The Centre for Mental Health, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom;
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; and.
Pediatrics. 2015 Feb;135(2):e339-47. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-2411. Epub 2015 Jan 5.
To explore potential mediating and moderating factors that influence the association between paternal depression in the postnatal period and subsequent child behavioral and emotional problems.
A population-based cohort (N = 13,822) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) was recruited during pregnancy. Paternal and maternal depressive symptoms were assessed with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at 8 weeks after the birth of the child. Child outcomes were assessed at 3.5 years by using the Rutter revised preschool scales and at 7 years by using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Path analysis was used to assess hypothesized mediators (ie, depression in the other parent, couple conflict, and paternal noninvolvement) of the associations between both paternal and maternal depression and child outcomes. We also tested for hypothesized moderators (ie, paternal education and antisocial traits).
Family factors (maternal depression and couple conflict) mediated two-thirds of the overall association between paternal depression and child outcomes at 3.5 years. Similar findings were seen when children were 7 years old. In contrast, family factors mediated less than one-quarter of the association between maternal depression and child outcomes. There was no evidence of moderating effects of either parental education or antisocial traits.
The majority of the association between depression in fathers postnatally and subsequent child behavior is explained by the mediating role of family environment, whereas the association between depression in mothers and child outcomes appears to be better explained by other factors, perhaps including direct mother-infant interaction.
探索影响产后父亲抑郁与儿童后续行为和情绪问题之间关联的潜在中介和调节因素。
本研究基于人群的队列（n=13822）来自阿冯纵向研究父母和孩子（ALSPAC），在孩子出生后 8 周时使用爱丁堡产后抑郁量表评估父亲和母亲的抑郁症状。儿童结局在 3.5 岁时使用 Rutter 修订版学前量表进行评估，在 7 岁时使用长处与困难问卷进行评估。路径分析用于评估假设的中介因素（即另一位父母的抑郁、夫妻冲突和父亲的不参与），以评估父亲和母亲抑郁与儿童结局之间的关联。我们还测试了假设的调节因素（即父亲的教育程度和反社会特征）。
家庭因素（母亲的抑郁和夫妻冲突）中介了产后父亲抑郁与儿童 3.5 岁时结局之间的三分之二的关联。当孩子 7 岁时，也出现了类似的发现。相比之下，家庭因素只解释了母亲抑郁与儿童结局之间关联的四分之一以下。父母教育或反社会特征没有调节作用的证据。
产后父亲抑郁与儿童后续行为之间的大部分关联可以通过家庭环境的中介作用来解释，而母亲抑郁与儿童结局之间的关联似乎可以通过其他因素来更好地解释，可能包括直接的母婴互动。
