Parent and Peer Attachments in Adolescence and Paternal Postpartum Mental Health: Findings From the ATP Generation 3 Study

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Jacqui A. Macdonald¹  Ben Edwards⁴  Delyse Hutchinson¹  Joyce Cleary¹  John W. Toumbourou¹  Ann V. Sanson³  Craig A. Olsson¹  Christopher J. Greenwood¹  Primrose Letcher²  Elizabeth A. Spry¹  Kayla Mansour¹  Jennifer E. McIntosh¹  Kimberly C. Thomson¹  Camille Deane¹  Ebony J. Biden¹ 

[1] Faculty of Health, School of Psychology, Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, Deakin University;Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute;Department of Paediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital, University of Melbourne;Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University;National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales;The Bouverie Centre, School of Psychology & Public Health, La Trobe University;School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia;Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences, Providence Health Care Research Institute

关键词: father;    mental health;    parents;    peers;    relationship;    postpartum;    longitudinal;    cohort studies;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.672174

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background: When adolescent boys experience close, secure relationships with their parents and peers, the implications are potentially far reaching, including lower levels of mental health problems in adolescence and young adulthood. Here we use rare prospective intergenerational data to extend our understanding of the impact of adolescent attachments on subsequent postpartum mental health problems in early fatherhood. Methods: At age 17–18 years, we used an abbreviated Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment to assess trust, communication, and alienation reported by 270 male participants in their relationships with mothers, fathers, and peers. More than a decade later, we assessed the adult males, now fathers, at 12 months postpartum ( N = 409 infant offspring) for symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Logistic regression was used to examine the extent to which attachment dimensions predicted paternal postpartum mental health, adjusting for potential confounding, and with assessment for interactions between parent and peer attachments. Results: Trust in mothers and peers, and good communication with fathers during adolescence, were associated with 5 to 7 percentage point reductions in postpartum mental health symptoms in early fatherhood. Weak evidence of parent-peer interactions suggested secure attachments with either parent or peer may compensate for an insecure attachment with the other. Conclusions: Our results suggest that fostering trust and communication in relationships that adolescent boys have with parents and peers may have substantial effects on rates of paternal postpartum mental health problems. The protective benefits may be preventative in intergenerational cycles of risk for mental health problems.

【 授权许可】

CC BY