The intersection between alexithymia, testosterone reactivity, and coparenting in fathers predicts child's prosocial behavior.

The development of prosocial skills in children is a key predictor of long-term social, cognitive, and emotional functioning. However, the role of fathers' psychological characteristics in fostering prosocial development, including during the prenatal period, and the mechanisms underlying their influence, remain relatively unexplored. This study aimed to examine whether a higher tendency of alexithymia, a difficulty to identify and verbalize emotions, in expectant fathers predicts prosocial behavior of two-year-old toddlers through the quality of coparenting and whether greater testosterone increase during a stressful parenting task moderates this indirect effect. A sample of 105 couples and their children was tracked longitudinally starting from the third trimester of pregnancy (T1), at three months (T2), and at two years postnatally (T3). Using self-report questionnaires, fathers reported on alexithymia (T1) and mothers and fathers reported on coparenting quality (T2). Additionally, fathers provided saliva samples before and after engaging in a stressful parenting task (the Inconsolable Doll Task) to measure testosterone reactivity (T1). Children's prosocial behavior was observed during an out-of-reach task (T3). A moderated mediation analysis using structural equation modeling showed that higher levels of alexithymia pre-birth predicted lower coparenting quality three months after birth, which in turn predicted lower prosocial behavior of two-year-old children, but only among fathers with mean or high testosterone increases. This study illuminates a potential mechanism by which fathers' alexithymia and testosterone reactivity forecast their toddlers' prosocial behavior.

Paternal Perspectives on Latino and Black Sons' Readiness for Sex and Condom Guidance: A Mixed Methods Study.

PURPOSE: Although a large proportion of males in the United States become sexually active during high school, condom use is decreasing and contributing to negative sexual health outcomes. Fathers are influential in promoting adolescent male sexual health; however, factors that shape fathers' decisions about when to discuss condom use with their sons remain understudied. We examined paternal perceptions of adolescent males' readiness for sex relative to fathers providing guidance for condom use in Latino and Black families. METHODS: We recruited 191 Latino and Black males aged 15-19 years and their fathers in the South Bronx, New York City. Dyads completed surveys, and a subset of fathers participated in audio-recorded sessions with a father coach, which included conversations about adolescent male condom use. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design identified adolescent male developmental predictors for paternal guidance for condom use and explored how fathers perceive their sons' readiness for sex. RESULTS: The quantitative findings indicate that paternal perception of their sons' readiness for sex is an important predictor of providing guidance for condom use, and that fathers consider other factors (beyond age and perceived sexual activity) in understanding their sons' developmental readiness for sex. The qualitative findings provide insights into these additional factors, which should be considered when engaging fathers in primary care around issues of adolescent male condom use. CONCLUSIONS: Fathers' perception of their sons' readiness for sex is a predictor of providing condom guidance. We provide practical suggestions for engaging fathers in primary care to promote correct and consistent condom use by adolescent males.

Elucidating mechanisms linking mothers' and fathers' mind-mindedness in infancy with children's self-regulation at early preschool age.

Extensive research has examined factors that contribute to individual differences in children's self-regulation (SR), a key social-emotional competence crucial to adjustment and mental health. Those differences become salient and measurable at late toddler age. In the CAPS (N = 200 community families), we examined mothers' and fathers' appropriate mind-mindedness (MM)-the ability to view the child as a psychological agent and correctly interpret his or her mental states-as a predictor of children's SR. MM was observed in parent-child interactions at 8 months, and SR was observed as the capacity for deliberate delay in standard tasks at 3 years. Reflecting a family system perspective, processes both within and across mother-child and father-child relationships were examined in one model. Parent-child mutual responsiveness, observed during interactions at 16 months, was modeled as a mediator of the paths from MM to SR. Fathers' MM had a significant, direct positive effect on SR; in addition, it enhanced mutual responsiveness in both father-child and mother-child dyads and promoted child SR through enhanced mother-child mutual responsiveness. The findings elucidate relatively poorly understood mechanisms linking parental MM in infancy with SR at early preschool age, highlight similarities and differences in the processes unfolding in mother-child and father-child relationships, and emphasize interparental dynamics in socialization.

Indian fathers' perceptions of young childcare and feeding - A qualitative study.

