University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Switzerland.
Department of Pediatrics, Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
J Affect Disord. 2022 Sep 1;312:303-309. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.06.052. Epub 2022 Jun 26.
The postnatal period is considered the most challenging period in the adjustment to fatherhood. This study aimed to assess anxiety levels among fathers during this period.
A comparative study assessing the anxiety levels of first-time and multi-child fathers before the mother and child returned home (0-7 days after birth) was conducted. We used the French validation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).
Among 235 fathers who were met at the maternity ward, 182 (77 %) responded to the questionnaire. For most fathers in both groups, anxiety levels were low or very low for trait anxiety (166/182, 91.21 %) and state anxiety (177/182, 97.25 %). Levels of state anxiety were statistically higher for first-time fathers compared to multi-child fathers but were mainly at a low or very low level (70/83 [84 %] versus 71/99 [71 %], respectively, p = 0.029). The multiple linear regression showed that "feeling prepared at birth time" was the only significantly (p < 0.001) associated factor with state anxiety among first-time fathers only.
The validity and reliability of the STAI have been widely proven for the general population but not specifically for men during the postpartum period.
Most fathers had low to very low anxiety levels during the early postpartum period, suggesting that developing new specific support interventions is not needed during early postnatal care. Further research focusing on when the family is back home is warranted.
产后阶段被认为是父亲适应角色过程中最具挑战性的阶段。本研究旨在评估该阶段父亲的焦虑水平。
本研究采用前瞻性队列研究，比较了母婴出院前（产后 0-7 天）初为人父者和多子女父亲的焦虑水平。我们使用了法国版状态特质焦虑问卷（STAI）进行评估。
在产房遇到的 235 位父亲中，有 182 位（77%）回答了问卷。对于两组中的大多数父亲，特质焦虑（166/182，91.21%）和状态焦虑（177/182，97.25%）的焦虑水平较低或非常低。与多子女父亲相比，初为人父者的状态焦虑水平更高，但仍主要处于低或非常低水平（70/83 [84%] 与 71/99 [71%]，p=0.029）。多元线性回归显示，“对分娩时的准备情况感到满意”是初为人父者状态焦虑的唯一显著相关因素（p<0.001）。
STAI 的有效性和可靠性已在一般人群中得到广泛证明，但专门针对产后期间的男性尚未得到证明。
大多数父亲在产后早期的焦虑水平较低或非常低，这表明在新生儿早期护理期间不需要开发新的特定支持干预措施。需要进一步研究家庭回到家时的情况。
