Risk, Resilience, and Depressive Symptoms in Low-Income African American Fathers

Objective: Parental depression influences family health but research on low-income African American fathers is limited. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the role of paternal risk factors and resilience resources in predicting depressive symptoms in the year after birth of a child in a sample of African American fathers. We hypothesized that paternal risk factors (low socioeconomic status [SES], perceived stress, negative life events, racism, avoidant coping style) and resources (social support, self-esteem, collective efficacy, approach-oriented coping style) would predict depressive symptoms in fathers at 1 year postbirth controlling for depressive symptoms at 1 month postbirth. Method: African American fathers (n = 296) of predominantly low SES from 5 U.S. regions were interviewed at 1 and 12 months after birth of a child regarding potential risk factors, resilience resources, and depressive symptoms. Results: Depressive symptoms were low on average. However, hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that avoidant coping style and experiences of racism predicted more depressive symptoms in fathers nearly a year after the birth of a child controlling for symptoms at 1 month. Conclusions: How fathers cope with stress and common everyday experiences of racism contributed to depressive symptoms in the year following birth of a child. Interventions that target race-related stressors and decrease avoidant coping may promote better outcomes in this important and understudied population.