The arrival of a new life brings joy to the family but also brings identity shifts and psychological stress to both partners. Generally, people tend to focus on mothers, recognizing that they may experience a period of emotional downturn after childbirth. However, more and more studies indicate that fathers may face similar struggles and also suffer from postpartum depression.
Using data from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (KIT), Professor Nie Xiping and colleagues classified fathers of children under one year old into three groups based on their emotional changes within the year. They found that although most fathers did not feel depressed within the first three months after their child’s birth, a small group who showed depressive tendencies experienced worsening symptoms throughout the year. This was significantly correlated with the fathers’ subjective sense of economic pressure.
The mental health of parents is crucial to family well-being. In Taiwan, traditional gender role norms have become an additional psychological burden for fathers.
🎩With Father’s Day approaching, don’t forget to tell concerned dads, “Thank you for your hard work!” Scholars interested in this issue are also encouraged to make greater use of the 🗂️ Taiwan Birth Cohort Study database!
Original links：Differential Trajectories of Fathers’ Postpartum Depressed Mood: A Latent Class Growth Analysis Approach
