The NPEU is a multi-disciplinary research unit which was established at the University of Oxford in 1978. Our mission is:
to conduct methodologically rigorous research to provide evidence to improve the care provided to women and their families during pregnancy, childbirth, the newborn period and early childhood as well as promoting the effective use of resources by perinatal health services.
NPEU researchers Charles Opondo, Maggie Redshaw and Maria Quigley have published their findings on a study exploring the association between father involvement in child upbringing and symptoms of depression in the pre-adolescent years.
The study, which looked at data from about 7,500 children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), found that emotionally reponsive parenting by fathers was associated with fewer symptoms of depression in their pre-teenage children. It follows from a previous study by the same researchers which found a positive effect of parenting by fathers on behavioural outcomes in their children.
The study was funded by the Department for Health through the Policy Research Programme.
You can read more about the study in the Journal of Affective Disorders.