The Transition to Fatherhood and the Health of Men

Abstract

Objective This study examines the impact of fatherhood on diverse health behaviors and outcomes among a representative sample of Millennial men in the United States. Background Much research explores the consequences of parenthood for women, but less is known about health outcomes and trajectories of men who become fathers. Theoretical approaches suggest both health‐enhancing changes driven by social control and a new father identity, and health‐decreasing changes driven by the costs and burdens of fatherhood. Method The NLSY97 longitudinal survey and a battery of novel fixed effects models are used to identify the consequences of paternity on diverse health outcomes, controlling for selectivity based on unobserved characteristics and unobserved trajectories of men who become fathers and accounting for heterogeneity of effects. Results Becoming a father induces weight gain and a decline in self‐reported health, but reduces alcohol consumption. Effects on weight and alcohol use varied across strata defined by race and education, but changes in self‐reported health were consistent across sub‐groups. Conclusion The transition to fatherhood induces changes in health outcomes and behaviors that are both positive and negative. These consequences are not transitory. Rather, they persist over men's early adulthood. Implications Fatherhood induces health‐related changes that endure over the first years after becoming a father, and which may contribute to morbidity and mortality in late adulthood.

There’s More in the Data! Using Month-Specific Information to Estimate Changes Before and After Major Life Events

“…The analysis of panel data to study the consequences of specific life events is particularly well-established in the family domain. For example, various studies analyze the impact of childbirth on life satisfaction, the labor market situation, division of housework, or attitudes (Aassve, Luppi, and Mencarini 2021;Baxter et al 2015;Buchler, Perales, and Baxter 2017;Georgellis, Lange, and Tabvuma 2012;Kratz 2021;Kühhirt 2012;Mari and Cutuli 2021;Musick et al 2020;Myrskylä and Margolis 2014;Nomaguchi and Milkie 2020;Nylin et al 2021;Pollmann-Schult 2014;Torche and Rauf 2021;Tosi and Goisis 2021;West et al 2019). Further studies, meanwhile, deal with other family events, such as dissolution and divorce (Gardner and Oswald 2006;Leopold 2018;Preetz 2022;Tosi and van den Broek 2020;Van Winkle and Leopold 2021), caregiving (Gerlich and Wolbring 2021), separation of parents (Goisis, Özcan, and Van Kerm 2019;Sun and Li 2002), death of parents (Leopold and Lechner 2015;West et al 2019), or children moving out (Schulz and Raab 2022).…”

“…Some studies use intervals that are even broader than yearly intervals or distinguish between time intervals of varying sizes (e.g., Eberl and Krug 2021). They typically use oneyear categories close to the event and intervals of two years or longer for periods further away from the event (Leopold 2018;Myrskylä and Margolis 2014;Pollmann-Schult 2014;Torche and Rauf 2021).…”

“…Beginning 50 years ago with the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (Pfeffer, Fomby, and Insolera 2020), long-term panel surveys, which collect information about the same individuals over many years, became available in several countries and were harmonized for comparative analyses (most recently: "The Comparative Panel File CPF," Turek and Leopold 2021). Conducting panel data studies on changes in outcomes before and after a life event is a thriving field of social science research (most recently, e.g., Mari and Cutuli 2021;Nylin et al 2021;Schulz and Raab 2022;Torche and Rauf 2021;Tosi and Goisis 2021;Van Winkle and Leopold 2021). Therefore, any methodological innovation that can be applied to such analyses will have vast applications.…”

#HealthyDads: “Fit Fathering” Discourse and Digital Health Promotion in Dad Blogs

“…Family sociologists find that being a parent has both beneficial and detrimental effects on men's health (Nomaguchi & Milkie, 2020; Torche & Rauf, 2020). On the one hand, fathers' direct engagement with children is associated with reduced stress (Knoester & Petts, 2017) and parenthood can motivate men to become more health conscious in order to model healthy behaviors to their children (Garfield et al, 2010; Palkovitz, 2002).…”

“…On the other hand, many fathers experience work–family conflict and time deficits with children causing compromised physical and psychological well‐being (Milkie et al, 2019). Lifestyle changes related to fatherhood can also cause weight gain (McPherson et al, 2018; Torche & Rauf, 2020), which is now commonly referred to as developing a “dad bod.” McPherson et al (2018) explained that the psychological consequences of the dad bod depend partially on men's gender ideologies. Traditional essentialist beliefs support a perception of the dad bod as natural and excusable, rather than an unwanted result of social and behavioral changes.…”