Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences , Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Department of Human Development and Family Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA.
Dev Psychobiol. 2024 Feb;66(2):e22451. doi: 10.1002/dev.22451.
A growing body of literature highlights the important role of paternal health and socioemotional characteristics in child development, from preconception through adolescence. Much of this research addresses the indirect effects of fathers, for instance, their influence on maternal behaviors during the prenatal period or via the relationship with their partner. However, emerging evidence also recognizes the direct role of paternal health and behavior for child health and adjustment across development. This critical review presents evidence of biological and sociocultural influences of fathers on preconception, prenatal, and postnatal contributions to child development. The National Institutes of Health Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program incorporates in its central conceptualization the impact of fathers on family and child outcomes. This critical synthesis of the literature focuses on three specific child outcomes in the ECHO program: health outcomes (e.g., obesity), neurodevelopmental outcomes (e.g., emotional, behavioral, psychopathological development), and positive health. We highlight the unique insights gained from the literature to date and provide next steps for future studies on paternal influences.
越来越多的文献强调了父亲的健康和社会情感特征在儿童发展中的重要作用，从受孕前到青春期。这项研究的很大一部分都涉及到父亲的间接影响，例如，他们在孕期对母亲行为的影响，或者通过与伴侣的关系。然而，新出现的证据也认识到父亲的健康和行为对儿童健康和整个发育过程中的适应能力有直接影响。本批判性评论介绍了父亲对受孕前、孕期和产后儿童发展贡献的生物学和社会文化影响的证据。美国国立卫生研究院环境对儿童健康结果的影响（ECHO）计划将父亲对家庭和儿童结果的影响纳入其核心概念化中。本文献的批判性综合重点关注 ECHO 计划中的三个特定儿童结果：健康结果（例如肥胖）、神经发育结果（例如情绪、行为、心理病理发展）和积极健康。我们强调了迄今为止从文献中获得的独特见解，并为未来关于父亲影响的研究提供了下一步建议。
