Paternity Leave Status and Mental Health Symptoms Among Ohio Fathers: A Population-Representative Survey, 2022‒2023.
Objectives. To examine the associations between paternal leave status and mental health symptoms in a large population-representative study of fathers after the birth of a child. Methods. We used data from the 2022–2023 Ohio Fatherhood Survey (OFS) to model the relationship between paid work leave f...
| Published in: | American Journal of Public Health Vol. 116; no. 8; pp. 1136 - 1146 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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American Public Health Association
Aug2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=195376228&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 195376228 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00900036 APH jtl: American Journal of Public Health issn: 00900036 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Aug2026 vid: 116 iid: 8 pid: 44 pub: American Public Health Association artinfo: ui: 195376228 10.2105/AJPH.2026.308554 ppf: 1136 ppct: 10 formats: tig: atl: Paternity Leave Status and Mental Health Symptoms Among Ohio Fathers: A Population-Representative Survey, 2022‒2023. aug: au: Garfield, Craig F. Simon, Clarissa D. Luri, Moses Menegay, Michelle affil: Family and Child Health Innovations Program, Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research and Evaluation Center, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL., Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH. su: Ohio Competency assessment (Law) Fatherhood & psychology Psychology of fathers Income Parental leave Anxiety Psychological well-being Dismissal of employees Mental depression Questionnaires Multiple regression analysis Multivariate analysis Descriptive statistics Odds ratio Financial stress Birth certificates Confidence intervals Data analysis software Time sug: subj: Competency assessment (Law) Fatherhood & psychology Psychology of fathers Income Parental leave Anxiety Psychological well-being Dismissal of employees Mental depression Ohio Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) Questionnaires Multiple regression analysis Multivariate analysis Descriptive statistics Odds ratio Financial stress Birth certificates Confidence intervals Data analysis software Time ab: Objectives. To examine the associations between paternal leave status and mental health symptoms in a large population-representative study of fathers after the birth of a child. Methods. We used data from the 2022–2023 Ohio Fatherhood Survey (OFS) to model the relationship between paid work leave factors and mental health (Patient Health Questionnaire-2 [PHQ-2] and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 [GAD-2]) by using weighted descriptive analyses and adjusted logistic regression modeling. Results. Fathers with unpaid leave were more likely to report anxiety symptoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.58; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00, 2.48) compared with fathers with paid leave, while unmet needs were associated with increased depression (AOR = 3.21; 95% CI = 1.92, 5.37) and anxiety (AOR = 3.12; 95% CI = 2.02, 4.83) symptoms. Furthermore, barriers to work leave, including financial barriers (PHQ-2 = 74.6%; GAD-2 = 71.2%) were more prevalent among fathers who reported recent mental health symptoms. Conclusions. Paid paternal leave status and leave barriers are associated with mental health symptoms. Public Health Implications. Equitable paid paternal leave may strengthen mental health, highlighting a public health pathway toward improving father and family well-being. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(8):1136–1145. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308554) pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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