The Impact of Paternal Mental Health on the Father-Child Relationship: Implications for Children’s Emotional Control

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Numerous studies have investigated the impact of maternal mental health on the mother-child relationship and child outcomes (see Apter-Levy et al., 2013 and Rees et al., 2013; for reviews). However, few studies have examined the impact of paternal mental health on the father-child relationship and child development (e.g. Fletcher et al., 2011). Although paternal mental health has received less research, there has been a subtle shift in child development research overall in the last decade with researchers examining the beneficial role of the father in a child’s development. A particular focus has been on the role that father-child play interactions may have in supporting children’s emotion regulation/emotional control skills. Rough-and-tumble play (RTP) is one of the preferred play interactions between fathers and their children. This type of play is quite physical, and often involves some form of wrestling and competition that may appear aggressive except that both parties are laughing and clearly enjoying the game and there is shared dominance between play-partners (i.e. fathers self-handicap at times to let the child ‘win’ some bouts). In a recent study, Fletcher, St George, and Freeman (2013) developed the Rough-and-Tumble Play Quality (RTP-Q) scale to measure the quality of father-child RTP interactions. Their work showed that higher quality RTP (i.e. play that was warm, sensitive, and controlled) was associated with fewer behavioural problems in children. Given the majority of father-child interactions revolve around RTP, it can be viewed as a proxy of the father-child relationship. The aim of the current study was two-fold. First, we aimed to examine whether paternal mental health impacts the father-child relationship. Second, we aimed to examine whether paternal mental health and/or particular aspects of the father-child relationship were related to children’s emotional control. Fifty-three Australian fathers and their 4-7 year-old child participated in this study. Paternal mental health was measured using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS; Lovibond et al., 1995) and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI-4; Abidin, 2012). The father-child relationship was examined via observational coding of 10-minute father-child RTP interactions using both the RTP-Q and a modified version of the 3-Bag Scales (Brady-Smith et al., 1999) that includes indices of father sensitivity, positive and negative regard, child engagement with the parent, and dyadic connectedness. Children’s emotional control was measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 2000), specifically the Emotional Problems subscale. Correlational analyses showed significant negative relationships between paternal stress as measured by the DASS and RTP-Q, child engagement, and dyadic connectedness. Children’s emotional control showed significant positive relationships with father’s overall parenting stress, and two father-child relationship measures (father negative regard and father detachment). There was also a significant negative relationship between children’s emotional control and father’s positive regard during play. A stepwise regression analysis revealed that both Father Detachment during play and father’s overall parenting stress were significant predictors of children’s emotional control (R2=.215). The results of this study will be discussed in terms of the importance of examining paternal mental health and the father-child relationship when studying children’s development.

Authors

• Emily Freeman, University of Newcastle
  Presenting Author

• Erin Louise Robinson, The University of Newcastle
  Non-Presenting Author