Aims:

In this secondary analysis of the ALSPAC study, we have five aims.

First, we aim to establish what constitutes paternal involvement with the child in the perinatal period. We will be evaluating aspects of the father-infant relationship antenatally, as well as postnatally in terms of attitudes towards parenting, attachment with the child, infant temperament, father's mood and feelings, among others. Second, we will study those aspects of early father involvement that are associated with positive outcomes for the child in terms of scores on the SDQ (*others?). Third, we are interested to know whether the mental health of fathers provides a protective effect to the mental health and wellbeing of the mother. Fourth, we are interested to establish how the quality of the father-mother relationship effects the healthy emotional and behavioural development of the child. Finally, we are looking to identify those early factors involved in positive child outcomes in the father-infant relationship that are amenable to intervention.