Authors
Shogo Akahoshi, Reiko Saito, Aya Shimada, Kento Ikegawa, Funato Sato, Tetsuji Kaneko, Yoshihiko Morikawa, Yukihiro Hasegawa
Published in
Infant mental health journal. Volume 47. Issue 6. Pages e70118.
Abstract
This study aimed to ascertain whether paternal involvement in childrearing at 18 months was associated with developmental and caregiving outcomes at the age of 3 years. We used the health examination records of 52,921 children born in Kitakyushu City, Japan, between 2013 and 2019, whose caregivers were designated to answer a question about paternal involvement at the 18-month examination. Valid responses were given by 33,619 caregivers, of whom 21,956 (65.3%) reported consistent involvement. To adjust for confounding by child and family characteristics, 1:1 propensity score matching was applied, yielding 11,175 matched pairs of children with consistent versus inconsistent involvement. The primary outcome, physician-flagged developmental issues, was slightly less prevalent among children with consistent paternal involvement (11.1% vs. 12.3%; relative risk .91, 95% CI .83-.99). Fewer children in this group were unable to say their own name (11.8% vs. 13.4%) or had difficulty dressing (5.5% vs. 7.0%). A lower proportion of caregivers reported concerns about childcare (19.6% vs. 23.5%) and frustration with childcare (16.3% vs. 20.3%). These findings suggest that consistent paternal engagement during toddlerhood is associated with slightly better child development and caregiver well-being, highlighting its potential relevance to early childhood health promotion strategies.
PMID:
42833999
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 06 Oct 2026.
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