evidence shows that around 10% of new fathers experience depression, and yet there are still little studies and understanding about this topic to pinpoint exact numbers. Most new mothers perceive the father to be a crucial source of support. Poor paternal support can exacerbate maternal mental health problems. However, many fathers feel alienated and have little knowledge about how they can support their partner at this time.

These days, around 98% of fathers are present at the birth of their child. If that birth becomes traumatic, the father witnessing these events can also become traumatized. While research exists about the impact of birth trauma on mothers, little is known about the impact on fathers. Some evidence shows that fathers encountered ‘a rollercoaster of emotions, characterized by isolation and abandonment’ when witnessing their partners’ birth trauma. Previous studies have shown that fathers get little information and support in the event of a traumatic birth.

Fathers’ mental health matters for many reasons; we need to understand more about how we can help dads. My recent research has sought to explore that in more depth, while my campaigns urge better support for fathers. It’s not about support for fathers instead of mothers; it’s as well as. If we help fathers, we help mothers. If we help them both, we also help their children.

  June 20th, 2022 is International Fathers’ Mental Health Day

Although most of us are socialized to think of men as providers of support during the perinatal period and early parenthood, 10% of new dads experience paternal postpartum depression (50% when the mom is depressed) and tend to need support of their own. However, the stigma against experiencing difficulties in early parenthood is even higher for men than for women. Society views men as stoic, self-sacrificing, and above all, strong. When men feel none of those things as new fathers, they don’t want to admit it or seek help.

For this reason, Postpartum Support International is an enthusiastic supporter of IFMHD as a means to take a whole-family, father-inclusive approach by shedding light on the best practices and related resources for dads, their partners, and those who support them.

Founded by paternal postpartum depression survivor Mark Williams and fatherhood mental health expert and PSI board member Dr. Daniel Singley, IFMHD involves taking the day after Father’s Day to launch a focused social media campaign which highlights key aspects of fathers’ mental health.

References:

www.nami.org

Price-Robertson, R., Baxter, J. and Mathews, S. (2017), Longitudinal associations between fathers’ mental health and the quality of their coparenting relationships. Clin Psychol, 21: 215-226. https://doi.org/10.1111/cp.12072

Postpartum.net

Mental health.gov

Biomedical.central·  

https://www.nichq.org/insight/promoting-fathers-mental-health-during-childrens-early-childhood