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Patterns and predictors of depressive symptoms among Jamaican fathers of newborns

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Abstract

Background

Approximately 10% of fathers in the Cultural West (i.e., US, Europe, and Australia) experience depression. We broaden the cultural scope of paternal depression research by investigating the prevalence and predictors of depressive symptoms among Jamaican fathers.

Methods

The present research draws upon structured interviews with 3425 fathers of newborn children participating in a Jamaican birth cohort study—JA Kids—and represents one of the largest sample sizes of any study on postnatal depression among fathers worldwide. This sample of fathers participated from July to September 2011, and represents approximately 30% of all men who became fathers during that time in Jamaica. Fathers answered questions about sociodemographic background, relationship status and quality, social support, health, expectations and views of a partner’s pregnancy, and the ten-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).

Results

Analyses reveal that 9.1% (95% CI 8.1–10.1) of these Jamaican fathers of newborns had EPDS scores of 10 or higher, indicative of possible depression. Results suggest that educational attainment was not related to EPDS scores, though higher indices of material wealth (e.g., refrigerator and vehicle) were weakly, negatively related to EDS scores. Paternal age was also weakly negatively predictive of EDS scores. Whereas relationship status was unrelated to depressive symptoms, relationship quality negatively predicted depressive symptoms. Several other measures of social support (lacking a close circle of friends, fewer family, or friends to help in times of trouble) were also associated with higher EPDS scores.

Conclusions

We interpret these findings in light of existing work on paternal depression, including the importance of social context and support.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all of the men who participated in this study and the field research team who conducted interviews. For financial support, we are indebted to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), University of the West Indies (UWI), Michigan State University (MSU), and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). For comments on an earlier version of the manuscript, we thank Alyssa Crittenden, Kristen Herlosky and Michael Lambert.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway Box 455003, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5003, USA

    Peter B. Gray

  2. Department of Child and Adolescent Health, University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Mona, Jamaica

    Jody-Ann Reece, Charlene Coore-Desai, Twana Dinnall-Johnson, Sydonnie Pellington & Maureen Samms-Vaughan

  3. University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Mona, Jamaica

    Andre Bateman

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  1. Peter B. Gray
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  2. Jody-Ann Reece
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  5. Sydonnie Pellington
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  7. Maureen Samms-Vaughan
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Contributions

PG, JAR, CCD, TDJ, SP, AB, and MSV conceived the study. JAR, CCD, TJD, and SP collected the data. PG performed analyses, PG initially drafted the manuscript, and JAR, CCD, TDJ, SP, AB, and MSV critically revised it. PG, JAR, CCD, TJD, SP, AB, and MSV approve of the submitted manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter B. Gray.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Gray, P.B., Reece, JA., Coore-Desai, C. et al. Patterns and predictors of depressive symptoms among Jamaican fathers of newborns. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 53, 1063–1070 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1566-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1566-2

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