Summary: A recent study found that more than 70 % of parents who participate in a class parenting intervention experience complete remission of symptoms. The plan,” Learning Through Play Plus Dads”, even improved infant development and strengthened ties within families.
This ground-breaking strategy addresses a previously unexplored area of female mental health, demonstrating that fathers ‘ well-being is critical to home dynamics and children’s mental development. According to the study, this model might be successful worldwide, giving people new hope for addressing PPD in people.
Important Facts:
- Over 70 % of the study’s father experienced PPD recovery.
- The programme improved kid social and emotional development.
- Parents reported less intimate partner violence after the treatment.
Origin: CAMH
A new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health ( CAMH) has demonstrated the efficacy of a combined psychosocial intervention designed to enhance parenting abilities and depressive symptoms in collaboration with leading experts in Pakistan.
In a cohort of Pakistani fathers, the treatment improved both paternal mental health and child development outcomes. It also improved male postpartum depression ( PPD ) in the patient.
” Adult mental health, and especially postnatal depression in parents, remains a stigmatized and unstudied area”, says Dr. Ishrat Husain, the study’s lead analyst and senior scholar at CAMH.
” Previously, the focus has rightly been on maternal health during pregnancy and postpartum. We’re learning, but, that men also face significant emotional strain as they adjust to new parental roles and are in need of assistance.
Globally, around 10 per share of parents are affected by PPD, and in cultures like Pakistan, where more traditional gender roles occupy, depression levels are also higher, possibly as high as 23.5 per share.
Published now in , JAMA Psychiatry, the investigation  , A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial: A Group Parenting Intervention for Male Postpartum Depression , involved 357 father from low-income communities in Pakistan.
Fathers were randomly assigned to receive either standard care or participate in the four-month , Learning Through Play Plus Dads ( LTP + Dads )  , program, a parenting and mental health initiative , adapted from a similar program for Pakistani mothers.
Parents in the , LTP + Dads , plan were provided with calendars detailing baby advancement stages and activities to stimulate parent-child wedding. Additionally, they took part in 12 team meetings led by psychology and community health workers.
These lessons incorporated living skills training in matters like time management and emotional legislation to help control depressive symptoms. Lessons took place regular for the first two weeks, then bi-weekly.
The study’s results reveal that the action had a positive effect on family dynamics and kid social and emotional development as well as a full remission of depressive symptoms in more than 70 % of parents with PPD over the course of four months.
Parents who completed the program also reported improved health and better relationships with their colleagues and children. These children also showed changes in social and emotional growth.
These findings support the notion that addressing mental health in both families is essential to successful community outcomes, in line with previous studies conducted with moms.
One dad who participated in the study remarked,” I used to get aggressive with my household, including my children.”
” My child was n’t close to me, he was attached to his mother. Then, I understand why. I once believed a young child could n’t comprehend what was happening to him, but I was mistaken. He can not only understand and experience, it also affects him” . ,
According to Dr. Husain, “parenting plays a important role in shaping a child’s temperament and their ability to handle pressure later in life.”
” We noticed that as a family’s melancholy symptoms improved, social assistance for both the parents and the home improved. This suggests that when people are given training and education in their mental heath, they are more able and willing to turn to their network of friends, family, and coworkers for help.
A reduction in intimate partner violence was one of the survey’s most intriguing results. At the end of the care time, fathers who received the intervention reported lower ratings on a measure of committed intimate partner violence compared to those who received treatment as usual.
” This information suggests that the , LTP + Dads , treatment may reduce the risk of for murder in Pakistani parents experiencing PPD, leading to better community settings overall”, says Dr. Husain.
Dr. Husain thinks this model could be successful in other settings, including Canada, where men’s cultural and social pressures also face difficulties in seeking mental health care.
” Similar patterns of male PPD likely occur in Canada, which we know is a melting pot of different cultures”, he explains.
