Poster #166 - Fathers’ Depression and Children’s Socioemotional Development in China

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Prevention and Interventions

Integrative Statement

Depressive symptoms are highly prevalent among parents around the world. The negative impacts of maternal mental health on children’s development outcomes are well documented. However, fewer studies have measured paternal mental health and examined the association with child development outcomes. The objectives of this study were to: investigate the association between paternal depressive symptoms and children’s later socioemotional development in China; and explore whether these associations were moderated by maternal depression status. We used data from the 2012 and 2014 waves of the China Family Panel Study, a nationally representative, longitudinal household survey across 25 out of 30 provinces in China. Fathers’ and mothers’ mental health was self-reported using the CES-D in the 2012 survey (α = 0.83 and α = 0.83, respectively). For this study, we generated a binary variable for parental depression and classified individuals scoring 16 or greater as “depressed” and those scoring less than 16 as “not depressed” (Radloff, 1977). Children’s socioemotional development was rated by mothers using the Positive Behaviors Scale in the 2014 survey (α = 0.79). Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine the association between paternal depressive symptoms and children’s socioemotional development, controlling for child characteristics of age, sex, and school enrollment; paternal characteristics of age, education, and residency in home with child; and household characteristics of wealth quintiles and rural residential status. Analyses were further repeated with the inclusion of an interaction term between paternal and maternal depression; and then subsequently with the sample stratified by maternal depression status. The sample comprised of 1,163 fathers and their children between aged 2.5 and 10 years (mean child age = 5.3 years). Twenty four percent of fathers were depressed. In adjusted models, we found that paternal depressive symptoms were negatively associated with children’s socioemotional development (β = -0.15, 95% CI = -0.30 to -0.01). Moreover, we found that the associations differed by maternal depression status. There was a negative association between paternal depression symptoms and children’s socioemotional development when mothers were not depressed (β = -0.14, 95% CI = -0.24 to -0.04) but this association was not significant when mothers were depressed (β = 0.06, 95% CI = -0.06 to 0.18). This study highlights how depression in fathers can negatively impact their children’s socioemotional development and that these relations vary according to maternal depression. Parenting interventions should target and promote the mental health of fathers, in addition to mothers, as an integrated and holistic approach to improving child development, couples’ relationships, and overall family wellbeing.

Authors

• Joshua Jeong, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  Presenting Author

• Zhihui Li, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  Non-Presenting Author