https://doi.org/10.33698/NRF0208-Laishram Dabashini Devi
Abstract : Expectant fathers, like expectant mothers, have been preparing for parenthood throughout their lives. Subconsciously or consciously men think about having a wife and children. During courtship and early marriage discussion of future may even include the number, spacing and names of their children to-be.The present study aimed to assess stressors, level of stress and coping mechanism adopted by the first-time expectant fathers. Descriptive research design was adapted. One hundred first time expectant fathers were selected through simple random sampling method. The study subjects were interviewed for socio demographic characteristics, type of stressors and coping mechanism using Socio Demographic Data Sheet and types of stressors and Dr Kiran Rao coping Scale respectively. It was found that more than half of the first time expectant fathers (77%) had moderate stressors and remaining (15%) had severe stressors and (8%) with mild stressors. The findings also revealed the aspects wise categorization of the stressors score where more stressors (mean 65.2 %) was in labor process followed by health condition of the baby (62.7 %) and health condition of the mother as their least stressors (55.2 %). More than half of first time expectant fathers (68 %) had moderate coping methods to counter the stressors and remaining19 % had good coping and 13 % had poor coping. Hence it was concluded that there is a negative relationship between stressors, level of stress and coping of first time expectant fathers that mean to say, if stress increases, coping decreases and vice versa.
Keywords
Stressors, stress, coping mechanism, first time expectant fathers
Correspondence at
Laishram Dabashini Devi
Asso. Professor & HOD
Dayananda Sagar College of Nursing Bangalore
Introduction
Stress is something that everyone experience at one point or another in his lives, but nobody can quite define it. First thing you may think of when you hear the word stress is “feeling” overloaded and nervous.1 Even though everyone experiences stress, research has shown that like the pregnant women the expectant fathers also undergoes psychological, physical and social changes during their partner’s pregnancy. Many of the first-time expectant fathers experiences seven types of fears, they are security fear, performance fear, paternity fear, mortality fear, fear for women’s medicine, relationship fear, fear for spouse and child health relationship. The expectant fathers feel that pregnancy itself is a stressor.2
Published research before 1960, tended to focus on abnormal psychological reactions among expectant fathers such as clinical depression and unusual sexual behavior. But in recent years, the importance of the expectant father to be prepared for transition to fatherhood has been realized by the health personnel. Studies has shown that the more involved and educated about pregnancy a father is the better outcome of the pregnancy.3 Previous studies have shown that all of them undergoes psychological changes such as feeling of unreality, feeling of responsibility and feeling of development, 43% of the fathers experiences physical changes such as they felt themselves pregnant,14% of them expressed the feeling of social changes in the general social life and partly in new relationship with other men.4
Expectant parents today share not only the joys of pregnancy, childbirth and childbearing, but the worries as well. Although the partner is not experiencing the changes in his partner body but he has his own unique set of concerns, and need for information during pregnancy.5 Studies have shown that many expectant fathers have worries and fear related to themselves, their wives, the pregnancy, the body, sexuality, finances, childcare and the new role of father they will be expected to fill. It is important to discuss those needs and concerns early in the pregnancy. The father’s adjustment to pregnancy can have a significant effect on his happiness, the immediate and future health of the mother. Many aspects of the growth and development of the baby. Over the past ten years, nurses have shown increasing interest in understanding and assisting men in their transition to fatherhood.6 Until recently the expectant fathers were often viewed as bystanders or observer of his partner pregnancy. He was necessary for conception, for bill paying, male guidance as his child matured. Over the past ten years the nurses have shown increasing interest in understanding and assisting men in their transition to parenthood.7
Today’s fathers are made to attend the antenatal education classes to provide them with accurate information about their preparation of fatherhood and make the father to become a source of assistance to their pregnant wives and not a source of worries. Hence the maternity nurses expand the scope of their health care services by involving husbands and family in antenatal care and child birth so that the first-time expectant father will be prepared for the transition to fatherhood in order to reduce their stress and they copes better.8 In order to do so it is important to understand the types of stresses and level of stress of first time expectant father along with their coping mechanism. Keeping it in mind the present study was conducted.
