Journal of Child and Family Studies https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-01316-1 REVIEW PAPER Paternal Depressive Symptoms and Parenting Behaviors: An Updated Meta-Analysis Kristene Cheung 1 ● Jennifer Theule 1 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Objectives The primary objective of the current study was to provide a summary of the strength of the relationship between paternal depressive symptoms and parenting behaviors. The secondary objective of this study was to examine whether specific factors moderate the magnitude of this relationship. Methods A series of meta-analyses were conducted to examine the strength of the association between paternal depressive symptoms and parenting behaviors. Several moderator analyses were also conducted to examine whether specific factors influenced the strength of the relationship. Moderators analyzed included: mean paternal age, mean child age, paternal relationship status, informant of parenting behaviors, and bibliographic factors. Results The current study found a small relationship between paternal depressive symptoms and both positive (r = –.16; 95% CI [–.20, –.13]; k = 35; p < .001) and negative (r = .17; 95% CI [.13, .21]; k = 28; p < .001) parenting behaviors. The relationship between paternal depressive symptoms and overall parenting behaviors was significantly moderated by the informant of the parenting behavior, where father-reports of parenting behaviors (vs. child-reports, mother-reports, or observation) were associated with larger effect sizes. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that practitioners should be mindful of the relationship between paternal depressive symptoms and parenting behaviors when working with families. Suggestions for future research and treatment implications are provided. Keywords Paternal depression ● Parenting behaviors ● Parenting ● Meta-analysis Over the past few decades, the literature on parental psy- chopathology and family functioning has shifted to reflect the greater recognition of the role of fathers in child development and the family system (Parker and Wang 2013; Pew Research Center 2015). Given the notable links between maternal depression and family-related dysfunction (e.g., Goodman et al. 2011; Letourneau et al. 2013) and that about one in ten fathers experience depression (Cameron et al. 2016; Lee et al. 2012), researchers have now focused their efforts to better understand families of fathers with depression. Studies in this area have demonstrated that many of the difficulties reported in families of mothers with depression, such as increased rates of child psychopathol- ogy (Goodman et al. 2011), compromised parent-child relationships (Lee et al. 2013), and increased family discord (Foster et al. 2008) are also found in families of fathers with depression (e.g., Cheung and Theule 2018; Dette- Hagenmeyer and Reichle 2014; Nelson et al. 2009). Another difficulty commonly experienced by mothers with depression is engaging in positive and effective par- enting behaviors (Wilson and Durbin 2010). Parenting behaviors are defined as actions or strategies that parents engage in when raising their children and can be categor- ized as either positive (e.g., acceptance, engagement, involvement, nurturance, sensitivity, support, warmth) or negative (e.g., hostile, intrusive, lax, non-involved, psy- chological control, rejection) based on the impact that the behavior has on the development of the child. Dix and Meunier’s(2009) action-control framework provides an explanatory structure for the association between maternal * Jennifer Theule Jen.Theule@umanitoba.ca 1 University of Manitoba, P439 Duff Roblin Building, 190 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada Supplementary information The online version of this article (https:// doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-01316-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. 1234567890();,: 1234567890();,: