Growing Up in New Zealand. Key findings: Dads and mental health

This short snapshot focuses on the mental health of more than 4,000 participants in the Who are today’s dads? research project. This brochure is part of a wider series of key findings addressing the diversity, involvement, parenting roles and employment of “dads” to six-year old children in the contemporary, longitudinal study Growing Up in New Zealand. Participants include biological fathers, stepfathers, adoptive and foster parents, co-mums, grandparents and other family members. We asked participants if they had ever had the following conditions diagnosed and/or treated by a doctor: anxiety (and/or panic attacks); depression; other mental health conditions. Participants also completed a standardised scale of psychological distress (Kessler-6) and two items on specific depression symptoms.