What to Expect When You’re Expecting to be a Dad: Exploring the Psychosocial Factors Influencing Mental Health Outcomes During the Transition to Fatherhood
No Thumbnail Available
Authors
McCormack, Ashley
Issue Date
2025-10
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
mental health , psychological outcomes , fatherhood , psychosocial factors , social constructivist theory
Alternative Title
Abstract
Through a comprehensive literature review, this capstone addresses the psychosocial factors that impact the psychological outcomes of the transition to fatherhood. Historical literature has primarily focused on mothers when exploring the impacts of the transition to parenthood. This capstone seeks to address the research gap by focusing on fathers, a minority population. The research has been guided by Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory (SCT) and employed the following research question, what psychosocial factors influence the psychological outcomes of the transition to fatherhood? (1978). Through a thematic analysis of 12 articles, the synthesis of findings revealed three main themes, each with subsequent sub-themes, which are discussed in depth: social pressures, solidifying the fatherhood identity, and support factors. This work describes the relevance of these findings to the counselling profession and details recommendations for clinical practice, illustrating the benefit of this work to support improved mental health outcomes for new dads. This work provides final conclusions, recommendations for future research, and a professional reflection.
Description
Citation
Publisher
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
openAccess
openAccess