The Fathers Special Interest Group advocates for the inclusion of fathers when studying and treating perinatal mental illness.
Our mission is to provide education, resources, and updates on the cutting-edge research and clinical practices on father mental health and father involvement in the family during the perinatal period.
Our vision is for clinicians and researchers to be informed about the importance of fathers’ perinatal mental health and contribution to the family to support the ultimate goal of improving family health outcomes. Currently, we have almost 150 members worldwide and growing. We have created a member-only listserv to distribute information and create dialogue amongst the Fathers SIG. We want to create an international community and a dialogue father mental health globally.
More About Us
The Fathers SIG hosted a roundtable at the International Marcé Society Biennial Scientific Meeting 2020 to provide education about research, clinical practice, and policies on fathers during the perinatal period. During the roundtable, we opened membership to all Marcé members who were interested in or currently incorporating fathers into their work.
The Fathers SIG’s paper Expanding the international conversation with fathers’ mental health: toward an era of inclusion in perinatal research and practice (2021) was published by the Archives of Women’s Mental Health in the 40th anniversary special issue. We developed this paper to provide an overview of paternal perinatal mental health, assessment of paternal depression/anxiety, the impact on the family, and offer future directions for the field of paternal perinatal mental health.
In June 2022, we hosted a webinar on Engaging Fathers in Clinical Practice to discuss best practices of working with fathers, with a focus on father mental health and how fathers can be utilized to support family health across the fields of psychology, psychiatry, Ob/Gyn, pediatrics, and perinatal sexual/gender minority health.
We are encouraging any International Marcé members who are clinicians or researchers and interested in understanding the importance of fathers in their work to join our SIG by contacting the Fathers SIG chair.
To join, contact sheehan.fisher@northwestern.edu
STEERING COMMITTEE
Previous Events
An International and Multidisciplinary Perspective on Fathers
Hosted by: Fathers Special Interest Group
Presented by: Dr. Craig Hammond,University of Newcastle. Ms. Ayo Ayeni, Founder of Haven Advocacy. Dr. Vibian Angwenyi, Aga Khan University. Ms. Yamamoto Hiroe, RN at AICHI Medical University. Mr. Jarod Jenkins
Fathers and Perinatal Trauma
Hosted by: Fathers Special Interest Group
Presented by: Alka Kothari, MBBS MD FRANZCOG DDU Grad Cert EBP (Monash) PhD (UQ), Beth Warren LCSW, PMH-C, Michael T. Hynan, Ph.D
Key Articles
Paulson, J. F., & Bazemore, S. D. (2010). Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: a meta-analysis. Jama, 303(19), 1961-1969.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/185905?casa_token=BjK8sQWxZ9YAAAAA:HvfsJO1Qb_ofphcXBv14kvIX59VuH3lyolagMWcVZyLiWTLGkWP041EwU3ZxgVJwOvL7ua_tWw
Chhabra, J., McDermott, B., & Li, W. (2020). Risk factors for paternal perinatal depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology of Men & Masculinities, 21(4), 593.
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-13879-001
Fisher, S. D., Cobo, J., Figueiredo, B., Fletcher, R., Garfield, C. F., Hanley, J., … & Singley, D. B. (2021). Expanding the international conversation with fathers’ mental health: Toward an era of inclusion in perinatal research and practice. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 24(5), 841-848.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00737-021-01171-y
Garfield, C. F., Duncan, G., Rutsohn, J., McDade, T. W., Adam, E. K., Coley, R. L., & Chase-Lansdale, P. L. (2014). A longitudinal study of paternal mental health during transition to fatherhood as young adults. Pediatrics, 133(5), 836-843.
https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/133/5/836/32775/A-Longitudinal-Study-of-Paternal-Mental-Health
Goodman, J. H. (2004). Paternal postpartum depression, its relationship to maternal postpartum depression, and implications for family health. Journal of advanced nursing, 45(1), 26-35.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02857.x?casa_token=RqVP28b-nW8AAAAA:u54l5BhQKU7Aq6CY5T6ZXak3iXTYhNMQDTg-5ZPZGuUSJpp0VVYrx1mZDuEqgAJptpSpXi3JtXdG9Ns
Garfield, C. F., Lee, Y. S., Warner-Shifflett, L., Christie, R., Jackson, K. L., & Miller, E. (2021). Maternal and paternal depression symptoms during NICU stay and transition home. Pediatrics, 148(2).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34341101/