- Title
- Male callers to an Australian perinatal depression and anxiety help line — Understanding issues and concerns
- Creator
- Fletcher, Richard; StGeorge, Jennifer; Newman, Louise; Wroe, Jaime
- Relation
- Infant Mental Health Journal Vol. 41, Issue 1, p. 145-157
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21829
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2020
- Description
- There is increasing recognition of the issues facing men in the perinatal period. Vulnerability factors and issues in the partner relationship contribute to mental health risk and can impact the quality of the father–infant relationship. Yet, there is limited understanding of fathers’ help-seeking when they or their partner are experiencing mental health issues in the context of caring for a new baby. The present study examines fathers’ contacts with the Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA) National Helpline. The study reviewed contacts from fathers and their identified needs for assistance, relationship issues, and support needs; 70% of male callers (N = 129) reported concerns about the mother's mental health, and 57% were concerned about relationship breakdown. Significant numbers of men raised issues about their own mental health (43%) and many were concerned about the impact of maternal mental state on the relationship with the infant. When compared to community data, there were elevated rates of concerns about depression and anxiety. Men also described difficulties with the fathering role and with regulating their own feelings of guilt and frustration. These findings highlight the needs of men for support when a mother experiences perinatal problems and also the risk for distress in fathers.
- Subject
- depression; fathers; help-seeking; partner-support
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1439334
- Identifier
- uon:40895
- Identifier
- ISSN:0163-9641
- Language
- eng
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