Understanding Postpartum Depression Among New Fathers and Mothers: A Study of Emotional Suppression, Traditional Gender Role Beliefs, and Parental Stress

Abstract

Abstract
Abstraction of the words parenthood and its effects on mothers and fathers creates a large change emotionally, psychologically and socially between the new parents.The literature review of postpartum depression (PPD) concerns mainly on mothers after delivery; however, new evidence shows that the fathers also are psychologically disturbed after birth of their child.New parents may experience some level of depression as a result of increased responsibilities for caregiving, decreased amount of sleep, changing family structure and societal pressure to conform to parenting roles. Even though awareness of fathers' mental health issues has increased significantly, there remain few studies of fathers' mental health following the birth of their children.Therefore, the present study investigated postpartum depression among mothers and fathers and examined its relationship with emotional suppression, gender role attitudes, and parental stress.A quantitative cross-sectional research design was utilized among parents in the first year after childbirth. Participants were selected by purposive sampling from healthcare and community-based settings. Standardized psychological instruments were used to assess postpartum depression, emotional suppression, attitudes toward gender roles and parental stress. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the characteristics of the participants and major study variables. Differences between mothers and fathers were explored by independent-samples t tests. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the degree to which emotional suppression, gender role attitudes, and parental stress predicted postpartum depression. The difference between mothers and fathers on these variables was investigated by independent-samples t-tests. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the degree to which emotional suppression, gender role attitudes and parental stress predicted postpartum depression.The results indicated significant differences between mothers and fathers in gender role attitudes, parental stress and postpartum depression. However, no significant differences were observed in emotional suppression. Regression analyses showed that emotional suppression, gender role attitudes, and parental stress significantly predicted postpartum depression and accounted for 44% of the variance in depressive symptoms (R2 = .44, F = 11.30, p < .001). Parental stress was the strongest predictor of postpartum depressive symptoms among the predictor variables.The findings pointed to the significance of understanding postpartum mental health as an issue affecting both mothers and fathers, rather than focusing only on maternal experiences. The study pointed to important roles of parental stress, emotion regulation processes, and attitudes about gender roles in shaping psychological adjustment during the transition to parenthood. The findings further showed the importance of comprehensive and gender-sensitive mental health services that took into account the experiences of both parents, and provided early detection and treatment for postpartum psychological difficulties. Such efforts may help promote parental well-being, healthy family relationships, and positive outcomes for children in the early phases of family life.