Recruiting fathers for parenting research using online advertising campaigns: Evidence from an Australian study.

BACKGROUND: Fathers are underrepresented in parenting and child health research. Given there is a strong link between fathers' parenting behaviour and children's well-being, there is a need to find ways to engage fathers more consistently. The current short report provides information and learnings about recruiting fathers online using social media. Results are drawn from an Australian study that aimed to recruit roughly equal numbers of mothers and fathers to participate in a survey about employment, parenting, and health, using online advertising. METHODS: First, a series of five Facebook advertising campaigns were run, aimed at "parents" generally (i.e., gender-neutral). A lack of recruited fathers prompted a second series of six Facebook campaigns aimed solely at fathers. All campaigns targeted employed adult parents of children (≤18 years) in Australia using Facebook's "Adverts Manager." RESULTS: The 11 campaigns recruited a total of 1,468 fathers. The vast majority of these fathers were recruited using the advertisements specifically aimed at fathers (n = 1,441). Gender-neutral campaigns inviting and selecting "parents" to participate in the study overwhelmingly yielded samples of mothers. Similarly, advertisements inviting both "mums and dads" resulted in very low recruitment of fathers. CONCLUSIONS: The extremely low numbers of fathers recruited using the gender-neutral "parent-focused" campaigns was unexpected. Potential reasons for this include low engagement with gender-neutral parenting terms, and/or that mothers were disproportionally exposed to the Facebook advertisements. These learnings suggest that father-focused recruitment is required to target and engage fathers in parenting research and services.

Using Paid and Free Facebook Methods to Recruit Australian Parents to an Online Survey: An Evaluation.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of social media makes it a potential alternative to traditional offline methods of recruiting and engaging participants in health research. Despite burgeoning use and interest, few studies have rigorously evaluated its effectiveness and feasibility in terms of recruitment rates and costs, sample representativeness, and retention. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the feasibility of using Facebook to recruit employed Australian parents to an online survey about managing work and family demands, specifically to examine (1) recruitment rates and costs; (2) sample representativeness, compared with a population-based cohort of parents; and (3) retention, including demographic and health characteristics of parents who returned to complete a follow-up survey 6 weeks later. METHODS: Recruitment was conducted using 20 paid Facebook advertising campaigns, supplemented with free advertising approaches such as posts on relevant Facebook pages and requests for professional networks to circulate the survey link via Facebook. Recruitment rates and costs were evaluated using the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys, including view rate, participation rate, completion rate, cost per consent, and cost per completer. Sample representativeness was evaluated by comparing demographic and outcome variables with a comparable sample from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children including educational attainment, marital status, country of birth, neighborhood disadvantage, work-family conflict, and psychological distress. Retention was evaluated by comparing the number and demographic characteristics of participants at recruitment and at 6-week follow-up. RESULTS: Recruitment strategies together resulted in 6653 clicks on the survey link, from which 5378 parents consented to participate and 4665 (86.74%) completed the survey. Of those who completed the survey, 85.94% (4009/4665) agreed to be recontacted, with 57.79% (2317/4009) completing the follow-up survey (ie, 43.08% [2317/5378] of parents who consented to the initial survey). Paid Facebook advertising recruited nearly 75% of the sample at Aus $2.32 per completed survey (Aus $7969 spent, 3440 surveys completed). Compared with a population-based sample, participants at baseline were more likely to be university educated (P<.001), experience greater work-family conflict (P<.001) and psychological distress (P<.001), and were less likely to be born outside Australia (P<.001) or live in a disadvantaged neighborhood (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Facebook provided a feasible, rapid method to recruit a large national sample of parents for health research. However, some sample biases were observed and should be considered when recruiting participants via Facebook. Retention of participants at 6- to 8-week follow-up was less than half the initial sample; this may reflect limited ongoing participant engagement for those recruited through social media, compared with face-to-face.

Comorbid anxiety and depression: a community-based study examining symptomology and correlates during the postpartum period.

