June 18, 2025, 9:02 am | Read time: 7 minutes

Becoming a father is exciting, but also challenging. Amid diapers, sleepless nights, and new questions about roles, many men find their emotions in turmoil. What has often been overlooked, however, is that when fathers experience psychological distress during this time, it affects not only themselves but also their children’s development. Several recently published studies highlight how closely these factors are connected.

A recent comprehensive meta-analysis on paternal mental health during pregnancy and the first year after birth provides alarming insights. Research from Deakin University in Australia reveals a link between paternal mental stress and impaired child development. Notably, the effects were evident not only in infancy but sometimes extended into school age.¹

Meta-Analysis Examines the Impact of Father’s Mental State on the Child

The study aimed to systematically investigate whether and how mental stress in fathers during the perinatal period affects their children’s development. The perinatal period includes pregnancy and the first year after birth—a critical phase for the parent-child relationship. Maternal mental issues (such as postpartum depression) are increasingly in focus. However, systematic analyses of the impact of paternal stress on child well-being have been lacking. This gap was to be closed, and the question addressed whether paternal symptoms like depression, anxiety, and stress have long-term effects on offspring (considering the first 18 years of the child’s life).

Study Design and Methods

The research is a systematic review with meta-analysis, summarizing and statistically evaluating numerous individual studies. The team searched five major medical and psychological databases (including Medline, Embase, and PsycInfo) for studies up to November 2024. The researchers only included long-term studies with human subjects that collected data on paternal mental stress during the perinatal period and child development.

In total, 9,572 studies were part of the meta-analysis. Of these, 84 studies (48 cohorts) with 674 effect sizes met the criteria for the meta-analysis. This included 286 previously unpublished data points. The quality of the studies was assessed using the official evaluation tool of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Statistical analysis was conducted using a univariate random-effects model, allowing for robust evaluation of heterogeneous studies. Univariate means that the procedure analyzed a single variable, in this case, the paternal mental state.

If the Father Has Mental Issues, It Affects His Offspring in Various and Long-Term Ways

The result of the evaluation: If fathers experienced mental stress such as depression, anxiety, or severe stress during pregnancy or in the first months after birth, it had measurable effects on their children’s development.

Paternal mental stress during the perinatal period was associated with poorer global or general, social-emotional, cognitive, linguistic, and physical development of the offspring. The paternal mental state seemed to have no impact on adaptive skills or motor skills.

It was also notable that the father’s mental state after birth had more influence on the child than his condition during pregnancy. This highlights the importance of the father’s role in daily life with the baby—not just biologically, but also through closeness, interaction, and behavior.

Also interesting: Constant Anger in Men Can Indicate Serious Illness

What Is the Significance of the Results?

The results provide strong evidence that the mental health of fathers in the early family phase can be an independent risk factor for developmental disorders in children. Particularly affected are skills essential for academic and social success, such as language, cognition, and social interaction. This makes it clear: Prevention and support should not end with the mother. Fathers also need targeted psychological support during pregnancy and early parenthood. For pediatricians, psychologists, and health systems, this means: Including fathers in preventive programs should become the norm, not the exception.

Classification and Possible Limitations

The study impresses with its scope, quality, and methodological rigor. With 674 effect sizes from 48 cohorts, it offers a very robust data foundation. However, limitations must be considered: The data on adolescence was sparse, making it difficult to make statements about long-term effects into youth. Additionally, the effects are based on mostly moderate correlations—these are not direct causes but statistical associations. Unpublished data were considered but may be less methodically controlled.

Possible confounding factors—such as maternal stress or socioeconomic status—could not be equally controlled in all studies. It is not entirely possible to rule out that not only the father but also the mother was mentally stressed after birth. This would logically have an additional effect on the child. Nevertheless, the central conclusion remains valid: Paternal perinatal mental stress affects child development.

Also interesting: What Threatens a Baby’s Health When Men Become Fathers Too Late

Paternal Mental State Subject of Another Meta-Analysis

Simultaneously with the previously explained meta-analysis, researchers from Chicago also published an extensive review of studies. They also examined the effects of the stressed mental state of fathers on their children. Specifically, depression, anxiety, the combination of depression and anxiety, and stress in new fathers were examined. In this second meta-analysis, the researchers sifted through 8,023 studies, reviewed 777 full-text articles, and ultimately selected 84 studies with a total of 674 effect sizes for evaluation. Contacting researchers who had dealt with the topic led to an additional 244 examined effects that were included in the analysis. The meta-analysis from Chicago also showed a connection between the father’s mental state and the general, socio-emotional, cognitive, and linguistic development of the child.²

Impact of Father’s Depression on Schoolchildren

Another study from April 2025 specifically examined the developmental status of nine-year-old children with fathers suffering from mental health issues. The researchers analyzed data from 1,422 children from a national cohort and found that the father’s mental state apparently impaired their development. Paternal depression was associated with a 25 to 37 percent increased risk of oppositional behavior, hyperactivity, and ADHD symptoms. This connection existed independently of maternal depression or socioeconomic factors. Additionally, these children showed significantly lower scores in positive social skills such as cooperation, assertiveness, and self-control. They also more frequently exhibited problematic behavior patterns in the school context.³

The assessment of the children’s behavior was conducted by teachers; subjective opinions of the parents were not included. However, the study shows inaccuracies in capturing the father’s mental state. For example, the researchers did not detail the severity and duration of the depression. Additionally, like the previously described meta-analyses, this study can show correlations but not causations. It is also unclear whether other factors, such as genetic predispositions or other dynamics in the children’s environment, play a role in their behavioral issues.

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Conclusion: For the Child’s Well-Being, the Father’s Mental State Must Receive More Attention

Despite the different approaches and limitations, the studies provide important evidence that the mental health of fathers around the time of birth and afterward has measurable effects on their children’s development. This seems to affect the child’s language, cognition, and social maturity. Postnatal stress appears to have a stronger impact than prenatal stress. Fathers should therefore be systematically included in preventive and therapeutic offerings—for their own mental stability, but apparently also for the well-being of their children.