Fathers frequently avoid seeking the help they need because of stigma, cultural beliefs, and the high demand for mental health services. By introducing accessible support and educational services that provide a safe place to process emotions, programs like , LTP, and Dads  could be transformative for men in their transition to parenthood.
Funding: Grand Challenges Canada provided funding for this study, which was conducted in close collaboration with Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning ( PILL), the country’s largest non-governmental research organization. Dr. Husain and the PILL team have received$ 2 million in additional funding to expand the program nationwide in response to the success of the initial study.
Nearly 4, 000 fathers and their partners are currently being included in the study. With this expansion, nearly 8, 000 parents who are depressed will soon have received the Learning Through Play Plus intervention in Pakistan.
The team’s long-term objective is to make this program a regular component of Pakistani mental health care. The ultimate objective is to apply this research to other populations, aiming to have the same outcomes for parents and their children everywhere.
About this research on paternal postpartum depression
Author: Hayley Chazan
Source: CAMH
Contact: Hayley Chazan – CAMH
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
Ishrat Husain and colleagues'” A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial: A Group Parenting Intervention for Male Postpartum Depression” is a group parenting intervention. JAMA Psychiatry
Abstract
A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial: A Group Parenting Intervention for Male Postpartum Depression
Importance
Male postpartum depression is prevalent across populations, however, there is limited evidence on strategies to address it, particularly in low-income settings.
Objective
To evaluate the effectiveness of Learning Through Play Plus Dads ( LTP+ Dads ), a nonspecialist–delivered psychosocial intervention, in improving symptoms of male postpartum depression compared to treatment as usual.
Design, Setting, and Participants ,
This cluster randomized clinical trial was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan, between June 2018 and November 2019. Assessors were blind to treatment allocation. Through basic health units, participants from two large cities in the city of Karachi were recruited.
Fathers aged 18 years and older with a , DSM-5 , diagnosis of major depressive episode and a child younger than 30 months were recruited. Of 1582 fathers approached, 1527 were screened and 357 were randomized in a 1: 1 ratio to either the intervention or treatment as usual, 328 were included in the final analysis. From April to June 2022, data were analyzed.
Interventions
LTP + Dads is a manualized intervention combining parenting skills training, play therapy, and cognitive behavior therapy. Community health workers delivered the intervention over the course of 12 group sessions over the course of four months.
Main Outcomes and Measures ,
The main outcome was a change in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale’s 17-item score at 4 months. Secondary outcomes included anxiety symptoms, parenting stress, intimate partner violence, functioning, quality of life, and child social, emotional, and physical health outcomes. Assessments were completed at baseline and 4 and 6 months postrandomization.
Results
Of the 357 fathers included ( mean]SD] age, 31.44]7.24] years ), 171 were randomized to the intervention and 186 to treatment as usual.
Participants randomized to the intervention demonstrated significantly greater improvements in depression ( group difference ratio]GDR], 0.66, 95 % CI, 0.47 to 0.91,  , P <, .001 ), anxiety ( GDR, 0.62, 95 % CI, 0.48 to 0.81,  , P <, .001 ), parenting stress ( GDR, −12.5, 95 % CI, −19.1 to −6.0,  , P <, .001 ), intimate partner violence ( GDR, 0.89, 95 % CI, 0.80 to 1.00,  , P = .05 ), disability ( GDR, 0.77, 95 % CI, 0.61 to 0.97,  , P = .03 ), and health-related quality of life ( GDR, 12.7, 95 % CI, 0.17 to 0.34,  , P <, .001 ) at 4 months.
At six months, there was a significant difference between parenting stress and depression. Children of fathers randomized to the parenting intervention had significantly greater improvements in social-emotional development scores ( mean difference, −20.8, 95 % CI, −28.8 to −12.9,  , P <, .001 ) at 6 months.
Conclusions and Relevance ,  ,
In Pakistan, the psychosocial parenting intervention presented in this study has the potential to enhance paternal mental health and child development. Further studies in other populations and with longer follow-up are warranted.
