The Relationship Between Infant Crying and Father Well-Being
type: CreativeWork
description: Infant excessive crying and fussing has been linked to adverse maternal outcomes such as increased depression and stress, and decreased feelings of parenting self-efficacy. Infant crying has also been identified as the number one trigger caregivers report prior to an abusive action, placing infants who cry excessively at risk. Fathers and male caregivers have been identified as the primary offenders in the majority of infant abuse cases, suggesting a particular risk between fathers and infants who cry excessively. However, the relationship between excessive crying and fathers has not been explored to the same extent as mothers. In an effort to address the identified risks of infant crying and fathers, the aim of this study was to investigate how fathers' well-being is impacted by infant crying and fussing. Fathers' experience of crying and how they cope when caring for an inconsolable infant was also explored. One hundred and ninety-two fathers of infants under one year of age completed online measures of depression (EPDS), parenting stress (PSI/SF), parenting self-efficacy (MSE), and coping (RWCC). Fathers reported amount of infant crying (categorized adhering to Wessel's Rule of Three for colic criteria) as well as concern about their infant's crying and fussing. Ten fathers participated in a semi-structured phone interview about the experience of and coping with infant crying and parenting in general. Sixteen percent of fathers met criteria for depression based on a cut-off score of 10 or greater on the EPDS. Based on Wessel's criteria, 20% of infants were categorized as having "colic." Thirty percent of fathers indicated that they were finding their infant's crying and fussing to be a problem or upsetting. Of these fathers, approximately 50% did not meet criteria for colic, suggesting over half of these fathers have a problem with the crying, but did not report 'excessive' amounts of crying. Results indicated significant relationships between infant crying and f…
abstract: Infant excessive crying and fussing has been linked to adverse maternal outcomes such as increased depression and stress, and decreased feelings of parenting self-efficacy. Infant crying has also been identified as the number one trigger caregivers report prior to an abusive action, placing infants who cry excessively at risk. Fathers and male caregivers have been identified as the primary offenders in the majority of infant abuse cases, suggesting a particular risk between fathers and infants who cry excessively. However, the relationship between excessive crying and fathers has not been explored to the same extent as mothers. In an effort to address the identified risks of infant crying and fathers, the aim of this study was to investigate how fathers' well-being is impacted by infant crying and fussing. Fathers' experience of crying and how they cope when caring for an inconsolable infant was also explored. One hundred and ninety-two fathers of infants under one year of age completed online measures of depression (EPDS), parenting stress (PSI/SF), parenting self-efficacy (MSE), and coping (RWCC). Fathers reported amount of infant crying (categorized adhering to Wessel's Rule of Three for colic criteria) as well as concern about their infant's crying and fussing. Ten fathers participated in a semi-structured phone interview about the experience of and coping with infant crying and parenting in general. Sixteen percent of fathers met criteria for depression based on a cut-off score of 10 or greater on the EPDS. Based on Wessel's criteria, 20% of infants were categorized as having "colic." Thirty percent of fathers indicated that they were finding their infant's crying and fussing to be a problem or upsetting. Of these fathers, approximately 50% did not meet criteria for colic, suggesting over half of these fathers have a problem with the crying, but did not report 'excessive' amounts of crying. Results indicated significant relationships between infant crying and f…
author: Katch, Leslie
keywords: Abuse, Colic, Crying, Fathers, Fussy, Infants, Clinical Psychology
date published: 2012-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:55:23Z
provider: Loyola University Chicago
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Loyola University Chicago