Do early father–infant interactions predict the onset of externalising behaviours in young children? Findings from a longitudinal cohort study
Open accessAbstract
Background: Factors related to parents and parenting capacities are important predictors of the development of behavioural problems in children. Recently, there has been an increasing research focus in this field on the earliest years of life, however, relatively few studies have addressed the role of fathers, despite this appearing to be particularly pertinent to child behavioural development. This study aimed to examine whether father–infant interactions at age 3 months independently predicted child behavioural problems at 1 year of age. Method: A sample of 192 families was recruited from two maternity units in the United Kingdom. Father–infant interactions were assessed in the family home and coded using the Global Rating Scales. Child behaviour problems were assessed by maternal report. Hierarchical and logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between father–infant interaction and the development of behavioural problems. Results: Disengaged and remote interactions between fathers and their infants were found to predict externalising behavioural problems at the age of 1 year. The children of the most disengaged fathers had an increased risk of developing early externalising behavioural problems [disengaged (nonintrusive) interactions – adjusted Odds Ratio 5.33 (95% Confidence Interval; 1.39, 20.40): remote interactions adj. OR 3.32 (0.92, 12.05)] Conclusions: Disengaged interactions of fathers with their infants, as early as the third month of life, predict early behavioural problems in children. These interactions may be critical factors to address, from a very early age in the child’s life, and offer a potential opportunity for preventive intervention.
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Van Batenburg-Eddes et al. (2013) and Ramchandani et al. found no significant association between paternal depression and offspring attention and externalizing problems, respectively.
“Van Batenburg-Eddes et al. (2013) (Generation R cohort) and Ramchandani et al. (2013) (age 3 & 12 months) found no significant association between paternal depression and offspring attention and externalizing problems, respectively.”
From The effects of paternal depression on child and adolescent outcomes: A systematic review (2016) · cites this paper as Ramchandani et al. (2013)
Bias in cohort selection existed, with only five studies outlining inclusion/exclusion criteria.
“Finally, bias in cohort selection existed, with only five studies outlining one or both of the inclusion/exclusion criteria (Cummings et al. 2013;Keller et al. 2009;Ramchandani et al. 2013;Shelton & Harold, 2008;Smith et al. 2013).”
From The effects of paternal depression on child and adolescent outcomes: A systematic review (2016) · cites this paper as Ramchandani et al. 2013
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- Authors
- Ramchandani, P. G., Domoney, J., Sethna, V., Psychogiou, L., Vlachos, H., & Murray, L.
- Affiliations
- Warneford Hospital (GB)
- University of Reading (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2012-07-19
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 56-64
- ISSN
- 0021-9630 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7610
- PMC
- PMC3562489
- OpenAlex
- W1607555606
- Cited by
- 280
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 19.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CentAUR (University of Reading) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Open Research Exeter (University of Exeter) (submittedVersion)
- Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion)
- Apollo (University of Cambridge) (submittedVersion)
- Apollo
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (078434/Z/05/Z, 078434)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- father-infant interaction, externalizing problems, father involvement, parenting capacity, preventive interventions, first year of life
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child Behavior Disorders, Father-Child Relations, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Infant, Internal-External Control, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Sex Factors, Linear Models
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