Objective
To assess the types of stressors, level of stress and coping mechanism of first time expectant fathers during pregnancy
Material and methods
A non-experimental descriptive design was employed to assess the stressors, level of stress and coping mechanism adopted by the first-time expectant fathers during pregnancy. The hypothesis formulated was that there will be significant relationship between stress and coping mechanism and association between the selected demographic variables. The study was conducted in an antenatal OPD of KIMS and Corporation hospitals, Bangalore. Population of the study was 100 first time expectant fathers accompanying their wife in the antenatal OPD. The subjects were chosen by non-probability, purposive sampling technique. Data was collected by using an interview schedule, criteria rating scale and checklist. The interview schedule consisted of demographic data; 28 items of stressors aspects on health condition of the mother, labor process, health condition of the baby, support system, finance and fear of the unknown. The 5 point Likert scale is used to score the stressors level on 28 items. The score ranged from 28 to 140. Stress checklist comprised of 20 items and 33 items on coping checklist. The stress checklist items against which tick yes indicate the level of stress experience and are score one and the stress checklist item tick No indicates not applicable and are score zero. The score ranged from 0 to 20. The coping checklist items against which tick yes indicate that the method is use and are score one and the item tick No indicates not use that method and are score zero. Total coping score ranged from 0 to 33.The level of stressors, stress and coping was categorized as mild, moderate and severe by taking the median value of the checklist score. Data collection was done for one month. Data was collected by interviewing after obtaining consent from the respondents. Each day around 10 husbands of primigravida women were interviewed and each session lasted for about 60 minutes. The obtained data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and interpreted in terms of objectives and hypothesis of the study. The level of significance was set at 0.05.
Result
The table 1 shows that more than half of the respondents (57 %) were of 24-25 years of age. Education status of 43 %respondents was graduation. In regards to occupation, half of the respondents (52 %) were private employees and religion of 39 % of the respondents were Muslim. Half of the respondents(53 %) belonged to joint family and per capita income of 49% respondents was less than Rs. 6000/-. Most of respondents (86%) have done arranged marriage. The economic support of parents was available to 61 %of the respondents.
Table 2 depicts that 78 % were having planned pregnancy and 22 % were having unplanned pregnancy. Majority of the respondents 76 % were looked after by their mother in law during pregnancy. More than half were (58 %)in second trimester and 57 %respondents had first year of married life.
The table 3 shows that majority (77 %) of first time expecting fathers had moderate stressors, 15 % had severe stress and 08 % had mild stress.
Table 1: Socio demographic profile
of respondents
N=100
able 2 : pregnancy related variables
of respondents
N=100
|
|
Table 3 : Distribution of respondents according to their stressors level
N=100
| Category | No. of respondents | Mean±SD |
| Mild stressors (< 54 ) | 8 | 60.3±6.2 |
| Moderate stressors (54-67) | 77 | |
| Severe stressors ( >67) | 15 |
The table 4 indicates that first time expectant fathers were having more of stress in relation to labor process (mean percentage stress score 65 % ), followed by health condition of the child (mean percentage stress score 62%). Another area of stress was finance (mean percentage stress score 61%). Support system and fear of the unknown was also causing stress (mean percentage stress score 57 %). Least stress was related to health condition of the mother (mean percentage stress score 55 %). Over all mean percent stress score was 60.2% with SD 6.2%
Table 4: Distribution of respondents according to the type of stressors
N=100
| No | Aspects | Statements | Max. Score | Mean score | ||
| Mean | Mean (%) | SD (%) | ||||
| I | Health condition of the mother | 5 | 15 | 6.28 | 55.2 | 9.4 |
| II | Labor process | 6 | 18 | 13.73 | 65.2 | 10.3 |
| III | Health condition of the baby | 5 | 15 | 9.40 | 62.7 | 11.1 |
| IV | Support system | 3 | 9 | 5.15 | 57.2 | 14.2 |
| V | Finance | 5 | 15 | 9.14 | 60.9 | 10.7 |
| VI | Fear of the unknown | 4 | 12 | 6.91 | 57.6 | 13.0 |
| Combined | 28 | 84 | 50.61 | 60.3 | 6.2 | |
The above table and figure shows that majority 70 % had moderate stress,18 % had mild stress and 12 % had severe stress.
