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Impact of Paternal Mental Health Education on Paternal Mental Health Knowledge among New Fathers in Nigeria

Abstract

Paternal mental health is an important but often overlooked aspect of family and public health, particularly during the transition to fatherhood. New fathers in Nigeria may experience significant emotional, social, financial, and family-related changes following the birth of a child, including increased financial responsibilities, sleep disruption, relationship adjustments, childcare demands, employment pressures, and concerns about their partner's and infant's wellbeing. These challenges may increase vulnerability to psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and other mental health difficulties. However, paternal mental health problems may remain unrecognized because of limited awareness, cultural expectations surrounding masculinity and fatherhood, stigma, reluctance to discuss emotional difficulties, and inadequate integration of fathers into maternal and family health services. Paternal mental health education provides an opportunity to equip new fathers with accurate information about common paternal mental health problems, risk factors, symptoms, warning signs, coping strategies, available support services, and appropriate help-seeking pathways. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of paternal mental health education on paternal mental health knowledge among new fathers in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. The Health Belief Model explains how new fathers' perceptions of susceptibility to paternal mental health problems, perceived severity, perceived benefits of mental health education, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their acquisition and use of mental health knowledge. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the roles of knowledge, self-efficacy, observational learning, social support, and environmental influences in developing mental health knowledge and appropriate health behaviours. The Theory of Planned Behavior explains how attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and behavioural intentions may influence fathers' willingness to recognize mental health difficulties and seek appropriate assistance. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how paternal mental health education may influence paternal mental health knowledge among new fathers in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise new fathers with infants and young children receiving maternal, child, postnatal, immunization, family health, or community-based health services in selected public and private healthcare facilities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, local government areas, healthcare facilities, family health clinics, and eligible new fathers. Paternal mental health education will be measured using indicators such as exposure to structured educational sessions, frequency and duration of education, information about paternal depression and anxiety, recognition of emotional and behavioural warning signs, identification of risk and protective factors, stress management, coping strategies, sleep and rest management, social support, partner communication, father–infant interaction, stigma reduction, self-care, available mental health services, referral pathways, treatment options, and emergency support. Paternal mental health knowledge will be assessed using indicators such as the ability to identify common paternal mental health problems, recognize symptoms and warning signs, understand risk factors, distinguish clinically significant symptoms from expected adjustments to fatherhood, identify appropriate coping strategies, understand available treatment and support options, recognize situations requiring professional assistance, identify reliable sources of mental health information, and understand appropriate referral and emergency support pathways. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires and appropriately validated paternal mental health knowledge instruments administered before and after the educational intervention where a quasi-experimental design is used. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' demographic, socioeconomic, occupational, and family characteristics, exposure to paternal mental health education, and knowledge levels. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired or independent sample tests, chi-square tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of paternal mental health education on paternal mental health knowledge. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that paternal mental health education has a significant positive impact on paternal mental health knowledge among new fathers in Nigeria. New fathers exposed to structured paternal mental health education are expected to demonstrate improved knowledge of paternal depression, anxiety, psychological distress, risk factors, warning signs, coping strategies, available treatment options, and appropriate sources of support compared with their baseline knowledge or fathers without similar educational exposure. Education may improve fathers' ability to distinguish normal adjustments to fatherhood from mental health difficulties that require professional attention and may increase awareness of the importance of early recognition and appropriate help-seeking. Individual counselling, group education, father-focused sessions, educational materials, interactive discussions, and practical family scenarios may strengthen fathers' understanding of paternal mental health. Improved knowledge may also support fathers' ability to recognize mental health concerns in themselves and contribute to supportive family environments. However, cultural expectations surrounding masculinity, stigma, reluctance to discuss emotional difficulties, demanding work schedules, limited inclusion of fathers in healthcare services, financial barriers, inadequate mental health resources, and limited social support may reduce the effectiveness and sustainability of paternal mental health education. The study therefore expects accessible, practical, culturally appropriate, father-inclusive, and sustained paternal mental health education to contribute significantly to improved paternal mental health knowledge among new fathers in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on paternal mental health education, paternal mental health knowledge, fatherhood, family mental health, men's mental health, maternal and child health, mental health promotion, health education, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, state ministries of health, hospitals, primary healthcare facilities, postnatal and child-health clinics, obstetric and maternal health programmes, psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, social workers, community health workers, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening fathers' mental health support. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating paternal mental health education into maternal and child health services, increasing fathers' participation in family health programmes, strengthening healthcare workers' capacity to identify and communicate about paternal mental health, reducing stigma surrounding men's mental health, improving referral and support systems, and expanding access to appropriate mental health services for new fathers across Nigeria.

Keywords: Paternal mental health education, paternal mental health knowledge, new fathers, men's mental health, fatherhood, family mental health, paternal depression, paternal anxiety, mental health promotion, health education, Nigeria, public health.