What is it about?
Empathy, which involves understanding and sharing another's emotional state, is crucial for parents. It helps them understand and feel their child's emotions, increasing their sensitivity to the child's signals and supporting appropriate care. In other words, empathy enables parents to feel what their child feels, which in turn motivates them to act in the child's best interest. Given the importance of empathy in parenting, the study investigated whether men's empathy develops as they become fathers. The research question was whether fathers are more empathetic towards children compared to childless men, and if this difference is evident even during their partner's pregnancy. The initial hypothesis was supported by previous studies on physiological changes men experience when becoming fathers. For example, men's testosterone levels decrease when they become fathers, which is thought to shift their focus from competition to childcare and increase empathetic responses.
Featured Image
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Understanding the changes that come with becoming a father is important and provides new insights into the role of fathers as parents. Our study suggests that experience affects a father's empathy. Expectant fathers and fathers of young babies may be particularly sensitive to their child's emotions. This sensitivity might be crucial for new parents, who need to learn to interpret their child's feelings and focus on the baby's signals. As the child grows and the parent's experience increases, their reactions to the child's emotions may become less intense. This can help the parent regulate their own emotions, especially when attention needs to be divided among multiple children. Examining the differences between first-time and experienced fathers can help identify when fathers and families might need more support. First-time parents may be particularly sensitive to their child's emotions, which can help them attune to their child's care needs, but it can also increase the risk of parental stress.
Perspectives
The results of our first study contradicted my original hypothesis, which was initially confusing but ultimately thought-provoking, leading to new hypotheses. With additional findings from the TransParent project (https://projects.tuni.fi/transparent/), the first study's results now make more sense in this context. We continue to identify first-time parenthood as a particularly sensitive period in the transition to parenthood. Although the differences between groups in the online study were quite small, and I believe these results should be replicated, this is a starting point. I am currently working on a paper comparing the empathy levels of expectant, first-time, and experienced fathers in a laboratory setting, which will further shed light on the topic. Stay tuned!
Sonja Veistola
Tampereen yliopisto
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Men’s empathy toward children’s emotions across the transition to fatherhood., Developmental Psychology, December 2024, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001838.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