Table 5 : Distribution of respondents according to their stress level
N=100
| Category | No. of respondents | Mean±SD |
| Mild stressors (<43 ) | 12 | 55.5±12.5 |
| Moderate stressors (43-68) | 70 | |
| Severe stressors (>68) | 18 |
Table 7 : There is a negative relationship between stressors level of stress and coping of first time expectant fathers that mean to say, if stress increases,
Table 6 shows that majority of the respondents 68 % had moderate coping,19 % had good coping and 13 % had poor coping. Mean coping score was 63.3 and SD 13.4
Table 6 Distribution of respondents according to their coping level
N=100
| Category | No. of respondents | Mean±SD |
| Poor coping (<50 ) | 13 | 63.3±13.4 |
| Moderate coping (50-77) | 68 | |
| Good coping (>77) | 19 |
coping decreases and vice versa, indicating that there is a relation between stress and coping of first time expectant fathers.
Table 7: Relationship between Stress and Coping aspects
N=100
| Aspects | Correlation coefficient ( r ) | ||
| Perceived Stressors scale | Perceived stress checklist | Coping Checklist | |
| Perceived Stressors scale | +1.000 | – | – |
| Perceived stress checklist | – 0.105 NS | +1.000 | – |
| Coping checklist | -0.180 NS | + 0.283* | +1.000 |
* Significant at 5% level , NS : Non-significant
Discussion
Men should overcome the stress to influence the laboring women to cope with the process of labor. This process can be brought about by educating the man when woman is pregnant. So researcher feels the need to assess the stress of the men to cope with the process of their partner’s pregnancy.
In the present study, it was found that more than half of the first time expectant fathers (77%) had moderate stressors and remaining first time expectant fathers (15%) had severe stressors and (8%) of the first time expectant fathers are with mild stressors. The finding also revealed the aspects wise categorization of the stressors score among the first time expectant fathers that they had more stressors in the labor aspects (mean 65.2%) and it is followed by health condition of the baby (62.7%) and health condition of the mother as their least stressor (55.2%) . The findings were consistent with the report of the St john et al who found that making a commitment, taking responsibility, negotiating responsibilities, developing and maintaining relationship, maintaining family integrity, balancing activities and perceiving the self as father were the factors causes stressors among first time expectant fathers.9
In the present study it was also found that majority (70%) of first time expecting had moderate stress and remaining (18%) had severe stress and (12%) of the first time expectant fathers with severe stress. This was supported by a study done by Boyce. P et al on psychological distress on expectant fathers during pregnancy which showed that level of the distress in the first time expectant fathers was moderate.10
In this study it was found that more than half of the first time expectant fathers (68%) had moderate coping methods to counter the stressors and stress and remaining first time (19% ) with good coping( 13 % ) with good coping. The above findings of the study was compatible with the findings of Diemer G.A ,they assessed the stress level and coping mechanism of first time expectant fathers and found that most common coping behaviour of first time expectant fathers was by seeking their social support particularly getting information, emotional support from their partners physician.11
The present study found that there was negative relationship between stress and coping mechanism The study did not established any association between stressors, level of stress and coping mechanism with selected demographic variables through several studies reported stressors, stress and coping level ,their findings did not focus on association between stressors, stress and coping mechanism and demographic variables. It was evident from above findings that hypothesis stated in the study, there is a significant co relationship between stress and coping mechanism is accepted and above findings appears consistent with the research of Tiechman Y and Lahav.Y, who had done a study on expectant fathers emotional reaction ,physical symptoms and coping styles and findings revealed that all first time expectant fathers were distressed and were found to have limited coping skills.12
The study concludes that there is a negative relationship between stressors, level of stress and coping of first time expectant fathers that mean to say, if stress increases, coping decreases and vice versa. This study is focused on better support for the husbands that more resources are given to stress reduction strategies so the public has to be made aware of importance of fathers during pregnancy. Hence the nurses coming in contact with first time expectant fathers should take the initiative to provide necessary information to the partners on related aspects of pregnancy, so as to reduce the stress of the first time expectant fathers during pregnancy. This study gave husbands entry in involvement in antenatal care of their wives and shapes their transition to fatherhood.
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