Cohort profile: the Men and Parenting Pathways (MAPP) Study: a longitudinal Australian cohort study of men's mental health and well-being at the normative age for first-time fatherhood.

2021-07-27

Macdonald, Jacqui A

Francis, Lauren M

Skouteris, Helen

Youssef, George J

Graeme, Liam G

Williams, Joanne

Fletcher, Richard J

Knight, Tess

Milgrom, Jeannette

Di Manno, Laura

Olsson, Craig A

Greenwood, Christopher J

adult psychiatry

anxiety disorders

depression & mood disorders

mental health

perinatology

public health

Journal Article

Meta-Analysis

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

0000-0001-9451-2709

0000-0002-4050-5711

0000-0001-9959-5750

0000-0002-6178-4895

0000-0003-4497-2103

0000-0002-5633-1592

0000-0003-0970-4541

0000-0002-9231-9582

0000-0002-4082-4595

0000-0002-0769-7467

0000-0002-5927-2014

0000-0002-9211-6312

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047909

The Men and Parenting Pathways (MAPP) Study is a prospective investigation of men's mental health and well-being across the normative age for transitioning to fatherhood. This includes trajectories and outcomes for men who do and do not become fathers across five annual waves of the study. Australian resident, English-speaking men aged 28-32 years at baseline were eligible. Recruitment was over a 2-year period (2015-2017) via social and traditional media and through engagement with study partners. Eight hundred and eighteen eligible men consented to participate. Of these, 664 men completed the first online survey of whom 608 consented to ongoing participation. Of the ongoing sample, 83% have participated in at least two of the first three annual online surveys. Three waves of data collection are complete. The first longitudinal analysis of MAPP data, published in 2020, identified five profiles that characterise men's patterns of depressive symptom severity and presentations of anger. Profiles indicating pronounced anger and depressive symptoms were associated with fathers' lack of perceived social support, and problems with coparenting and bonding with infants. In a second study, MAPP data were combined with three other Australian cohorts in a meta-analysis of associations between fathers' self-reported sleep problems up to 3 years postpartum and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Adjusted meta-analytic associations between paternal sleep and mental health risk ranged from 0.25 to 0.37. MAPP is an ongoing cohort study. Waves 4 and 5 data will be ready for analyses at the end of 2021. Future investigations will include crossed-lagged and trajectory analyses that assess inter-relatedness and changing social networks, mental health, work and family life. A nested study of COVID-19 pandemic-related mental health and coping will add two further waves of data collection in a subsample of MAPP participants.

link

BMJ Open 2021; 11(7): e047909

BMJ open