TY - JOUR
T1 - The Applicability and Performance of Tools Used to Assess the Father-Offspring Relationship in Relation to Parental Psychopathology and Offspring Outcomes
AU - Siew, Jasmine
AU - Iles, Jane
AU - Domoney, Jill
AU - Bristow, Florence
AU - Darwin, Zoe
AU - Sethna, Vaheshta
N1 - Funding Information:
The searches of electronic databases were undertaken by the University of Leeds information specialists. ZD was based at the University when the search for this study was conducted. VS would like to recognize her own father's involvement, support, and significant curiosity in the research area reviewed?an individual of vast intellectual insight, who sadly passed away, during the submission of this manuscript. Funding. The evidence synthesis was undertaken as part of a series of reviews to inform the production of a good practice guide. The development of the good practice guide received funding from NHS England and Improvement. The funder was not involved in the design or conduct of the reviews.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Siew, Iles, Domoney, Bristow, Darwin and Sethna.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/1/5
Y1 - 2021/1/5
N2 - Introduction: Father-infant interactions are important for optimal offspring outcomes. Moreover, paternal perinatal psychopathology is associated with psychological and developmental disturbances in the offspring, and this risk may increase when both parents are unwell. While, the father-offspring relationship is a plausible mechanism of risk transmission, there is presently no “gold standard” tool for assessing the father-offspring relationship. Therefore, we systematically searched and reviewed the application and performance of tools used to assess the father-offspring relationship from pregnancy to 24-months postnatal. Methods: Four electronic databases (including MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Maternity and Infant Care Database, and CINAHL) were searched. Selected articles included evidence of father-offspring relationship assessment in relation to parental perinatal psychopathology and/or offspring outcomes. Data was extracted and synthesized according to the following: (i) evidence supporting the performance of tools in terms of their psychometric properties when applied in the context of fathers, (ii) tool specific characteristics, and (iii) study specific methodological aspects in which the tool was embedded. Results: Of the 30,500 records eligible for screening, 38 unique tools used to assess the father-offspring relationship were identified, from 61 studies. Ten tools were employed in the context of paternal psychopathology, three in the context of maternal psychopathology, and seven in the context of both maternal and paternal psychopathology, while nine tools were applied in the context of offspring outcomes only. The remaining nine tools were used in the context of both parental psychopathology (i.e., paternal, and/or maternal psychopathology) and offspring outcomes. Evidence supporting the psychometric robustness of the extracted observational, self-report and interview-based tools was generally limited. Most tools were originally developed in maternal samples—with few tools demonstrating evidence of content validation specific to fathers. Furthermore, various elements influencing tool performance were recognized—including variation in tool characteristics (e.g., relationship dimensions assessed, assessment mode, and scoring formats) and study specific methodological aspects, (e.g., setting and study design, sample characteristics, timing and nature of parental psychopathology, and offspring outcomes). Conclusion: Given the strengths and limitations of each mode of assessment, future studies may benefit from a multimethod approach to assessing the father-offspring relationship, which may provide a more accurate assessment than one method alone.
AB - Introduction: Father-infant interactions are important for optimal offspring outcomes. Moreover, paternal perinatal psychopathology is associated with psychological and developmental disturbances in the offspring, and this risk may increase when both parents are unwell. While, the father-offspring relationship is a plausible mechanism of risk transmission, there is presently no “gold standard” tool for assessing the father-offspring relationship. Therefore, we systematically searched and reviewed the application and performance of tools used to assess the father-offspring relationship from pregnancy to 24-months postnatal. Methods: Four electronic databases (including MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Maternity and Infant Care Database, and CINAHL) were searched. Selected articles included evidence of father-offspring relationship assessment in relation to parental perinatal psychopathology and/or offspring outcomes. Data was extracted and synthesized according to the following: (i) evidence supporting the performance of tools in terms of their psychometric properties when applied in the context of fathers, (ii) tool specific characteristics, and (iii) study specific methodological aspects in which the tool was embedded. Results: Of the 30,500 records eligible for screening, 38 unique tools used to assess the father-offspring relationship were identified, from 61 studies. Ten tools were employed in the context of paternal psychopathology, three in the context of maternal psychopathology, and seven in the context of both maternal and paternal psychopathology, while nine tools were applied in the context of offspring outcomes only. The remaining nine tools were used in the context of both parental psychopathology (i.e., paternal, and/or maternal psychopathology) and offspring outcomes. Evidence supporting the psychometric robustness of the extracted observational, self-report and interview-based tools was generally limited. Most tools were originally developed in maternal samples—with few tools demonstrating evidence of content validation specific to fathers. Furthermore, various elements influencing tool performance were recognized—including variation in tool characteristics (e.g., relationship dimensions assessed, assessment mode, and scoring formats) and study specific methodological aspects, (e.g., setting and study design, sample characteristics, timing and nature of parental psychopathology, and offspring outcomes). Conclusion: Given the strengths and limitations of each mode of assessment, future studies may benefit from a multimethod approach to assessing the father-offspring relationship, which may provide a more accurate assessment than one method alone.
KW - fathers
KW - partners
KW - paternal depression
KW - perinatal mental health
KW - assessment tools
KW - validity
KW - father-offspring relationship quality
KW - paternal involvement
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099724838&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.596857
DO - 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.596857
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33479563
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in Psychiatry
JF - Frontiers in Psychiatry
SN - 1664-0640
M1 - 596857
ER -