Background: Despite indications that anxiety and depression co-occur frequently within the postpartum period, studies identifying the correlates associated with this comorbidity are rare. Objective: This study assessed variation in social and maternal circumstances, based on comorbid anxiety and depression symptomology. Methods: A large community-based sample of 1070 Australian postpartum women completed the Living with a Young Baby online survey. Mothers were categorised into groups: (a) comorbid anxiety and depression symptomology, (b) anxiety only, (c) depression only, or (d) neither depression nor anxiety. Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) investigated variation in correlates between the groups. Results: Comorbid anxiety and depression symptomology was common (13.4%), and was associated with greater symptom severity. Women in the 'comorbid' group more often experienced financial hardship, cessation of breastfeeding, infants with difficult temperaments, inadequate social support or help, and stressful adverse life events in comparison to mothers in the 'neither symptomology' group. They were also more likely to have infants with difficult temperaments compared to the depression only group, and to receive inadequate help and support compared to the anxiety only group. Conclusions: Comorbid anxiety and depression symptomology is common postpartum and is associated with considerable adversity across a wide range of demographic, economic and social correlates. Abbreviations: EPDS: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; STAI: State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; MLR: Multiple Logistic Regression; LYBS: Living with a Young Baby Survey; LSAC: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children; STSI: Short Temperament Scale for Infants; ANOVA: Analysis of Variance; M: Mean; SD: Standard Deviation; CI: Confidence Interval; OR: Odds Ratio.

Impact of missing data strategies in studies of parental employment and health: Missing items, missing waves, and missing mothers.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the long-term health effects of employment - a major social determinant - on population health is best understood via longitudinal cohort studies, yet missing data (attrition, item non-response) remain a ubiquitous challenge. Additionally, and unique to the work-family context, is the intermittent participation of parents, particularly mothers, in employment, yielding 'incomplete' data. Missing data are patterned by gender and social circumstances, and the extent and nature of resulting biases are unknown. METHOD: This study investigates how estimates of the association between work-family conflict and mental health depend on the use of four different approaches to missing data treatment, each of which allows for progressive inclusion of more cases in the analyses. We used 5 waves of data from 4983 mothers participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. RESULTS: Only 23% had completely observed work-family conflict data across all waves. Participants with and without missing data differed such that complete cases were the most advantaged group. Comparison of the missing data treatments indicate the expected narrowing of confidence intervals when more sample were included. However, impact on the estimated strength of association varied by level of exposure: At the lower levels of work-family conflict, estimates strengthened (were larger); at higher levels they weakened (were smaller). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that inadequate handling of missing data in extant longitudinal studies of work-family conflict and mental health may have misestimated the adverse effects of work-family conflict, particularly for mothers. Considerable caution should be exercised in interpreting analyses that fail to explore and account for biases arising from missing data.

What Influences Parents' Fear about Children's Independent Mobility? Evidence from a State-Wide Survey of Australian Parents.

PURPOSE: To identify factors associated with generalized and stranger-specific parental fear (PF) about children's independent mobility (CIM), a critical aspect of physical activity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey; random sampling frame, minimum quotas of fathers, rural residents. SETTING: State of Victoria, Australia. SUBJECTS: Parents of children aged 9 to 15 years (n = 1779), 71% response rate. MEASURES: Validated measures of PF and fear of strangers (FoS); parent, child, social, and environmental factors. ANALYSIS: Unadjusted and adjusted linear regression stratified by child age (9-10; 11-13; 14-15). RESULTS: Adjusted models explained a substantial proportion of variance across all age groups (PF: 33.6%-36.7%; FoS: 39.1%-44.0%). Perceived disapproval from others was consistently associated with both outcomes (PF: ß =.11 to 23, p ≤ .05; FoS: ß =.17-.21, p ≤ .001) as was parents' perception of children's competence to travel safely (PF: ß = -.24 to -.11, p ≤ .05; FoS: ß = -.16 to -.13, p ≤ .01). Factors associated with FoS included having a female child (ß = -.21 to -.13, p ≤ .001), language other than English (ß = .09 to.11, p ≤ .01), and low levels of parent education (ß = -.14 to -08, p ≤ .05). CONCLUSION: The current study suggests that social norms, child competence, and perceptions about the benefits of CIM underpin PF. This evidence informs the development of interventions to reduce PF and promote CIM and children's physical activity.

Parents' transitions into and out of work-family conflict and children's mental health: Longitudinal influence via family functioning.

The demands arising from the combination of work and family roles can generate conflicts (work-family conflicts), which have become recognized as major social determinants of mothers' and fathers' mental health. This raises the question of the potential effects on children. The current study of 2496 Australian families (7652 observations from children aged 4-5 up to 12-13 years) asks whether changes in children's mental health corresponds with changes in mothers' and fathers' work-family conflicts. Using longitudinal random-effect structural equation models, adjusting for prior child mental health, changes in work-family conflict were examined across four adjacent pairs of biennial data waves. Children's mental health deteriorated when their mother or father experienced an increase in work-family conflict, but improved when parents' work-family conflict reduced. Results held for mothers, fathers and couples, and the key pathways appear to be changes in children's relational environments. These results contribute new evidence that conflicts between the work-family interface are powerful social determinants of mental health which have an intergenerational reach.

