Anxiety among fathers in the postnatal period: Links to depression, attachment insecurity and emotion regulation

Background: Recent research has established postnatal anxiety as a common mental health problem among fathers, yet our knowledge regarding its underlying mechanisms is limited. The aim of the present study was to assess postnatal anxiety symptoms in fathers, to investigate comorbidity with postnatal depressive symptoms, and to examine the unique and shared contribution of attachment and emotion regulation as potential underlying mechanisms of postnatal anxiety, as compared to postnatal depression.Methods: A community sample of fathers (N=186) of infants 1–18 months were assessed with the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS), the Edinburgh Gotland Depression Scale (EGDS), the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ-SF), and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Assessment was based on self-reports.Results: Over 30% of fathers reported high levels of postnatal anxiety, and a majority reported in addition burdening depressive symptoms. The strongest unique predictor for both outcomes was attachment anxiety, also after controlling for previous paternal mental health problems, and concurrent maternal depression. Emotion regulation strategy did not predict postnatal anxiety, but cognitive reappraisal predicted depressive symptoms negatively. For both anxiety and depression, the severity of symptoms in the one condition uniquely explained variance in the other condition.Limitations: The use of self-report measures does not allow clinical diagnosis. The unavoidable self-selected bias in recruitment posits limits to generalization.Conclusion: Despite high comorbidity between the two mental health outcomes, predictors of postnatal anxiety differ from those of postnatal depression in fathers, suggesting different underlying mechanisms and a need for distinct treatment approaches.