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Child mental health status may be closely linked to father's

Children whose fathers have poor mental health are more than twice as likely also to have poor mental health, according to findings published in Health Equity.

“Our study provides important population-based data supporting the need to engage fathers in programs aimed at improving child health and development outcomes,” Romuladus E. Azuine, DrPH, MPH, RN, and Gopal K. Singh, PhD, both from the Health Resources and Services Administration, a division of the HHS, wrote. “Our study further supports the inextricable relationship between the health and well-being of children to their parents’ physical, emotional and social health, social circumstances, and child-rearing practices, which prior studies have examined.”

The present study goes further than prior research, Azuine and Singh noted, because it provides data supporting the importance fathers play in promoting overall and mental health among children. Using data for 75,879 children from the 2011 to 2012 National Survey of Children’s Health, the researchers estimated prevalence and odds of poor mental and physical health among children based on the overall and mental health status of fathers, as well as pertinent sociodemographic covariates.

The researchers found that approximately 9.8% of children whose fathers had poor mental health had poor overall health status themselves, compared with 2.2% of children whose fathers did not. Further, approximately 14.5% of children whose fathers had poor mental health status had behavioral or emotional disorders compared with 4.3% of children whose fathers did not. Children in the first subgroup had 1.9 and 2.6 times higher adjusted odds of poor overall and mental health, respectively, compared with the second group.

“Father involvement provides an untapped opportunity for policy makers and program planners to style policies and design programs that foster the health and well-being of children and all families that we can no longer afford to miss,” the researchers wrote. – by Joe Gramigna

Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.