Prevalence and course of anxiety disorders (and symptom levels) in men across the perinatal period: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Men's experiences of anxiety within the perinatal period can adversely impact themselves, their partner and infant. However, we know little about the prevalence and course of men's anxiety across the perinatal period. The current review is one of the first to systematically review the published literature. METHODS: Five databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane, SCOPUS, and Web of Science) were searched to identify relevant papers published prior to April 2015. The literature search identified articles with data for expectant fathers (prenatal period) and/or fathers of an infant aged between 0 and 1 (postnatal period). The following data were extracted: (a) anxiety disorder prevalence (diagnostic clinical interviews), (b) 'high' anxiety symptom prevalence (above thresholds/cut-points on anxiety symptom scales) and (c) mean anxiety levels (anxiety symptom scales). Initially, 537 unique papers were identified. Subsequently, 43 papers met criteria for inclusion in the review. RESULTS: Prevalence rates for 'any' anxiety disorder (as defined by either diagnostic clinical interviews or above cut-points on symptom scales) ranged between 4.1% and 16.0% during the prenatal period and 2.4-18.0% during the postnatal period. The data reviewed suggest the course of anxiety across the perinatal period is fairly stable with potential decreases postpartum. LIMITATIONS: Wide variation in study measurement and methodology makes synthesis of individual findings difficult. Anxiety is highly comorbid with depression, and thus measures of mixed anxiety/depression might better capture the overall burden of mental illness. CONCLUSIONS: Anxiety disorders are common for men during the perinatal period. Both partners should be included in discussions and interventions focused on obstetric care and parent mental health during the perinatal period.

What matters for working fathers? Job characteristics, work-family conflict and enrichment, and fathers' postpartum mental health in an Australian cohort.

One in ten fathers experience mental health difficulties in the first year postpartum. Unsupportive job conditions that exacerbate work-family conflict are a potential risk to fathers' mental health given that most new fathers (95%) combine parenting with paid work. However, few studies have examined work-family conflict and mental health for postpartum fathers specifically. The aim of the present study was to identify the particular work characteristics (e.g., work hours per week, job quality) associated with work-family conflict and enrichment, and fathers' mental health in the postpartum period. Survey data from 3243 fathers of infants (aged 6-12 months) participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analysed via path analysis, considering key confounders (age, education, income, maternal employment, maternal mental health and relationship quality). Long and inflexible work hours, night shift, job insecurity, a lack of autonomy and more children in the household were associated with increased work-family conflict, and this was in turn associated with increased distress. Job security, autonomy, and being in a more prestigious occupation were positively associated with work-family enrichment and better mental health. These findings from a nationally representative sample of Australian fathers contribute novel evidence that employment characteristics, via work-family conflict and work-family enrichment, are key determinants of fathers' postnatal mental health, independent from established risk factors. Findings will inform the provision of specific 'family-friendly' conditions protective for fathers during this critical stage in the family life-cycle, with implications for their wellbeing and that of their families.

Maternal Physical Health Symptoms in the First 8 Weeks Postpartum Among Primiparous Australian Women.

BACKGROUND: To describe prospectively the extent, onset, and persistence of maternal physical health symptoms (cesarean delivery pain, perineal pain, back pain, constipation, hemorrhoids, urinary incontinence, bowel incontinence, and fatigue) in the first 8 weeks postpartum. METHODS: A prospective cohort of 229 primiparous women was recruited antenatally from a public and a private maternity hospital, Melbourne, Australia, between 2009 and 2011. Data were collected by self-report questionnaires at weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8. Main outcome measures were a checklist of maternal health symptoms and a standardized assessment of fatigue symptoms. RESULTS: Birth-related pain was common at week 1 (n = 80/88, 91% cesarean delivery pain; n = 92/125, 74% perineal pain), and still present for one in five women who had a cesarean birth (n = 17, 18%) at week 8. Back pain was reported by approximately half the sample at each study interval, with 25 percent (n = 48) reporting a later onset at week 2 or beyond. Fatigue was not relieved between 4 and 8 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Women experience significant morbidity in the early weeks postpartum, the extent of which may have been underestimated in previous research relying on retrospective recall. Findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that supports early identification, treatment, and support for women's physical health problems in the postpartum.

Postpartum maternal separation anxiety, overprotective parenting, and children's social-emotional well-being: longitudinal evidence from an Australian cohort.

