“When you are told “parenting” and “depression“, isn’t the first thing you think of the postpartum where the baby blues young mothers? Women are not the only ones to feel stress when it comes to parenthood: men too!
In study published on February 5, 2015, Kevin Shafer, of Brigham Young University, and Garrett T. Pace, of Princeton, analyzed how more than 6,000 men and women assumed their parenthood in different situations (parents, step-parents, cohabiting with their child or not).
Stepfathers more prone to depression
The main conclusion of the study is that the risk of depression increases in both sexes when they have several parental roles to play (parents, step-parents).
In-laws are the worst off because they have to take on roles in two or even three families at once. They are thus 57% more likely to suffer from depression than single fathers.
Different depression factors for everyone
Added to this are factors that affect mothers and fathers or stepfathers differently in their parental roles.
For example, there are no standards for being both a good parent and a good step-parent. This raises questions among those involved. And this permanent rumination brings stress, of course.
Better detect depression
Blended families are increasingly common, and doctors and parents alike don’t pay attention to the telltale symptoms of depression.
These results suggest that when depression managementsocial workers and other health professionals must know the parental role assumed by the person who consults for more transparency on his state of mind.
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