QUEBEC CITY – Paternal depression is relatively common and can negatively affect child behavior, Shreya Davé reported at the annual meeting of the North American Primary Care Research Group.
A clear link has been established between maternal depression and impaired social development of children. But little is know about paternal depression and its effects.
Ms. Davé presented a cross-sectional study in which questionnaires were sent to 2,352 biological fathers with children aged 4–6 years who were identified from 13 general practices in greater London and Hertfordshire, England.
Questionnaires included a diagnostic depression measure (Patient Health Questionnaire) and standardized inventories on child behavior (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), parenting, couple relationship, alcohol use, and demographics.
Mothers were sent a similar but smaller packet. Their responses were used to assess child behavior and were thought to be a more objective way to assess the relationship of paternal depression and child behavior, said Ms. Davé, a research fellow in the department of primary care and population sciences at University College London.
The prevalence of paternal depression was 8% in the study, with 29 of the 365 fathers who responded scoring positively for depressive symptoms.
Of the 365 responders, 12 (3%) fathers had major depressive symptoms and 17 (5%) had mild or moderate depressive symptoms.
Fathers with major depression were almost 20 times more likely to have a child with signs of peer problems (odds ratio 19.17) and 13 times more likely to have a child with a low score on an assessment of prosocial behavior (OR 13.22), after controlling for maternal depression, couple relationship quality, paternal age, and number of children.
Limitations of the study were its cross-sectional design, low response rate, and wide confidence intervals resulting from the small number of participants, she said. But the findings clearly point to the need for further studies.
If it is addressed proactively, Ms. Davé said, paternal depression is a treatable condition.