Father involvement in early child upbringing and depressive symptoms in their pre-adolescent children

Published on Monday, 26 June 2017 Post

NPEU researchers Charles Opondo, Maggie Redshaw and Maria Quigley have published their findings on a study exploring the association between father involvement in child upbringing and symptoms of depression in the pre-adolescent years.

The study, which looked at data from about 7,500 children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), found that emotionally reponsive parenting by fathers was associated with fewer symptoms of depression in their pre-teenage children. It follows from a previous study by the same researchers which found a positive effect of parenting by fathers on behavioural outcomes in their children.

The study was funded by the Department for Health through the Policy Research Programme.

You can read more about the study in the Journal of Affective Disorders.