The role of parents in fostering children's healthy habits is a robust area of research. However, most of the existing literature predominantly focuses on mothers' parenting practices. Given the emergence of nuclear, dual earning families and the recent surge in maternal employment in urban India, fathers' engagement in child rearing and feeding warrants attention. The purpose of this research was to document the views of Indian fathers about paternal parenting practices, with an emphasis on children's diet among other health behaviors. Thirty-three fathers of children aged 6-59 months from Kolkata, India took part in semi-structured interviews conducted either face-to-face or over Zoom/telephone in Hindi, Bengali, and English. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and translated to English. The transcribed data were subjected to thematic analysis informed by the Template Analysis technique. Themes were detected using the NVivo software program. Overall, these Indian fathers played an important role in early childhood care and feeding as reflected in the following seven themes: (i) Involvement of fathers in various childcare activities; (ii) Implementation of responsive and non-responsive feeding practices; (iii) Concerns regarding fussy and slow eating; (iv) Concerns regarding excessive screen time; (v) Paternal vs maternal parenting; (vi) Barriers to routine engagement of fathers in childcare; (vii) Desire for more nutrition and health knowledge. This enhanced understanding of paternal parenting behavior supports the inclusion of fathers in future family-focused lifestyle interventions aimed at improving children's health outcomes, including their dietary habits.

Adolescent responses to paternal verbal aggression: Assessing spillover and compensatory processes using random intercept cross-lagged panel models.

INTRODUCTION: Prior research suggests several pathways through which verbal aggression manifests across adolescent relationship contexts, including spillover (continuity of aggression across different relationships) and compensation (offsetting an aggressive relationship with less aggression in other relationships). These pathways vary across timescales in ways that between-person analytic approaches are unlikely to adequately capture. The current study used random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM) to examine adolescents' spillover and compensatory responses to paternal verbal aggression. METHODS: Participants were 184 adolescents (53.2% female) from a United States community sample participating in a longitudinal study. Annually from ages 13-17, participants reported on their experiences of verbal aggression in their paternal and maternal relationships and participated in observed interactions with a close peer that were coded for aggressive behavior. RESULTS: Spillover was observed from father-adolescent to mother-adolescent and adolescent-peer contexts in analyses at the between-person level, likely capturing long-term, cumulative effects of paternal aggression. Conversely, compensation was observed in analyses at the within-person level, likely capturing medium-term (i.e., year-to-year) adaptations to paternal aggression: Adolescents who experienced more aggression from their father than expected at a specific time point were less likely to both perpetrate and experience aggression in maternal and peer relationships the following year. Several findings differed across teen gender, with compensation more likely to occur in males than females. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the multiple pathways by which father-adolescent aggression may be linked to behavior in other relationships in the medium- and long-term. They also support the value of RI-CLPM in decomposing these effects.

Maternal-infant and paternal-infant attachment levels after successful infertility treatment and affecting factors: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the levels of maternal and paternal attachment and the factors that affect them in individuals who had a baby after infertility treatment. METHODS: This study followed a descriptive cross-sectional design in accordance with STROBE guidelines. The research was conducted in the infertility clinic of a university hospital and included 128 participants, consisting of 64 mothers and 64 fathers. Data were collected using the 'Personal Information Form-Mother', 'Personal Information Form-Father', 'Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI)', and 'Postnatal Paternal-Infant Attachment Questionnaire (PPAQ)'. RESULTS: The study found that the mothers had an average MAI score of 102.35 ± 3.05, while the fathers had an average PPAQ score of 82.21 ± 4.27. A significant correlation was observed between the mothers' MAI score and the duration of their marriage. Similarly, a significant correlation was observed between the fathers' PPAQ score and the duration of their marriage, the duration of their infertility diagnosis, and the duration of their infertility treatment (p < 0.05). The correlation analysis between the MAI score and the mean score of the PPAQ's subscale of pleasure in interaction was weakly significant and positive (r = 0.26; p = 0.032). However, there was no significant relationship between the MAI score and the PPAQ score (r = 0.18; p = 0.146). CONCLUSIONS: The study findings indicate that parents who conceive through infertility treatment exhibit high levels of attachment to their babies. Healthcare professionals should assess the attachment levels of both mothers and fathers who have undergone infertility treatment and be mindful of the factors that influence it.

