List of Titles

Daddy issues : friends rather than fathers influence adult men's hegemonic masculinity

- Van Doorn, George, Dye, Jacob, de Gracia, Ma Regina

Authors: Van Doorn, George , Dye, Jacob , de Gracia, Ma Regina
Date: 2021
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Personality and Individual Differences Vol. 171, no. (2021), p.
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Description: Hegemonic masculinity often refers to negative and socially aversive traits and behaviours associated with idealised masculine norms. Extant literature suggests that several social determinants might influence men's conformity to negative and socially-averse masculine norms, but studies are limited. The present study examined whether the quality of the father-son relationship in childhood impacts hegemonic masculinity in adulthood. In addition, we also determined whether adverse childhood experiences, mother-son relationship quality, as well as familial and peer support explained any additional variance in hegemonic masculinity after controlling for the quality of a man's relationship with his father. A sample of 188 men (aged 18 to 62 years) completed an online survey that included the K-Short Form-42, the Adverse Childhood Experiences scale, and the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory-29. Results from a hierarchical regression analysis showed that the self-reported quality of the father-son relationship did not predict hegemonic masculinity. Adverse childhood experiences, mother-son relationship quality, and family support also failed to predict hegemonic masculinity. However, a decrease in support from friends was associated with an increase in hegemonic masculinity, even after controlling for all other variables. The importance of peer relationships in developing and maintaining a man's adherence to traditional masculine norms is underscored. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

“You are not alone”: A big data and qualitative analysis of men's unintended fatherhood

- Smith, Imogene, Youssef, George, Shatte, Adrian, Teague, Samantha, Knight, Tess, Macdonald, Jacqui

Authors: Smith, Imogene , Youssef, George , Shatte, Adrian , Teague, Samantha , Knight, Tess , Macdonald, Jacqui
Date: 2022
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: SSM. Qualitative research in health Vol. 2, no. (2022), p. 100085
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Description: Becoming a father is a profound change in a man's life that is not always planned or wanted. Little is known about the subjective experiences of men who become fathers unintentionally or reluctantly. The aim of this research was to explore how men who did not intend to have children discuss their feelings about becoming a father in an online, anonymous environment. We sought insights into emotional responses, appraisals of family functioning, and relationships with infants. Data were collected from two Reddit forums for new and expectant fathers, r/Daddit and r/Predaddit. Approximately 2600 posts and 21,000 comments were extracted from the period between January 2019 and March 2020. We employed a two-stage methodology, blending big data techniques and qualitative analyses. Stage One included extraction and data preparation for topic modelling Stage Two was an adapted approach to thematic qualitative analysis. Topic modelling revealed 49 topics of which 6 were relevant thematically to unintended fatherhood. Men's communication in these were then classified within three domains: 1) Men's Concerns included their mental health, problems bonding with baby, their relationships with family and partner, and finances 2) Men's Affective Experiences existed on a spectrum of complex emotions including regret, resignation, ambivalence, acceptance, and excitement and 3) the Purpose of Communication included asking for and offering advice, normalisation, and perspective. Online forums like Reddit provide a unique opportunity for fathers who did not intend to have children to normalize their experience by expressing concerns and emotions in a pseudonymous environment. This study highlights the supportive environment that online discussions offer to fathers, and particularly unexpected fathers who may face stigma or barriers in other settings.

Getting into the “Dad Zone” : how do primary caregiving fathers of young children experience social support?

- Gill, Peter, Scacco, Sarina, De Haan, Sarah, Gent, Angela, Chapin, Laurie, Ganci, Michael, Morda, Romana

Authors: Gill, Peter , Scacco, Sarina , De Haan, Sarah , Gent, Angela , Chapin, Laurie , Ganci, Michael , Morda, Romana
Date: 2021
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Journal of Child and Family Studies Vol. 30, no. 4 (2021), p. 1028-1042
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Description: Primary caregiving fathers (PCGFs) are a growing population that experience unique struggles on a day-to-day basis. The current study aimed to explore how fathers interpret and experience their daily responsibilities and interactions with social support, as they undertake their roles as primary caregivers. Using grounded theory, 14 PCGFs defined as those providing sole care for their 1–10 year olds for at least 25 h per week, participated in semi-structured interviews regarding their experiences of fatherhood and social supports. Participants highlighted the ways in which social support, particularly adult companionship, helped them find a social balance and allowed them to re-energise and be better fathers. In particular, the men reported that interaction with people with similar experiences was important in helping them to discursively negotiate their non-traditional roles. Analysis revealed a three-stage identity transition process where the men initially took on primary responsibility, then began to embody the primary care giver role, and finally transitioned to a new normal. The PCGFs in the study provide evidence that we may be observing a shift from what may be classed as outdated notions of one-dimensional fathering to a more well-informed masculine ideal that embraces caring and nurturing qualities. However, providing further avenues of support for PCFGs is important in order to mitigate possible social isolation and to enhance their wellbeing. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.

