Latest news with #JAMAPediatrics
CTV News
5 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
A father's poor mental health may harm his children's development, study finds
Mothers bear much of the burden for a child's healthy development, from pregnancy through their teen years. But a large, new study adds to the growing body of evidence saying fathers, too, are responsible for the types of development that help children grow physically, emotionally and cognitively. Fathers' mental distress is slightly associated with subpar child development, including cognitive, social-emotional, language and physical development, according to the study published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers defined mental distress as symptoms or a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, a mix of both or stress. The findings were especially true in the perinatal period, which spans from conception to two years postpartum. During this time, the developing fetus, infant then toddler is particularly sensitive to any mental distress parents, especially the mother, experience, according to the study. 'Men are at risk of increased mental distress during the transition to fatherhood, with prevalence rates among men during the perinatal period as high as 8% for clinical depression, 11% for anxiety, and 6% to 9% for elevated stress,' the authors wrote in the study. 'This represents the most comprehensive global review to date on the association between fathers' perinatal mental health and offspring development,' said Dr. Delyse Hutchinson, senior author of the study and associate professor in the SEED Lifespan Research Centre at Deakin University in Australia, via email. 'What stood out was the striking consistency in the trends observed in the results,' Hutchinson, a clinical psychologist, said. 'This highlights the importance of supporting fathers if we want to see better outcomes for families.' While previous studies have linked fathers' poor mental health with potential harms on their children's development, the results were limited by the number of forms of development they investigated or the strength of their results. In addition to expanding this kind of research beyond mother-child pairs, the authors also wanted to fill those research gaps. They analyzed ties between paternal depression, anxiety or stress and six types of child development: social-emotional, adaptive, cognitive, language, physical and motor development from birth to age 18. Factors of social-emotional development included a child's ability to form positive relationships with peers, act in ways that benefit others, have healthy relational attachment, self-soothe and have a healthy temperament. Adaptability referred to a child's ability to respond to change and manage daily needs. Cognitive development included the health of a child's executive function skills, decision-making, memory, attention, learning, IQ and academic performance. Physical development factors included preterm birth, gestational growth and childhood height, weight, stunting, abdominal pain and sleep health. Motor development referred to fine motor skills, which involve the use of small muscles for actions such as writing or buttoning, and gross motor skills. Those latter skills use larger muscles for movements including waving your arm, walking or chewing. Building evidence on paternal health The findings derive from 84 previous studies totaling thousands of father-child pairs. All studies had followed participants over time, with mental distress measured from pregnancy to two years post birth, Hutchinson said. The authors excluded studies with fathers who had a medical condition, took medication or consumed alcohol or other drugs. There was no evidence for links between paternal mental distress and adaptive and motor development, the study found. But there were negligible to small associations with the other developmental outcomes including social-emotional, cognitive, language and physical maturation. The largest impacts were in early childhood, then infancy, then middle childhood. The associations were also generally stronger for postnatal mental distress than preconception mental distress, 'suggesting that a father's mental state may exert a more direct influence on the developing child after birth,' the authors said. A father's mental distress may affect his sensitivity and responsiveness in interactions with his child and disrupt attachment security, Hutchinson said. 'The timing of this review is excellent,' wrote independent experts Dr. Craig Garfield, Dr. Clarissa Simon and Dr. John James Parker of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in a commentary on the study. 'Fathers spend more time than ever on childcare and are increasingly recognized as important contributors to family health and well-being.' The results affirm well-established evidence of the importance of supportive parenting on the well-being of children, said Dr. Arwa Nasir, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, via email. Nasir wasn't involved in the study. Research on the role that fathers play in the lives of their children is important,' Nasir added. 'I hope future research will also clarify all the important and wonderful ways that fathers can enrich and support the health and development of their children.' What remains unknown Though the idea of a father's well-being influencing his child could be a natural conclusion, one drawback of the study is its partial reliance on gray literature — unpublished research that, in this case, included doctoral theses and interviews with authors of published studies that met criteria but hadn't reported relevant data. Of the 674 associations found, 286 were from unpublished work. However, the authors of the new study said when they compared their findings based on published research with their results reliant on unpublished studies, the new associations remained similar for most categories of development. Additionally, while the study is 'well-designed,' it doesn't prove a causal relationship and lacks larger context, Nasir said. 