Fathers' contributions to attachment in adolescence and adulthood: the moderating role of race, gender, income, and residential status.

Fathers play a critical yet underappreciated role in adolescent development. To examine contributions of fathers' parenting to attachment in adolescence and adulthood, this longitudinal study followed 184 adolescents from ages 13-24. At age 13, adolescents reported on their fathers' parenting behavior and were observed in a father-teen conflict task; at ages 14 and 24, they completed the Adult Attachment Interview. Adolescents who lived with their father showed higher attachment security at age 14 (Cohen's d = .72), compared to those with non-residential fathers. Fathers' positive relatedness and support for teens' psychological autonomy predicted attachment security at age 14. Fathers' physical aggression predicted attachment insecurity in adolescence, whereas fathers' verbal aggression predicted insecurity in adulthood, illuminating developmental shifts. Pathways to security were moderated by father residential status, adolescent gender, and race. Findings underscore the importance of fathers' presence, autonomy support, and non-aggression in predicting adolescents' state of mind in close relationships.

A Mixed Methods Approach to Understand Mother-Father Relationship and Perceived Stress Among Black Pregnant Women.

BACKGROUND: Black women in the United States report moderate to high levels of perceived stress during pregnancy. Though lower levels of involvement and support from father of the baby (FOB) and higher levels of conflict have been associated with higher levels of maternal perceived stress, it is not clear how Black pregnant women experience the mother-father relationship and its influence on perceived stress. PURPOSE: To examine and describe the mother-father relationship and its role in experiences of perceived stress from the perspective of Black pregnant women. METHODS: Using a convergent, mixed methods approach with ideal-type analysis, we conducted a secondary analysis of data among 60 Black pregnant women enrolled in the Biosocial Impact on Black Births study. Women completed online self-report questionnaires and participated in a semi-structured interview by telephone. RESULTS: Participants who reported more conflict with FOB also reported higher levels of perceived stress (ρ(47) = .431, P= .002). Themes (importance, communication, support, conflict, satisfaction, and stress) emerged from the data. Five distinct mother-father relationship typologies were identified following an ideal-type analysis of the combined dataset: Cared For; Managing Expectations; Just Friends, For the Kids; It's Complicated; and Can't be Bothered. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are an innovative exemplar of ideal-type analysis and provide a deeper understanding of the nuance and dynamics within the mother-father relationship and how it influences perceived stress among Black pregnant women. IMPLICATIONS: Clinicians must recognize the significance of the mother-father relationship and, when appropriate, encourage paternal involvement or intervene if there is conflict during pregnancy.

Direct and Indirect Longitudinal Associations of Mother and Father Engagement in Middle Childhood on Adolescent Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors.

Parent engagement is an important aspect of parenting during childhood. However, little is known about the unique longitudinal associations of mother and father engagement with adolescents' externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. This study uses Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study data to examine the potential direct and indirect associations of parent engagement at age 9 on adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors at age 15. The analytic sample size is 1349, and at age 9, the mean age of children was 9.40 years (SD = 0.37). Forty-eight percent of children were female and 68% of them were from the married families. The results show that while controlling for mother engagement, higher father engagement at age 9 was directly associated with fewer adolescent internalizing behaviors, only among adolescent boys and in married families. In addition, among adolescent boys, father engagement had an indirect association with externalizing behaviors through father-child closeness. Mother engagement, however, is only found to have an indirect association with adolescents' externalizing and internalizing behaviors through maternal hostility (while controlling for father engagement). The results for mother engagement held for boys and in married families only. The findings indicate that both mother and father engagement during childhood is important and helpful to prevent adolescent problem behaviors directly or indirectly via parent-child relationship.

Body odours as putative chemosignals in the father-child relationship: New insights on paternal olfactory kin recognition and preference from infancy to adolescence.