Normalization behaviours of rural fathers living with chronically-ill children : An Australian experience

- Peck, Blake, Lillibridge, Jennifer

Authors: Peck, Blake , Lillibridge, Jennifer
Date: 2005
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Journal of child health care : for professionals working with children in the hospital and community Vol. 9, no. 1 (2005), p. 31-45
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Description: This article reports findings from a larger qualitative study conducted to gain insight into the experience of fathers living with their chronically-ill children in rural Victoria, Australia. Data were collected via unstructured interviews with four fathers. The findings presented in this article explore the phenomena of normalization for fathers within the chronic illness experience. Fathers described normalizing the experience of living with their chronically-ill child as involving a combination of various coping strategies and behaviours including: (1) accepting the child's condition, (2) changing expectations, (3) focusing energies on a day-to-day basis, (4) minimizing knowledge-seeking behaviours, and (5) engaging in external distraction activities. Findings highlight the complex and unique normalization strategies these men utilized and contribute to knowledge and understanding of the complex nature of raising a chronically-ill child in rural Australia and provide a sound basis upon which to guide an ongoing and holistic assessment of fathers with chronically-ill children.
Description: C1
Description: 2003001057

Attitudinal barriers to help-seeking and preferences for mental health support among Australian fathers

- Giallo, Rebecca, Dunning, Melissa, Gent, Angela

Authors: Giallo, Rebecca , Dunning, Melissa , Gent, Angela
Date: 2017
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology Vol. 35, no. 3 (2017), p. 236-247
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Description: Objective: To (a) identify attitudinal barriers to help-seeking for mental health difficulties among fathers of young children; (b) explore the relationships between perceived barriers to help-seeking and mental health difficulties (i.e. depressive, anxiety, stress symptoms); (c) identify socio-demographic factors associated with barriers to help-seeking; and (d) identify fathers’ preferences for mental health support. Background: One in 10 Australian fathers experience mental health difficulties in the early parenting period. Low rates of help-seeking and under-utilisation of health care services are key issues for the provision of mental health support to fathers at this important life stage. Method: The sample consisted of 154 fathers of young children (aged 0–8 years) participating in an Australian online survey on parent wellbeing and parenting. The Barriers to Help-Seeking Scale assessed fathers’ attitudinal barriers to help-seeking for mental health support. Socio-demographic factors related to fathers’ employment, education, and family composition were assessed. Results: The most common attitudinal barriers to help-seeking were: (a) the need for control and self-reliance in managing one’s own problems, (b) a tendency to downplay or minimise problems, and (c) a sense of resignation that nothing will help. A range of demographic (i.e. age, educational attainment) factors were associated with these barriers. The most common preferences for support were internet-based information resources, followed by support provided by general practitioners and maternal child health nurses. Conclusions: These findings have important implications for health promotion, health services and clinical approaches to promoting the health and wellbeing of fathers. © 2017 Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology.

Risk factors for paternal perinatal depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis

- Chhabra, Jasleen, McDermott, Brett, Li, Wendy

Authors: Chhabra, Jasleen , McDermott, Brett , Li, Wendy
Date: 2020
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Psychology of men & masculinity Vol. 21, no. 4 (2020), p. 593-611
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Description: This article aims to identify the risk factors associated with paternal perinatal depression and anxiety. Studies published between January 1950 and December 2017 that report paternal depression and anxiety in the perinatal period were obtained from 5 different databases. In total, 84 studies were included in the systematic review, and 31,310 participants from 45 studies were included in the final meta-analysis. Risk factors obtained were classified based on the frequency of distribution of factors. Maternal depression is an important risk factor for fathers in the postnatal period (odds ratio [OR] = 3.34, 95% confidence interval [CI 2.51, 4.46]). Marital distress was also linked to a twofold increase in the likelihood of paternal depression in the postnatal period (OR = 2.16, 95% CI [1.47, 3.19]). Parenting stress as a risk factor was strongly and significantly associated with paternal anxiety in perinatal period (OR = 14.38, 95% CI [7.39, 27.97]). The findings suggest that maternal depression, marital distress, and parental stress are important risk factors for fathers' mental health in the perinatal period. The current meta-analysis also identifies gender role stress, domestic violence, and mismatched expectancies from pregnancy and childbirth as the risk factors that are unique to fathers only in the perinatal period. Future intervention programs should screen and target fathers with no previous children, or a depressed partner, and aim to enhance relationship satisfaction. Public Significance Statement Like women, men also show signs and symptoms of depression and anxiety in the perinatal period. Meta-analysis revealed that partner's depression, marital distress, and parenting stress are significant risk factors to fathers' mental health in perinatal period. Counteracting these risk factors may reduce the risk of depression and anxiety in fathers in the perinatal period.

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Social media markers to identify fathers at risk of postpartum depression : a machine learning approach

- Shatte, Adrian, Hutchinson, Delyse, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew, Teague, Samantha

Authors: Shatte, Adrian , Hutchinson, Delyse , Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew , Teague, Samantha
Date: 2020
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking Vol. 23, no. 9 (2020), p. 611-618
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Description: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a significant mental health issue in mothers and fathers alike; yet at-risk fathers often come to the attention of health care professionals late due to low awareness of symptoms and reluctance to seek help. This study aimed to examine whether passive social media markers are effective for identifying fathers at risk of PPD. We collected 67,796 Reddit posts from 365 fathers, spanning a 6-month period around the birth of their child. A list of "at-risk"words was developed in collaboration with a perinatal mental health expert. PPD was assessed by evaluating the change in fathers' use of words indicating depressive symptomatology after childbirth. Predictive models were developed as a series of support vector machine classifiers using behavior, emotion, linguistic style, and discussion topics as features. The performance of these classifiers indicates that fathers at risk of PPD can be predicted from their prepartum data alone. Overall, the best performing model used discussion topic features only with a recall score of 0.82. These findings could assist in the development of support and intervention tools for fathers during the prepartum period, with specific applicability to personalized and preventative support tools for at-risk fathers. © Copyright 2020, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 2020.

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Rural fathers' experiences of loss in day-to-day life with chronically ill children

- Peck, Blake, Lillibridge, Jennifer

Authors: Peck, Blake , Lillibridge, Jennifer
Date: 2003
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing Vol. 21, no. 1 (2003), p. 21-27
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Description: The aim of this qualitative study was to gain insight into the experiences of fathers living with their chronically ill children in rural Australia. Data were collected via unstructured interviews with four fathers. Analysis followed the procedural steps for phenomenological data as outlined by Colaizzi (1978). Fathers described their experience of living with their chronically ill child as being filled with progressive losses for themselves and their child, including loss of: 1) pre-conceived expectations of future life; 2) a normal parenting relationship with their child; 3) normal partner relationship; and, 4) control of time and freedom. Findings contribute to knowledge and understanding of the complex nature of fathering a chronically ill child in rural Australia.
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Description: 2003000405

Predictive factors for depression and anxiety in men during the perinatal period: A mixed methods study

- Chhabra, Jasleen, Li, Wendy, McDermott, Brett

Authors: Chhabra, Jasleen , Li, Wendy , McDermott, Brett
Date: 2022
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: American Journal of Men's Health Vol. 16, no. 1 (2022), p. 15579883221079489-15579883221079489
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Description: The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors associated with paternal perinatal mental distress in a sample of Australian men. A mixed-methods design was used. The qualitative component (N = 13) using thematic analysis identified maternal depression, marital distress, masculine gender role stress, unplanned pregnancy, work–family conflict, and sleep disturbance as risk factors for paternal perinatal mental distress. The quantitative component (N = 525) expanded on the qualitative findings and examined the associations between the identified risk factors and mental distress of fathers in the perinatal period measured by Edinburgh postnatal depression scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed six significant predictors of paternal perinatal mental distress with masculine gender role stress being the most significant risk factor for paternal perinatal mental distress. The results from this study provide an insight into how masculine gender role may affect the expression and experience of mental distress in fathers within the perinatal period. Implications of research findings are discussed.

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