"What am I thinking? Is this normal?" A cross-sectional study investigating the nature of negative thoughts, parental self-efficacy and psychological distress in new fathers.

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to investigate an important aspect of mental health, negative thoughts, in new fathers during the postnatal year. The relationships between negative thoughts, parental self-efficacy and symptoms of depression were explored. BACKGROUND: Positive and engaged father-infant relations provide a host of benefits for fathers, mothers, infants and the family system as a whole. However, there is little knowledge about the psychological factors influencing paternal engagement such as mental health and wellbeing. METHODS: The study surveyed Australian fathers (n = 300) recruited through social media. Well-established measures of depressive symptoms and parental self-efficacy were used, along with a researcher modified version of Hall and Wittkowski (2006) Postnatal Negative Thoughts Questionnaire (PNTQ) adapted for use in a paternal population. RESULTS: Findings suggest negative thoughts are typical during the transition to fatherhood. To our knowledge, this is the first study that quantitatively explores and characterises paternal postnatal negative thoughts. LIMITATIONS: The sample was relatively homogenous with only a small sample of depressed participants. Data were from self-report instruments. CONCLUSIONS: While paternal postnatal negative thoughts are a normal and important functional part of a successful transition to fatherhood, a higher frequency of negative thoughts are linked to increased symptoms of depression and lower levels of perceived parental competence.