Children's body odours are effective chemical cues in the parent-child relationship. Mothers can recognize the odour of their child and prefer this odour over that of unfamiliar children. This effect is mediated by genetic similarity and developmental stage and is therefore suited to promote parental care at pre-pubertal stage, while facilitating incest avoidance at (post-)pubertal stage. The present study tested whether similar mechanisms apply to fathers. Therefore n = 56 fathers evaluated body odour samples of their own and of unfamiliar children in varying genetic and developmental stages. Genetic status was determined by human leucocyte antigen (HLA) profiling, developmental status by standardized assessment of pubertal status and steroid hormone concentration (estradiol, testosterone). Similar to mothers, fathers identified their own child's body odour above chance and preferred that odour. The paternal preference did not relate to HLA similarity but decreased with increasing age of the child. The decline was associated with higher pubertal stages in daughters only, which supports the hypothesis of odour-mediated incest prevention in opposite-sex parent-child dyads.

"The third wing of the plane": Fathers' perceptions of their role in the treatment process for daughters with eating disorders.

Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions exacerbated by high mortality rates. International and national guidelines recommend family involvement in the treatment process, recognising the family as an important source of support to young people. Research suggests fathers engage less in the process compared to mothers. In studies exploring parental perspectives, most samples consisted of mothers, with fathers minimally represented. Few studies explore family involvement from the perspective of fathers. This study aimed to explore the experiences of fathers regarding their involvement in the treatment process. Qualitative descriptive methods were used, involving focus group interviews of seven fathers. Interviews were assisted by a semi-structured interview guide. A qualitative content analysis approach was used to analyse the data regarding paternal experiences of engagement in the treatment process. Fathers understood the importance of the whole family working together but viewed mothers as taking a more central role in the treatment process, with fathers more at the periphery. Gender emerged as an influencing factor in paternal involvement, with mothers primarily taking on responsibility for the child with the eating disorder and fathers providing secondary support. Healthcare providers need to be aware of the contribution of gendered roles within the family system and consider this when working with families within the treatment process. Consequently, mental health nurses have an important role in encouraging fathers to become actively involved in the treatment process.

Opportunities to Respond During Dyadic Caregiver-Child and Naturalistic Family Interactions Among Children With Down Syndrome: A Preliminary Investigation.

PURPOSE: Dyadic caregiver-child interactions are commonly used to examine children's language learning environments. However, children frequently interact with multiple caregivers and/or siblings if they come from homes with multiple caregivers and siblings. Thus, we examined if and how caregiver opportunities to respond (OTRs) varied when sampled across three interaction configurations. METHOD: Twelve children with Down syndrome (Mage = 40.82 months) and their biological parents participated in the current study. We collected separate mother-child and father-child dyadic interactions and one family choice interaction (i.e., both caregivers present and occasionally siblings) in families' homes. We analyzed if differences in the caregiver's OTR frequency and type-explicit and implicit-existed among dyadic and family choice configurations. RESULTS: We found that, during family choice interactions, children were exposed to fewer OTRs when combining the total number of father and mother OTRs compared to dyadic caregiver-child interactions. This effect was large for explicit OTRs (mother-dyadic vs. combined family choice: g = -1.99, confidence interval [CI] [-3.00, -1.00]; father-dyadic vs. combined family choice: g = -0.84, CI [-1.84, -0.11]). For implicit OTRs, effects were small for mother-dyadic versus combined family choice (g = -0.34, CI [-1.17, 0.48]) and negligible when comparing father-dyadic with combined family choice (g = -0.08, CI [-0.90, 0.73]). CONCLUSION: Our preliminary findings highlight the need for a more nuanced understanding of children's language learning environments to better understand how caregivers support their children's language development. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25579905.

Mothers' evaluations of fathers' contributions to raising children with autism spectrum disorder in the United Arab Emirates.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurological condition which results in social skill deficits, communication difficulties, and restrictive and repetitive behaviour. The difficulties associated with parenting children with ASD have been studied extensively, mainly from the perspectives of mothers. The extent of involvement of fathers in the raising of children with ASD has received limited scholarly attention, especially in non-Western contexts such as the United Arab Emirates. OBJECTIVES: This study asked mothers to evaluate the involvement of fathers in the development of children with ASD. METHODS: In all, 240 mothers completed the Fathers' Involvement in Development and Rehabilitation Scale, designed based on a review of literature on the construct of involvement, namely attitude, participation in training, and support domains. The data were subjected to computation of mean scores, multivariate analysis of variance, hierarchical regression, and moderation analyses. RESULTS: The results suggested that fathers held positive attitudes and provided substantial support to their children with ASD. However, mothers were ambivalent regarding the participation of fathers in training to support the development of their children. Differences were also observed between participants according to marital status, location, child gender, and ASD severity. CONCLUSION: Recommendations for targeted training for fathers and other study implications are discussed.

