In this short-term longitudinal study, 31 middle-class primigravidae and their husbands were seen once during the last trimester of pregnancy and again when their infants were 6 months old. At both times, a common core of self-assessment instruments was administered: mood scales, social change ratings, anticipation/experience of parenthood, and a modified Bem satisfaction scale. Some additional items were given at parenthood. For both men and women, expectancy was marked by optimism and contentment, despite some emotional and physical strain. Similarly, as parents of an infant, subjects rated the experience as highly positive. However, the transition to parenthood involved major role upheaval with both more positive and more negative changes reported by women than men. Despite these changes, women displayed considerable stability in mood and self-satisfaction over time and situation. In contrast, measures of the anticipation and self-reported experience of parenthood revealed no consistency for women; the types of mothers they turned out to be were unrelated to their expectations. Men successfully predicted their parenting behavior on more than half of the dimensions measured. The results were discussed in terms of the stresses inherent in role changes encountered during transitions from one stage of life to the next.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/BF00287441.pdf

The transition from expectancy to parenthood: Impact of the firstborn child on men and women.

This literature review explores the range, prevalence and predictors of mental health problems experienced by fathers in the first year after their baby’s birth. Problems include depression, anxiety, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), stress/post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder and psychosis. Up to a third of men may experience depressive symptoms. Factors associated with this relate to the parenting style of their own parents, their personality, experiences of the birth, demographic factors, their partner’s characteristics, their relationship with their partner and families and their view of their baby. If fathers experience postnatal depressive symptoms, these can impact on their interactions with their children, their partners’ interactions with their children and their children’s behaviour. OCD may occur in new fathers in relation to fears of harming their children. Men who attend births may experience intrusive thoughts and images especially if they feel they did not support thei...

A review of mental health problems in fathers following the birth of a child

Three historical conceptualizations of fathering are described: the traditional perspective, marked by the model of the aloof and distant father; the modern perspective, concerned with child outcome variables of sex-role identity development, academic achievement, and moral development, all of which may be furthered by father-child contact; and the emergent perspective, exploring the premise that men have the capacity to be effective nurturers of their children. It is suggested that social science has lagged or run parallel to society's discussions about fathering. With increasing social attention on families and the relationship between family life and work life, social scientists have an opportunity to rethink understandings of fathering and to contribute to evolving social policies that affect families in the United States.

Research on Fathering: Social Policy and an Emergent Perspective

Thirty men who attended childbirth preparation classes were interviewed with their wives before and after the birth of afirst child. The data suggest that developing some kind of coherent role was more important to men's adjustments to postpartum family life than developing any particular role of high or low home life sharing activity. Study interviews and findings point to the need for and usefulness of research about men's preparations for parenting, men's involvements in the birth process, and men's opportunities to participate in theirfamily lives in ways that meet their needs and the needs of their wives and children. Research on men's experiences on entering parenthood may lead to greater understanding of changing male and female sex roles and to the development of social policies and programs that support family life.

Men's Entrance to Parenthood.

In a prospective clinical trial 312 cases of self-poisoning (276 patients) consecutively admitted to hospital were randomly allocated to medical teams or to psychiatrists for an initial psychiatric assessment and a decision as to "disposal." Junior doctors and nurses received some instruction in this work. Both groups of assessors asked for help from social workers when necessary. Once the medical teams had completed their assessments, psychiatrists provided most of the hospital treatment. Follow-up at one year showed no significant difference between the two groups of patients in the numbers who repeated their self-poisoning or self-injury (or both), or committed suicide. Provided junior doctors and nurses are taught to assess self-poisoned patients, we think medical teams can evaluate the suicidal risk and identify patients requiring psychiatric treatment or help from social workers, or both. Contrary to the Department of Health's recommendation that all cases of deliberate self-poisoning should be seen by psychiatrists, we have reached the conclusion that physicians should decide for each of their patients if specialist psychiatric advice is necessary.

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/2/6102/1567.full.pdf

Psychological and social evaluation in cases of deliberate self-poisoning admitted to a general hospital.

Paranoid psychoses associated with impending or newly established fatherhood.

A review is made of studies of suicide attempters in which there was a personal follow-up examination. Two studies by the author are presented: suicide attempters admitted to a psychiatric clinic and suicide attempters admitted to a traditional psychiatric hospital. The committed suicide rate among the hospital cases was three to six times higher than in the clinic cases (6.8 percent versus 1.4 to 2.8 percent). In the hospital material, 28 percent of the subjects had repeated the attempt without lethal outcome compared to 14 percent of the clinic cases. A correlation with the higher incidence of psychosis in the mental hospital cases is suggested.

Nils Retterstöl

Papers

Paranoid psychoses associated with impending or newly established fatherhood.

The future fate of suicide attempters.