title: A longitudinal study of paternal mental health during transition to fatherhood as young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Rates of paternal depression range from 5% to 10% with a growing body of literature describing the harm to fathers, children, and families. Changes in depression symptoms over the life course, and the role of social factors, are not well known. This study examines associations with changes in depression symptoms during the transition to fatherhood for young fathers and whether this association differed by key social factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We combined all 4 waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to support a 23-year longitudinal analysis of 10 623 men and then created a "fatherhood-year" data set, regressing age-adjusted standardized depressive symptoms scores on fatherhood status (nonresidence/residence), fatherhood-years, and covariates to determine associations between Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale scores and fatherhood life course intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Depressive symptom scores reported at the entry into fatherhood are higher for nonresident fathers than nonfathers, which in turn are higher than those of resident fathers. Resident fathers have a significant decrease in scores during late adolescence (β = -0.035, P = .023), but a significant increase in scores during early fatherhood (β = 0.023, P = .041). From entrance into fatherhood to the end of early fatherhood (+5 years), the depressive symptoms score for resident fathers increases on average by 68%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our longitudinal, population-based study, resident fathers show increasing depressive symptom scores during children's key attachment years of 0-5. Identifying at-risk fathers based on social factors and designing effective interventions may ultimately improve health outcomes for the entire family.
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics and Medical Social Sciences, Chicago, Illinois; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; c-garfield@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Craig F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Garfield
authors.affiliation: School of Education, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, California;
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.affiliation: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Departments of Pediatrics and Medical Social Sciences, Chicago, Illinois;
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rutsohn
authors.affiliation: Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois;
authors.forename: Thomas W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: McDade
authors.affiliation: Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University;
authors.forename: Emma K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.affiliation: Lynch School of Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Rebekah Levine
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Coley
authors.affiliation: Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University;
authors.forename: P Lindsay
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Chase-Lansdale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D063588:National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D015406:Single Parent / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
keywords: depression; father involvement; fathers; longitudinal study; parent–infant/child interaction
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