Characterization of dyadic interaction features between fathers and mothers playing with their autistic children.

BACKGROUND: Socio-communicative difficulties are a core symptom of autism that deeply impact interaction with others. Despite that, research on bidirectional caregiver-child interaction variables has been notably scant and predominantly focused on autistic children's interactive differences and the consequences on parenting behaviors. AIM: The study aimed to assess parent-child interaction in the context of autism through observational validated instruments that consider qualitative and structural features in a complementary way to obtain a comprehensive characterization of the exchange within the dyad. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: This study involved 56 paired parent-child dyads of 28 autistic children (mean age = 38.60 months, sd = 9.50) playing with their mothers and their fathers for 10 min. The video-recorded sessions were coded through the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) and the Interpersonal Synchrony (IS) coding system. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Fathers and mothers do not show significant differences in ISexcept for mother widenings, which are more frequent and successful, and in Emotional Availability. Further, dyads present moderate levels of Emotional Availability, indicating that parents may struggle with structuring, sensitivity, and interactive abilities with their autistic children, which in turn present low levels of responsiveness and involvement. Further, we explored an association between IS and EA characteristics. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This study suggests the need for interventions to target interaction considering both caregivers, ultimately targeting both interaction structure and affect features. Research that includes fathers fosters strategies for individualization and treatment optimization.

Maternal and paternal sensitivity: Key determinants of child attachment security examined through meta-analysis.

Sensitive caregiving behavior, which involves the ability to notice, interpret, and quickly respond to a child's signals of need and/or interest, is a central determinant of secure child-caregiver attachment. Yet, significant heterogeneity in effect sizes exists across the literature, and sources of heterogeneity have yet to be explained. For all child-caregiver dyads, there was a significant and positive pooled association between caregiver sensitivity and parent-child attachment (r = .25, 95% CI [.22, .28], k = 174, 230 effect sizes, N = 22,914). We also found a positive association between maternal sensitivity and child attachment security (r = .26, 95% CI [.22, .29], k = 159, 202 effect sizes, N = 21,483), which was equivalent in magnitude to paternal sensitivity and child attachment security (r = .21, 95% CI [.14, 27], k = 22, 23 effect sizes, N = 1,626). Maternal sensitivity was also negatively associated with all three classifications of insecure attachment (avoidant: k = 43, r = -.24 [-.34, -.13]; resistant: k = 43, r = -.12 [-.19, -.06]; disorganized: k = 24, r = -.19 [-.27, -.11]). For maternal sensitivity, associations were larger in studies that used the Attachment Q-Sort (vs. the Strange Situation), used the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort (vs. Ainsworth or Emotional Availability Scales), had strong (vs. poor) interrater measurement reliability, had a longer observation of sensitivity, and had less time elapse between assessments. For paternal sensitivity, associations were larger in older (vs. younger) fathers and children. These findings confirm the importance of both maternal and paternal sensitivity for the development of child attachment security and add understanding of the methodological and substantive factors that allow this effect to be observed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Fatherhood in disability rehabilitation in the United Arab Emirates: Exploring fathers' involvement in raising children with disabilities.

BACKGROUND: The first agent of socialisation is the family, who are expected to facilitate the inclusion of children in societal activities. While mothers' voices have been widely captured in the literature regarding their experiences raising children with disabilities, fathers' perceptions of their knowledge of and involvement in the development of children with disabilities have been understudied, particularly in non-Western contexts. AIM: The main aim of this study was to examine fathers' perceptions of their involvement in raising children with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: In total, 469 fathers were recruited to understand their involvement in raising their children with disabilities. The Fathers' Involvement in Development and Rehabilitation Scale was used to collect data, which were analysed using SPSS and AMOS. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The results showed that fathers rated themselves highly for their attitudes, support, and participation in training to support their children with disabilities. Demographic variables, such as nationality and educational qualifications, provided additional insight into their involvement in raising their children with disabilities. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The study concludes with suggestions for training programmes to change fathers' attitudes towards children with disabilities, as such programmes can enable them to better support their children's development.

