“What Can I Do to Not Have This Life”? A Qualitative Study of Paternal Postnatal Depression Experiences among Fathers in the United Kingdom

Understandings of paternal postnatal depression (PND) in fathers from the United Kingdom (UK) have received limited attention, particularly in view of changing dynamics of contemporary parenthood. To rectify this, eight UK fathers with PND took part in one-to-one interviews, with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis used to understand their lived experiences. Our findings demonstrate that UK fathers with PND experienced extremely distressing emotions, including anger and misery, after their babies are born. Their working practices were highly relevant to their fatherhood, with working considered a key responsibility and a source of stress, but also a “legitimate” escape from the home. Fathers’ relationships with their partners were experienced as less intimate and conflicted. Fathers often hid their feelings to protect their partners, but also reported their partners as being aware of their challenging and difficult emotions. Healthcare providers should be professionally curious about fathers’ mental health and consider the assistance of mothers in identifying cases of paternal PND

Exploring fathers’ experiences of seeking support for postnatal depression

Background Many men tend to avoid seeking support for mental health issues and little is known about help-seeking among fathers who experience postnatal depression.Aim To explore fathers’ help-seeking for postnatal depression, including barriers and motivators, and their experiences of informal support from partners and formal support from healthcare professionals.Method Data were obtained through individual semi-structured interviews with eight fathers who self-identified as having experienced postnatal depression. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.Findings Five themes emerged from the data analysis: not recognising postnatal depression; fatherhood expectations restricting postnatal depression disclosure; disappointment at the medicalised response to help-seeking; health visitors as a feared profession which excludes fathers; needing communication, validation and a safe space to talk.Conclusion Some fathers need professional support for their mental health after the birth of their child. Nurses and health visitors should routinely ask fathers about their mental well-being, validate their feelings and encourage them to discuss their mental health issues with a healthcare professional

Health visitors’ experiences of supporting fathers with paternal postnatal depression

There is increasing recognition that fathers are susceptible to experiencing postnatal depression (PND). Despite health visitors being ideally placed to support fathers experiencing psychological distress, little is known about their experiences in supporting fathers as part of the family unit. The aim of this study, therefore, was to more fully understand the experiences of health visitors in the UK in supporting fathers with PND. The study used semi-structured interviews with six health visitors who were asked about their perceptions, experiences and understanding of working with fathers. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data produced four major themes: health visitors’ understanding of fathers, the family and PND; systemic health visiting failures that prevent optimal care for fathers; barriers to working with fathers; and improvements to health visiting practice that would benefit fathers. Based on these findings, four recommendations for health visiting practice are made

Rational Thinking Style, Rejection of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Conspiracy Theories/Theorists, and Compliance with Mandated Requirements: Direct and Indirect Relationships in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adults from the United Kingdom

Faced with the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, many nations have mandated sets of requirements, such as social-distancing measures. However, compliance with such measures is likely to be shaped by a range of factors. Here, we proposed and tested a mediation model in which rejection of COVID-19 conspiracy theories and/or theorists mediates the relationship between rational thinking style and compliance with mandated requirements. An online, nationally representative sample of the adult population in the United Kingdom (N = 520) completed a previously-validated measure of rational thinking style, as well as novel measures of rejection of COVID-19 conspiracy theories/theorists and compliance with mandated requirements. Inter-correlations between scores on all three measures were significant and positive. Mediation analysis indicated that rational thinking style and rejection of COVID-19 conspiracy theories/theorists, respectively, were directly associated with compliance, and that the mediated association was also significant. These results may have implications for practical policy aimed at promoting greater compliance with mandated requirements, including social distancing

Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of a Standard Chinese Version of the Body Appreciation Scale-2

The present study examined the factorial and construct validity of a Standard Chinese translation of the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS-2; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015b). Participants were 191 women and 154 men from mainland China who were resident in Hong Kong at the time of recruitment. Results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the one-dimensional model of the BAS-2, in which all 10 items loaded onto the same factor, had adequate fit and was invariant across sex. Body appreciation scores had good internal consistency and were significantly correlated with self-esteem and life satisfaction, and, in women, with weight discrepancy and body mass index. There were no significant differences in body appreciation scores between women and men. The present findings suggest that the Standard Chinese translation of the BAS-2 has the same one-dimensional factor structure as its parent scale and may facilitate cross-cultural studies of positive body image

Associations between schizotypy and belief in conspiracist ideation

Previous studies have reported associations between conspiracist ideation and domain-level facets of schizotypy, but less is known about associations with lower-order facets. In the present study, 447 adults completed measures of conspiracist ideation and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), consisting of nine subscales grouped into four domains. Results of a multiple regression showed that two domains of the SPQ significantly predicted conspiracist ideation, but multicollinearity was a limiting factor. In a second regression, we found that the subscales of Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and Ideas of Reference significantly predicted conspiracist ideation, without any multicollinearity constraints. We interpret these results as implicating two specific lower-order facets of schizotypy in belief in conspiracy theories. We further contrast the present results with previous studies indicating associations between conspiracist ideation and paranormal beliefs