'It could simply be that both fathers and children's emotional wellbeing are impacted by the same larger psychosocial factors and socioeconomic pressures, such as poverty, structural racism and health disparities,' Nasir explained. 'Presenting the association between fathers' mental health and children's health outcomes in isolation from the larger societal factors risks presenting the fathers as the cause of children's problems.' This interpretation can also be stigmatizing, Nasir added. 'If the goal is supporting optimal health and development of children, I believe our focus in research and action should be exploring ways that society can support parents through economic security, equity, and justice.' Improving fathers' well-being The study emphasizes the importance of assessing and treating the well-being of both parents during health care visits in the perinatal period, experts said. 'Borrowing from the decades-old strategy of perinatal maternal screening for (postpartum depression), clinicians, researchers, and policymakers can build on the existing maternal infrastructure to design father-tailored programs and policies that strive to improve the mental health of fathers and families,' Garfield, Simon and Parker wrote. Parents are the guardians of 'society's future generations,' Nasir added. 'Supporting the well-being of families should be a national priority.' But to receive help, fathers have to speak up and honestly answer questions about mental health concerns, they added. 'It's important for fathers to be aware that becoming a parent can be a challenging period, and that many fathers go through ups and downs during this time,' Hutchinson said. Seeking support early can make a difference, she added, and it's a strength, not a weakness. Fathers can talk with general physicians, therapists or providers at specialized pregnancy or postpartum clinics about mental health symptoms, Hutchinson said. Peer group support and online apps that use mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy to help manage moods can also be effective, she added. Even if your children are older, it's still never too late to prioritize your health, Hutchinson said. Every age and stage across child development is important, not just one period in time. By Kristen Rogers, CNN
CNN
5 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Fathers' mental health important for child development, study says
EDITOR'S NOTE: Sign up for CNN's Stress, But Less newsletter. Our six-part mindfulness guide will inform and inspire you to reduce stress while learning how to harness it. Mothers bear much of the burden for a child's healthy development, from pregnancy through their teen years. But a large, new study adds to the growing body of evidence saying fathers, too, are responsible for the types of development that help children grow physically, emotionally and cognitively. Fathers' mental distress is slightly associated with subpar child development, including cognitive, social-emotional, language and physical development, according to the study published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers defined mental distress as symptoms or a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, a mix of both or stress. The findings were especially true in the perinatal period, which spans from conception to two years postpartum. During this time, the developing fetus, infant then toddler is particularly sensitive to any mental distress parents, especially the mother, experience, according to the study. 'Men are at risk of increased mental distress during the transition to fatherhood, with prevalence rates among men during the perinatal period as high as 8% for clinical depression, 11% for anxiety, and 6% to 9% for elevated stress,' the authors wrote in the study. 'This represents the most comprehensive global review to date on the association between fathers' perinatal mental health and offspring development,' said Dr. Delyse Hutchinson, senior author of the study and associate professor in the SEED Lifespan Research Centre at Deakin University in Australia, via email. 'What stood out was the striking consistency in the trends observed in the results,' Hutchinson, a clinical psychologist, said. 'This highlights the importance of supporting fathers if we want to see better outcomes for families.' While previous studies have linked fathers' poor mental health with potential harms on their children's development, the results were limited by the number of forms of development they investigated or the strength of their results. In addition to expanding this kind of research beyond mother-child pairs, the authors also wanted to fill those research gaps. They analyzed ties between paternal depression, anxiety or stress and six types of child development: social-emotional, adaptive, cognitive, language, physical and motor development from birth to age 18. Factors of social-emotional development included a child's ability to form positive relationships with peers, act in ways that benefit others, have healthy relational attachment, self-soothe and have a healthy temperament. Adaptability referred to a child's ability to respond to change and manage daily needs. Cognitive development included the health of a child's executive function skills, decision-making, memory, attention, learning, IQ and academic performance. Physical development factors included preterm birth, gestational growth and childhood height, weight, stunting, abdominal pain and sleep health. Motor development referred to fine motor skills, which involve the use of small muscles for actions such as writing or buttoning, and gross motor skills. Those latter skills use larger muscles for movements including waving your arm, walking or chewing. The findings derive from 84 previous studies totaling thousands of father-child pairs. All studies had followed participants over time, with mental distress measured from pregnancy to two years post birth, Hutchinson said. The authors excluded studies with fathers who had a medical condition, took medication or consumed alcohol or other drugs. There was no evidence for links between paternal mental distress and adaptive and motor development, the study found. But there were negligible to small associations with the other developmental outcomes including social-emotional, cognitive, language and physical maturation. The largest impacts were in early childhood, then infancy, then middle childhood. The associations were also generally stronger for postnatal mental distress than preconception mental distress, 'suggesting that a father's mental state may exert a more direct influence on the developing child after birth,' the authors said. A father's mental distress may affect his sensitivity and responsiveness in interactions with his child and disrupt attachment security, Hutchinson said. 'The timing of this review is excellent,' wrote independent experts Dr. Craig Garfield, Dr. Clarissa Simon and Dr. John James Parker of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in a commentary on the study. 'Fathers spend more time than ever on childcare and are increasingly recognized as important contributors to family health and well-being.' The results affirm well-established evidence of the importance of supportive parenting on the well-being of children, said Dr. Arwa Nasir, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, via email. Nasir wasn't involved in the study. Research on the role that fathers play in the lives of their children is important,' Nasir added. 'I hope future research will also clarify all the important and wonderful ways that fathers can enrich and support the health and development of their children.' Though the idea of a father's well-being influencing his child could be a natural conclusion, one drawback of the study is its partial reliance on gray literature — unpublished research that, in this case, included doctoral theses and interviews with authors of published studies that met criteria but hadn't reported relevant data. Of the 674 associations found, 286 were from unpublished work. However, the authors of the new study said when they compared their findings based on published research with their results reliant on unpublished studies, the new associations remained similar for most categories of development. Additionally, while the study is 'well-designed,' it doesn't prove a causal relationship and lacks larger context, Nasir said. 'It could simply be that both fathers and children's emotional wellbeing are impacted by the same larger psychosocial factors and socioeconomic pressures, such as poverty, structural racism and health disparities,' Nasir explained. 'Presenting the association between fathers' mental health and children's health outcomes in isolation from the larger societal factors risks presenting the fathers as the cause of children's problems.' This interpretation can also be stigmatizing, Nasir added. 'If the goal is supporting optimal health and development of children, I believe our focus in research and action should be exploring ways that society can support parents through economic security, equity, and justice.' The study emphasizes the importance of assessing and treating the well-being of both parents during health care visits in the perinatal period, experts said. 'Borrowing from the decades-old strategy of perinatal maternal screening for (postpartum depression), clinicians, researchers, and policymakers can build on the existing maternal infrastructure to design father-tailored programs and policies that strive to improve the mental health of fathers and families,' Garfield, Simon and Parker wrote. Parents are the guardians of 'society's future generations,' Nasir added. 'Supporting the well-being of families should be a national priority.' But to receive help, fathers have to speak up and honestly answer questions about mental health concerns, they added. 'It's important for fathers to be aware that becoming a parent can be a challenging period, and that many fathers go through ups and downs during this time,' Hutchinson said. Seeking support early can make a difference, she added, and it's a strength, not a weakness. Fathers can talk with general physicians, therapists or providers at specialized pregnancy or postpartum clinics about mental health symptoms, Hutchinson said. Peer group support and online apps that use mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy to help manage moods can also be effective, she added. Even if your children are older, it's still never too late to prioritize your health, Hutchinson said. Every age and stage across child development is important, not just one period in time.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gun deaths among children rise in states with lax firearm laws, new study finds