Lived Experiences of Fatherhood After Infertility.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the lived experiences of fathers in the perinatal period after infertility. DESIGN: A descriptive, phenomenological study. SETTING: Researcher's private office and participants' homes in an Eastern Canadian province. PARTICIPANTS: Eight fathers who met the eligibility criteria. METHODS: We recruited a purposive sample of eight participants and held one-on-one interviews in person, by telephone, and via virtual platforms. We analyzed the verbatim transcripts of the audiotaped interviews using Colaizzi's phenomenological data analysis method. RESULTS: We uncovered seven themes that described the lived experiences of participants: The Journey: A Long Winding Road, Roles and Responsibilities: Supporter and Protector, Support: The Often-Forgotten Parent, Challenges and Hurdles: Bumps on the Road, So Many Feelings: The Rollercoaster, Coping: Living on the Road, and Reflection: An Unforgotten Journey. Participants shared their experiences of the perinatal period after infertility as long journeys and described how bumps along the road marked these journeys. The journeys were essential parts of their lives that they continued to remember years later. CONCLUSION: The perinatal experience after infertility is an important and remembered time for fathers. It is essential to involve and support them in the perinatal process to facilitate positive experiences and overall family health, especially after infertility. There is an ongoing need to conduct research with fathers and to develop evidence-based programming and resources to assist them in the perinatal period after infertility.

Fathering dynamics: Linking depressive symptomology, parenting stress, and paternal warmth with beliefs in paternal role.

Research has established the impact of paternal depression on fathering behaviors and child outcomes. Despite this, less is known about the mechanisms linking paternal depressive symptomology to paternal warmth, particularly regarding the role of parenting stress and beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role. The aim of this study was to examine factors potentially associated with paternal warmth. Specifically, we explored the association between paternal depressive symptomology and paternal warmth, examining the mediating role of paternal parenting stress in this association. Moreover, we tested the moderated role of beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role in the association between paternal parenting stress and paternal warmth. We utilized a subsample of fathers (n = 756; Mage = 34.3) with young children from the Survey of Contemporary Fatherhood study. Moderated mediation analysis was performed to test the association between paternal depressive symptomology, parenting stress, paternal warmth, and beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role among fathers. Results indicate a significant association between higher paternal depressive symptomology and increased parenting stress, which, in turn, was associated with reduced paternal warmth. Furthermore, positive beliefs in the centrality of the paternal role buffered the association between parenting stress and paternal warmth. These findings underscore the importance of considering parenting stress and fathering beliefs in psychosocial intervention programs aimed at improving fathering behaviors. Targeting fathers with mental health problems and negative parenting beliefs in intervention approaches may yield the most significant benefits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Partner and professional support are associated with father-infant bonding: A cross-sectional analysis of mothers, midwives, and child health nurses' influence on primiparous and multiparous fathers of infants in Sweden.

OBJECTIVE: To assess if received professional and social support are associated with father-infant bonding among primiparous (first-time) and multiparous (multi-time) fathers. BACKGROUND: Early father-infant bonding predicts several positive child outcomes. However, while received professional and social support positively impacts fathers' transition into parenthood, little research has tested if these factors are associated with a stronger father-infant bond. METHODS: In total, 499 fathers (296 primiparous and 203 multiparous) of infants (aged 0-12 months) completed a cross-sectional online survey between November 2018 and March 2020. The survey included items related to socio-demographics, having a planned pregnancy, postnatal midwifery support, child health nurse support, child health center attendance, and social support. The parent-infant bonding questionnaire (PBQ) was used to assess the father-infant bond. Multiple linear regression models were estimated for the total sample and based on paternal parity. Missing data were managed through multiple imputation procedures. FINDINGS: Fathers reported fewer bonding disturbances if they received support from their partners, postnatal midwives, child health nurses, and attended more child health visits. Primiparous fathers reported fewer bonding disturbances when receiving support from their partners, postnatal midwives, and the child health nurse. However, multiparous fathers had more bonding disturbances than primiparous fathers and received less professional and partner support. CONCLUSIONS: Receiving more partner and professional support is associated with less father-infant bonding disturbances. To encourage a better father-infant bond, clinicians should invite and support all fathers, regardless of parity, as they transition to parenthood.