Postpartum maternal separation anxiety refers to a mothers' experience of worry and concern about leaving her child for short-term separations. The long-term effects of high maternal separation anxiety on maternal parenting behaviors and child outcomes have been not been established empirically. The aim of this study was to ascertain the prospective relationships between maternal separation anxiety during the child's first year of life, and overprotective parenting and children's social and emotional functioning at age 2-3 years. Structural equation modeling with a large representative cohort of Australian mother-child dyads (N = 3,103) indicated that high maternal separation anxiety was associated with more overprotective parenting behaviors and poorer child socioemotional functioning at age 2-3 years. Findings suggest women with high postpartum maternal separation anxiety may sustain this vigilance across the first years following birth, promoting overprotective behaviors, and resulting in increased behavior problems in their children. Support for women around negotiating separation from their children early in parenthood may prevent the establishment of a repertoire of parenting behaviors that includes unnecessarily high vigilance, monitoring, and anxiety about separation.

Paid parental leave supports breastfeeding and mother-infant relationship: a prospective investigation of maternal postpartum employment.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between the mother-infant relationship, defined as maternal-infant emotional attachment, maternal separation anxiety and breastfeeding, and maternal employment status at 10 months following first childbirth. METHOD: Samples of employed, pregnant women, over 18 years of age and with sufficient English literacy were recruited systematically from one public and one private maternity hospital in Victoria. Data were collected by structured interview and self-report questionnaire in the third trimester, and at 3 and 10 months postpartum. Socio-demographic, employment, and breastfeeding information was collected. Participants completed standardised assessments of maternal separation anxiety and mother-to-infant emotional attachment. RESULTS: Of 205 eligible women, 165 (81%) agreed to participate and 129 (78%) provided complete data. A reduced odds of employment participation was independently associated with continuing to breastfeed at 10 months (OR=0.22, p=0.004) and reporting higher maternal separation anxiety (OR=0.23, p=0.01) when maternal age, education, occupational status and use of paid maternity leave and occupational status were adjusted for in analyses. CONCLUSION: Employment participation in the first 10 months postpartum is associated with lower maternal separation anxiety, and shorter breastfeeding duration. IMPLICATIONS: Paid parental leave has public health implications for mothers and infants. These include permitting sufficient time to protect sustained breastfeeding, and the development of optimal maternal infant attachment, reflected in confidence about separation from her infant.

The role of micro-organisms (Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans) in the pathogenesis of breast pain and infection in lactating women: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: The CASTLE (Candida and Staphylococcus Transmission: Longitudinal Evaluation) study will investigate the micro-organisms involved in the development of mastitis and "breast thrush" among breastfeeding women. To date, the organism(s) associated with the development of breast thrush have not been identified. The CASTLE study will also investigate the impact of physical health problems and breastfeeding problems on maternal psychological health in the early postpartum period. METHODS/DESIGN: The CASTLE study is a longitudinal descriptive study designed to investigate the role of Staphylococcus spp (species) and Candida spp in breast pain and infection among lactating women, and to describe the transmission dynamics of S. aureus and Candida spp between mother and infant. The relationship between breastfeeding and postpartum health problems as well as maternal psychological well-being is also being investigated. A prospective cohort of four hundred nulliparous women who are at least thirty six weeks gestation pregnant are being recruited from two hospitals in Melbourne, Australia (November 2009 to June 2011). At recruitment, nasal, nipple (both breasts) and vaginal swabs are taken and participants complete a questionnaire asking about previous known staphylococcal and candidal infections. Following the birth, participants are followed-up six times: in hospital and then at home weekly until four weeks postpartum. Participants complete a questionnaire at each time points to collect information about breastfeeding problems and postpartum health problems. Nasal and nipple swabs and breast milk samples are collected from the mother. Oral and nasal swabs are collected from the baby. A telephone interview is conducted at eight weeks postpartum to collect information about postpartum health problems and breastfeeding problems, such as mastitis and nipple and breast pain. DISCUSSION: This study is the first longitudinal study of the role of both staphylococcal and candidal colonisation in breast infections and will help to resolve the current controversy about which is the primary organism in the condition known as breast thrush. This study will also document transmission dynamics of S. aureus and Candida spp between mother and infant. In addition, CASTLE will investigate the impact of common maternal physical health symptoms and the effect of breastfeeding problems on maternal psychological well-being.

