Understanding the Barriers Fathers Face to Seeking Help for Paternal Perinatal Depression: Comparing Fathers to Men Outside the Perinatal Period

Megan Reay (), Andrew Mayers, Rebecca Knowles-Bevis and Matthew T. D. Knight
Additional contact information
Megan Reay: Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX4 4XN, UK
Andrew Mayers: Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK
Rebecca Knowles-Bevis: Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX4 4XN, UK
Matthew T. D. Knight: Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, The University of Oxford, Oxford OX4 4XN, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 21, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Research has shown that men are less likely than women to seek help for depression at any time of life due to barriers, including stereotypical masculine norms and stigma. The evidence suggests that approximately 10% of fathers experience postnatal depression, yet new and expectant fathers are not routinely offered screening or support in the same way as mothers. Therefore, this research explored the barriers fathers face to seeking help for paternal perinatal depression (PPD). Data were collected using an online survey. Initially, fathers with postnatal depression were compared to men experiencing depression at another time of their life in terms of their attitudes to seeking psychological help, conformity to masculine norms, self-stigma, and awareness of services. Secondly, a proposed model of help-seeking amongst fathers with postnatal depression was evaluated. Finally, additional barriers to help-seeking for paternal postnatal depression were explored qualitatively. A total of 125 participants took part in the quantitative comparison, and 50 of the fathers also provided qualitative data. No between-group differences were found, suggesting that the existing literature on barriers to seeking help for male depression is applicable to fathers with postnatal depression. The qualitative results also highlighted the need for better awareness of paternal postnatal depression and better access to services for fathers. Limitations, implications for policy, and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: perinatal mental health; fathers; postnatal depression; men’s mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/1/16/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/1/16/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2023:i:1:p:16-:d:1305040

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().