Paternal Positivity and Child Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis

Children whose mothers display more positivity during interactions tend to have better mental health. Some studies investigating associations between fathers’ positivity and children’s mental health have found small-to-moderate negative associations, while others show weak or no effects. The current study presents a series of meta-analyses ( N = 59 studies) examining the association between paternal positivity and children’s emotional and behavioral functioning, both concurrently and longitudinally. The pooled effect sizes for concurrent internalizing problems ( N = 30; r = −0.10), longitudinal internalizing problems ( N = 8; r = −0.07), concurrent externalizing problems (N = 40; r = −0.15), and longitudinal externalizing problems ( N = 19; r = −0.11) were all significant and small in magnitude. Moderator analyses revealed that the associations between fathers’ positivity and children’s concurrent internalizing problems and longitudinal externalizing problems were stronger among low and diverse socioeconomic samples compared to middle/upper income samples. Furthermore, associations with children’s externalizing problems were stronger in studies in which a single reporter assessed the outcome compared to multiple reporters, when questionnaires were used to measure parenting compared to interview or observation, and—for longitudinal associations only—in samples that had a larger proportion of females or older children. Results suggest that programs and policies that support fathers to have more positive interactions with their children could benefit children’s mental health.