Employment conditions and maternal postpartum mental health: results from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

Maternal postpartum mental health is influenced by a broad range of risk and protective factors including social circumstances. Forty percent of Australian women resume employment in the first year postpartum, yet poor quality employment (without security, control, flexibility or leave) has not been investigated as a potential social determinant of maternal psychological distress. This paper examines whether poor quality jobs are associated with an increased risk of maternal postpartum psychological distress. Data were collected from employed mothers of infants ≤12 months (n = 1,300) participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Logistic regression analyses estimated the association between job quality and maternal psychological distress, adjusting for prior depression, social support, quality of partner relationship, adverse life events and sociodemographic characteristics. Only 21% of women reported access to all four optimal job conditions. After adjustment for known risk factors for poor maternal mood, mothers were significantly more likely to report psychological distress (adjusted OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.09, 1.77) with each reduction in the number of optimal employment conditions. Interventions for maternal postpartum affective disorders are unlikely to be successful if major risk factors are not addressed. These results provide strong evidence that employment conditions are associated with maternal postpartum mood, and warrant consideration in psychosocial risk assessments and interventions.

Which mothers wean their babies prematurely from full breastfeeding? An Australian cohort study.

AIM: To identify the maternal and infant characteristics associated with an early transition from full breastfeeding to complementary or no breastfeeding during the first 2 months of life in a large, representative cohort of Australian infants. METHOD: Multinomial logistic modelling was performed on data for infants with complete breastfeeding and sociodemographic data (N = 4679) including maternal age, education, smoking, employment, pregnancy and birth outcomes. RESULTS: Ninety-one percent of women initiated breastfeeding. Sixty-nine percent of infants were being fully breastfed at 1 month, and 59% were fully breastfed at 2 months. Maternal characteristics - age less than 25 years, smoking in pregnancy, early full-time postnatal employment and less educational attainment - were associated with early breastfeeding cessation. Infant factors - multiple birth, caesarean birth, infant or first birth - were associated with a transition to complementary breastfeeding in the first postnatal month. CONCLUSION: Breastfeeding duration is substantially affected by breastfeeding outcomes in the first postpartum month. The first month is an important window for evidence-based interventions to improve rates of full breastfeeding in groups of women identified as at risk of early breastfeeding cessation.

Maternal employment and breastfeeding: results from the longitudinal study of Australian children.

AIM: To investigate the effect of maternal postnatal employment on breastfeeding duration in Australia in the first 6 months after birth. METHOD: Secondary data analysis of the infant data (2004) from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). Complete maternal and breastfeeding data were available for 3,697 infants. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the effect of timing of resumption of maternal employment and maternal employment status on breastfeeding at 6 months postpartum after adjustment for maternal education, maternal age, maternal smoking during pregnancy and socioeconomic status of the child's area of residence. RESULTS: Fewer women employed full-time were breastfeeding their infants at 6 months (39%) than nonemployed women (56%). Participation in full-time employment before 6 months had a strong, negative effect on the likelihood of continuing breastfeeding for 6 months, adjusted OR = 0.35 (95%CI: 0.22-0.55). Compared to nonemployed women, fewer women in part-time employment were breastfeeding at 6 months (44%), adjusted OR = 0.49 (95% CI: 0.37-0.64). CONCLUSIONS: Results from this large representative cohort of Australian infants confirm that maternal employment in the first 6 months of life contributes to premature cessation of breastfeeding even when known risk factors for breastfeeding cessation are controlled for.

Employee entitlements during pregnancy and maternal psychological well-being.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal psychological well-being is multifactorially determined, including by social circumstances. Evidence suggests that workplace conditions are salient determinants of mental health, but it is not known whether employment conditions influence antenatal psychological well-being. AIMS: To investigate the relationship between employment conditions and antenatal psychological well-being in Australian women. METHODS: A sociodemographically diverse consecutive cohort of employed nulliparous women was recruited in late pregnancy. Data were collected by a structured interview assessing sociodemographic characteristics, employment arrangements, experience of pregnancy-related discrimination, and access to maternity leave entitlements. Participants completed two standardised psychometric measures of maternal mood: the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS) and the Profile of Mood States (PoMS). Comparisons of self-reported mood were made between women by experience of workplace adversity, using a composite measure of workplace events. RESULTS: Of 205 eligible women, 165 agreed to participate. Of these, 114 of 165 (69%) reported at least one form of workplace adversity during pregnancy. More women without private health insurance (78%) reported workplace adversity than those who were privately insured (57%) (chi2(1)=6.95, P=0.008). Women experiencing workplace adversity had significantly worse psychological well-being as indicated by the EDS score (7.7+/-5.1) than those who were experiencing no workplace adversity (5.5+/-3.4), mean difference (95% CI)=-2.2 (-3.7 to -0.8), P=0.003. Similar results were reported for the PoMS. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace adversity during pregnancy is associated with poorer maternal psychological well-being. Workplace conditions and entitlements are salient factors for consideration in assessments of antenatal psychosocial well-being.