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Factors associated with trajectories of psychological distress for Australian fathers across the early parenting period

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Abstract

Purpose

Little is known about the course of fathers’ psychological distress and associated risk factors beyond the postnatal period. Therefore, the current study aimed to: (a) assess the course of distress over 7 years postnatally; (b) identify classes of fathers defined by their symptom trajectories; and (c) identify early postnatal factors associated with persistent symptoms.

Method

Data from 2,470 fathers in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analysed using latent growth modelling. Fathers’ psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler-6 (Kessler et al. in Arch Psychiatry 60:184–189, 2003) when their children were aged 0–1, 2–3, 4–5 and 6–7 years.

Results

Overall, distress was highest in the first postnatal year and then decreased over time. Two distinct trajectories were identified. The majority of fathers (92 %) were identified as having minimal distress in the first postnatal year which decreased over time, whilst 8 % had moderate distress which increased over time. Low parental self-efficacy, poor relationship and job quality were associated with ‘persistent and increasing distress’.

Conclusions

Early postnatal factors associated with fathers’ persistent distress were identified, providing opportunities for early identification and targeted early intervention.

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Acknowledgments

This paper used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The study was conducted in partnership between the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The findings reported in this article are those of the authors and should not be attributed to FaHCSIA, AIFS or the ABS. R.G. lead all aspects of the research, and was involved in data analysis with F.D. and D.C. All authors were involved in the conceptualisation of the research questions, interpretation of findings, and contribution to discussion.

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Parenting Research Centre, 5/232 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3002, Australia

    Rebecca Giallo, Fabrizio D’Esposito, Amanda Cooklin & Jan M. Nicholson

  2. Healthy Mothers Healthy Families, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Rebecca Giallo

  3. School of Health Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Rebecca Giallo

  4. Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Perth, WA, Australia

    Daniel Christensen

Authors
  1. Rebecca Giallo
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  2. Fabrizio D’Esposito
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  3. Amanda Cooklin
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  4. Daniel Christensen
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  5. Jan M. Nicholson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rebecca Giallo.

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Giallo, R., D’Esposito, F., Cooklin, A. et al. Factors associated with trajectories of psychological distress for Australian fathers across the early parenting period. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 49, 1961–1971 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0834-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-014-0834-z

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