Depression and anger in fathers of unsettled infants: A community cohort study
Open accessAbstract
AIM: To examine the relationship between unsettled infant behaviour and fathers' depressive symptoms, cognitions surrounding infant sleep (anger, doubt), and personal sleep, in a community cohort. METHODS: Data were collected from 102 fathers of healthy infants at 4 weeks, 4 months and 6 months of age. Measures included father report of infant sleep and crying problems, depressive symptoms, cognitions about infant sleep and own sleep quality and quantity. Data were analysed using adjusted regression models. RESULTS: Sleep problems at 4 months of age were associated with increased depressive symptoms (adjusted mean difference 2.64 (1.27-4.00)), doubt (adjusted mean difference 1.82 (0.40-3.25)), anger (adjusted mean difference 1.86 (0.51-3.20)), poor personal sleep quantity (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 0.21; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09-0.51) and quality (adjusted OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.08-0.51); and at 6 months of age, with increased depressive symptoms (adjusted mean difference 2.56 (1.28-3.84)), anger (adjusted mean difference 1.63 (0.40-2.87)), poor personal sleep quantity (adjusted OR 0.14; 95% CI 0.05-0.38) and quality (adjusted OR 0.28; 95% CI 0.11-0.72). Infant cry problems at 4 months were associated with increased anger (adjusted mean difference 1.98 (0.60-3.36)) and doubt (adjusted mean difference 1.55 (0.05-3.05)); and at 6 months, with increased depressive symptoms (adjusted mean difference 3.04 (1.59-4.69)), anger (adjusted mean difference 2.73 (1.29-4.17)) and less personal sleep (adjusted OR 0.22; 95% CI 0.07-0.71). CONCLUSION: Fathers of unsettled infants reported greater anger towards their infant and increased depressive symptoms by 4 months infant age, with these symptoms persisting 2 months later. Evidence-based interventions are needed for these fathers.
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Disrupted parental sleep, presenting as post-partum fatigue and perceived as problematic infant sleep, is related to increased symptoms of depression and anxiety among new mothers and fathers.
“Disrupted parental sleep, presenting as post-partum fatigue and perceived as problematic infant sleep, is related to increased symptoms of depression and anxiety among new mothers and fathers.”
From Development and evaluation of ‘Sleep, Baby & You’—An approach to supporting parental well-being and responsive infant caregiving (2020) · cites this paper as [6]
Parental fatigue and sleep disruption can lead to the development of mood disorders in both mothers and fathers and exacerbate existing mental and physical health problems.
“There is also ample evidence that parental fatigue and sleep disruption can lead to the development of mood disorders in both mothers and fathers [3,5–8] and exacerbate existing mental and physical health problems [9,10].”
From Development and evaluation of ‘Sleep, Baby & You’—An approach to supporting parental well-being and responsive infant caregiving (2020) · cites this paper as [6]
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- Authors
- Cook, F., Giallo, R., Petrovic, Z., Coe, A., Seymour, M., Cann, W., & Hiscock, H.
- Affiliations
- Royal Children's Hospital (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Cook, Fallon
- Venue
- Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-09-19
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 131-135
- ISSN
- 1034-4810 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-1754
- OpenAlex
- W2521050800
- Cited by
- 37
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 6.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Locations
- Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Deakin Research Online (Deakin University) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, State Government of Victoria
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Infant Health and Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- infant sleep problems, infant crying, fathers, paternal depression, anger, depressive symptoms, sleep quality, sleep quantity, parent-infant relationship, community-based cohort
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anger, Crying, Depression, Father-Child Relations, Fathers, Humans, Infant, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sleep Wake Disorders, Cohort Studies, Infant Behavior
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