Postnatal paternal depressive symptoms associated with fathers’ subsequent parenting: Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study

Abstract

As impaired parenting may lie on the causal pathway between paternal depression and children’s outcomes, the identification of the specific influence of depressive symptoms on fathers’ parenting behaviours may highlight important potential targets for the development of improved interventions. This report uses the first four surveys of the Millennium Cohort Study to investigate the association between paternal depressive symptoms and fathers’ parenting (negative, positive and involvement). Findings suggest that postnatal paternal depressive symptoms are associated with fathers’ negative parenting. This has implications for the design of intervention programmes for parents with depression and young children.