Gun deaths among children have risen over a 13-year period in states with lax firearm laws, according to a new study published this week in JAMA Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed medical journal. Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho and Georgia were among the states that saw a jump in pediatric gun deaths after amending their firearms restrictions following a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that applied the Second Amendment to the states, researchers found. Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency room doctor at Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital and the study's lead author, said he started the research after wondering why gun deaths among children were so high. Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in the United States, with a steep increase in ages 15 to 19 starting in 2020. "Why did things go so badly in some states?" Faust asked. He said legal scholars told him to look at McDonald v. City of Chicago, which applied the Second Amendment to local jurisdictions. The Supreme Court held in the landmark case that the Constitution's Second Amendment restrains the government's ability to significantly limit "the right to keep and bear arms." For the first decade of the 21st century, there were very few changes to gun laws but every state changed their laws to some or great extent after McDonald, said Faust. Researchers divided the 50 states into three groups — most permissive, permissive, and strict — based on legal changes made since 2010. The team, which included researchers from Brown University, Yale New Haven, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, used a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention database to analyze data from the decade before the Supreme Court ruling and then compared that to data from 2011 to 2023. The findings surprised Faust and his team, he told CBS News. Youth deaths jumped by 7,398 in the period after the Supreme Court ruling — with a total of 23,000 gun-related fatalities. Children's deaths by both homicide and suicide also rose in states that had the most permissive firearm laws, the study found. Black youth also saw the largest increase in firearm deaths in the most permissive and permissive states. The CDC found in 2023 that the vast majority of firearm deaths involving young children were due to guns that were stored unlocked and loaded. But Faust said that while gun storage is an important part of saving lives, the study shows strict laws play an enormous role in preventing youth firearms deaths. In the states that had the most restrictive laws, deaths remained stable or, in some cases, there were fewer pediatric gun deaths. California had a 40% reduction in children's gun deaths, the study found. New York, Rhode Island, Maryland and Massachusetts also saw a decrease. "This study shows the problem is linked pretty tightly to legal posture. This can be fixed and bring back thousands of people," Faust said. "States should ask what they want for their communities? What are they willing to do to save lives?" Gun advocates like Emma Brown, the executive director of Giffords — an anti-gun violence group led by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords who was shot in the head in 2011 during a constituent meeting — applauded the study's findings. "Guns are the leading cause of death for kids and young people in the United States, and now more kids are dying because some states prioritize making gun CEOs richer over fighting crime and building safe communities," Brown said. "This study shows what we all know: common sense gun laws save lives." CBS News has reached out to the Second Amendment Foundation, one of the plaintiffs in McDonald V. City of Chicago, for comment. An accused woman skips her pedicure, kills her ex-husband Watch California Gov. Gavin Newsom's full speech on federal response to Los Angeles protests LAPD chief speaks out about deployment of military forces to anti-ICE protests
CBS News
12-06-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Gun deaths among children rise in states with lax firearm laws, new study finds
Gun deaths among children have risen over a 13-year period in states with lax firearm laws, according to a new study published this week in JAMA Pediatrics, a peer-reviewed medical journal. Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho and Georgia were among the states that saw a jump in pediatric gun deaths after amending their firearms restrictions following a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that applied the Second Amendment to the states, researchers found. Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency room doctor at Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital and the study's lead author, said he started the research after wondering why gun deaths among children were so high. Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in the United States, with a steep increase in ages 15 to 19 starting in 2020. "Why did things go so badly in some states?" Faust asked. He said legal scholars told him to look at McDonald v. City of Chicago, which applied the Second Amendment to local jurisdictions. The Supreme Court held in the landmark case that the Constitution's Second Amendment restrains the government's ability to significantly limit "the right to keep and bear arms." For the first decade of the 21st century, there were very few changes to gun laws but every state changed their laws to some or great extent after McDonald, said Faust. Researchers divided the 50 states into three groups — most permissive, permissive, and strict — based on legal changes made since 2010. The team, which included researchers from Brown University, Yale New Haven, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, used a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention database to analyze data from the decade before the Supreme Court ruling and then compared that to data from 2011 to 2023. The findings surprised Faust and his team, he told CBS News. Youth deaths jumped by 7,398 in the period after the Supreme Court ruling — with a total of 23,000 gun-related fatalities. Children's deaths by both homicide and suicide also rose in states that had the most permissive firearm laws, the study found. Black youth also saw the largest increase in firearm deaths in the most permissive and permissive states. The CDC found in 2023 that the vast majority of firearm deaths involving young children were due to guns that were stored unlocked and loaded. But Faust said that while gun storage is an important part of saving lives, the study shows strict laws play an enormous role in preventing youth firearms deaths. In the states that had the most restrictive laws, deaths remained stable or, in some cases, there were fewer pediatric gun deaths. California had a 40% reduction in children's gun deaths, the study found. New York, Rhode Island, Maryland and Massachusetts also saw a decrease. "This study shows the problem is linked pretty tightly to legal posture. This can be fixed and bring back thousands of people," Faust said. "States should ask what they want for their communities? What are they willing to do to save lives?" Gun advocates like Emma Brown, the executive director of Giffords — an anti-gun violence group led by former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords who was shot in the head in 2011 during a constituent meeting — applauded the study's findings. "Guns are the leading cause of death for kids and young people in the United States, and now more kids are dying because some states prioritize making gun CEOs richer over fighting crime and building safe communities," Brown said. "This study shows what we all know: common sense gun laws save lives." CBS News has reached out to the Second Amendment Foundation, one of the plaintiffs in McDonald V. City of Chicago, for comment.
Scientific American
11-06-2025
- Scientific American
New Map Shows How Gun Deaths of Children Have Increased in States with Loose Firearm Laws
Gun violence has been the leading cause of death of children and adolescents in the U.S. since 2020. Now research shows that, since 2010, these rates have increased in states with permissive firearm laws and decreased in states with strict laws. The new study, published on Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, compared gun deaths in U.S. states before and after the landmark Supreme Court case McDonald v. City of Chicago. The Court's 2010 decision limited states' ability to regulate gun access, and many states loosened firearm ownership requirements after the ruling. The researchers sorted each U.S. state into one of three categories—"strict,' 'permissive' and 'most permissive'—based on its firearm laws. Relatively strict states had requirements such as safety trainings, background checks and waiting periods. They also tended to ban assault weapons and certain gun-enhancing hardware such as bump stocks (which can make a rifle fire much more rapidly). The more permissive states had limited requirements for gun ownership, as well as laws that allowed the concealed carry of firearms with or without a permit, the use of deadly force as self-defense (such as via 'stand your ground' laws), and more. On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. The researchers compared each state's rate of pediatric deaths from firearms between 1999 and 2010 with the rate during the period between 2011 and 2023 using data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 49 states with adequate data, firearm death rates increased significantly in 33 states, 31 of which were considered 'permissive' or 'most permissive.' Rates decreased significantly in four states, all of which were considered 'strict.' The researchers also used the historical data from 1999 to 2010 to predict the number of childhood firearm deaths that would be expected in 2011 to 2023. States with more permissive gun laws were more or less on trend, with a total of 55 fewer childhood gun deaths than expected between 2011 and 2023. But states with permissive gun laws saw a total of 1,424 more childhood deaths from firearms than expected. In the most permissive states, the number was 6,029. 'Nationwide, you're looking at 23,000 deaths over 13 years instead of 16,000,' says the study's lead author Jeremy Faust, an emergency room physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. This burden was spread across urban, suburban and rural communities but affected Black communities the most. The data cannot prove that the different laws caused this disparity. Deaths that didn't involve firearms, including homicides and suicides, however, did not show this state-by-state effect. There are two notable outliers in the data—Illinois and Connecticut. These two states were in the strict category but had significant increases in death rate. For Illinois, 'I don't have a great explanation, but someone should look into that,' Faust says. Yet 'if you exclude one day from Connecticut, the Sandy Hook massacre, you don't have an increase.' The school shooting, which occurred in 2012 and killed 20 children and six adults, led to the stricter gun laws that Connecticut has today. 'We live in a society where we have these rights, but we also live in a society that has 50 different interpretations of how to make that work. And I think that we need to start to study what is working,' Faust says. 'A place like New Hampshire may not have the same solution as a place like California. [The solution] is not going to be one-size-fits-all.'
