Paternal coping and psychopathology during the perinatal period: A mixed studies systematic review and meta-analysis.

How fathers cope with stress may be critical to their mental health during the perinatal period. Using a sequential explanatory design for systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to identify associations and causal relations between higher- and lower-order avoidant and approach coping strategies and paternal psychopathology. We searched five electronic databases and grey literature, and used random-effects models to calculate pooled effects from 11 quantitative studies. Meta-analytic results were integrated with findings from 18 qualitative studies. Fathers' avoidant coping was positively associated with global psychopathology and depression. Approach-oriented coping, particularly problem-solving, was associated with positive affect but not psychopathology. Qualitative findings indicate distressed fathers employ avoidant coping strategies such as suppression, distraction, and social withdrawal. Approach-oriented coping strategies such as problem-solving and cognitive reappraisals appeared to be constructive components of men's coping repertoires supporting adaptation to fatherhood. Different coping strategies and approaches may reflect enactment of constrictive, moderate, or reinterpreted masculine norms. Study designs did not allow conclusions about causal relations between coping and psychopathology. Screening for, and targeting of, high avoidant coping among expectant and new fathers may help detect men at risk of or experiencing mental health difficulties and inform clinical response to psychopathology. Research examining whether different patterns of avoidant and approach coping are associated with psychopathology over time could inform interventions to support men's mental health and adaptation to fatherhood.

Hidden in Plain Sight? Men's Coping Patterns and Psychological Distress Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Individuals cope with stress using multiple strategies, yet studies of coping profiles are rare. We draw data from a longitudinal study of Australian men (n = 272; 30-37 years), assessed before (T1) and during (T2) a nation-wide COVID-19 lockdown. We aimed to: (1) identify men's multi-strategy coping profiles before and during the pandemic; (2) assess cross-sectional (T1-T1, T2-T2) and prospective (T1-T2) associations between profiles and symptoms of psychological distress (stress, anxiety, depression, and anger); and (3) examine relationships between coping profiles and appraisals of pandemic-related stressors and options for coping. In latent profile analyses of 14 coping strategies, three profiles emerged that were largely consistent across T1 and T2: (1) Relaxed Copers (low use of all strategies), (2) Approach Copers, and (3) Dual Copers (high avoidant and moderate-high approach-oriented strategies). Compared to Relaxed and Approach Copers, men who were Dual Copers had elevated psychological distress cross-sectionally before (T1) and during (T2) the pandemic, but not prospectively. Post hoc analyses suggested this was because many men changed coping profiles in the context of the pandemic. Men with stable (T1-T2) or new (T2 only) Dual Coping profiles experienced greater psychological distress and more negative appraisals of pandemic stressors and options for coping. In sum, at the sample level, the composition of men's coping profiles and associations with mental health risk were relatively stable over time and contexts; however, many men appeared to respond to pandemic conditions by changing coping profile groups, with mostly positive mental health outcomes. Of concern were men who adopted more avoidant strategies (e.g., denial, self-distraction, disengagement, substance use, and self-blame) under pandemic conditions. These Dual Coper men also engaged in commonly observable approach-oriented behaviours (e.g., planning, active coping, humour, seeking practical social support) that may mask their vulnerability to mental health risk. Our findings highlight the clinical importance of enquiring about escalating or frequent avoidant coping even in the presence of more active and interactive approach-oriented behaviours.

Do females preferentially associate with males given a better start in life?

A poor start in life owing to a restricted diet can have readily detectable detrimental consequences for many adult life-history traits. However, some costs such as smaller adult body size are potentially eliminated when individuals modify their development. For example, male mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) that have reduced early food intake undergo compensatory growth and delay maturation so that they eventually mature at the same size as males that develop normally. But do subtle effects of a poor start persist? Specifically, does a male's developmental history affect his subsequent attractiveness to females? Females prefer to associate with larger males but, controlling for body length, we show that females spent less time in association with males that underwent compensatory growth than with males that developed normally.