Perinatal Parenting Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Outcomes in First-Time Mothers and Fathers: A 3- to 6-Months Postpartum Follow-Up Study.

Laura Vismara,Piera Brustia,Concetta Polizzi,Fiorella Monti,Valentina Fenaroli,Laura E Prino,Cristina Sechi,Renata Tambelli,Sara Molgora,Erica Neri,Francesca Agostini,Flaminia Odorisio,Loredana Lucarelli,Emanuela Saita,Annamaria Trovato,Luca Rollè

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00938

Abstract

Objective: Although there is an established link between parenting stress, postnatal depression, and anxiety, no study has yet investigated this link in first-time parental couples. The specific aims of this study were 1) to investigate whether there were any differences between first-time fathers’ and mothers’ postnatal parenting stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms and to see their evolution between three and 6 months after their child’s birth; and 2) to explore how each parent’s parenting stress and anxiety levels and the anxiety levels and depressive symptoms of their partners contributed to parental postnatal depression.Method: The sample included 362 parents (181 couples; mothers’ MAge = 35.03, SD = 4.7; fathers’ MAge = 37.9, SD = 5.6) of healthy babies. At three (T1) and 6 months (T2) postpartum, both parents filled out, in a counterbalanced order, the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.Results: The analyses showed that compared to fathers, mothers reported higher scores on postpartum anxiety, depression, and parenting stress. The scores for all measures for both mothers and fathers decreased from T1 to T2. However, a path analysis suggested that the persistence of both maternal and paternal postnatal depression was directly influenced by the parent’s own levels of anxiety and parenting stress and by the presence of depression in his/her partner.Discussion: This study highlights the relevant impact and effects of both maternal and paternal stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms during the transition to parenthood. Therefore, to provide efficacious, targeted, early interventions, perinatal screening should be directed at both parents.

Highlights

The marginal homogeneity test for Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), which analyzed data regarding normal functioning (EPDS < 9), borderline (EPDS total 9–12), and depressed (EPDS total ≥13) parents, showed a difference between the mothers and fathers within each couple, showing that the mothers were more depressed than their partners
Differences between the mothers and fathers within each couple were found at Time 1 with respect to the parental distress and difficult child subscales, showing that compared to their partners, the mothers reported higher levels of psychological distress and perceived their children as being more difficult
This study provides an analysis of men’s and women’s emotional experiences connected to the transition to parenthood and their mental health in the first few months after the birth of their first child

Summary

Introduction

In both men and women, the transition to parenthood involves physical, hormonal, neurochemical, and neurobiological shifts (Wisner et al, 2006; Feldman, 2007; Slade et al, 2009; Kim et al, 2010); psychological changes concerning identity, affect, representations, and cognition (Stern, 1995; Ammaniti et al, 2014); and socio-relational adjustments (Cowan and Cowan, 1995, 2000; Bost et al, 2002). The involved personal and family changes may lead to increased vulnerability to psychological distress (Epifanio et al, 2015). In this context, postnatal depression (PND) is a major parental mental health issue (Miller, 2002; Rollè et al, 2011; Parfitt and Ayers, 2014). PND occurs in about 15–20% of mothers in Western countries and may have severe consequences on maternal and family wellbeing, along with affecting child development (O’Hara and Wisner, 2014; Tambelli et al, 2014a). Paternal perinatal depression can lead to inadequate parental functioning (Wilson and Durbin, 2010) and negative child outcomes (Ramchandani et al, 2005, 2008; Tambelli et al, 2014b). Fathers seem to follow their partners’ mood and emotional states, increasing the possibility of negative outcomes for children (Deater-Deckard, 1998; Nishimura and Ohashi, 2010)

Methods

Results

Conclusion