The Role of Father Participation in the Treatment of Childhood Mood Disorders

This article focuses on the role of fathers in family interventions designed to deal with mental illness (with particular emphasis given to childhood mood disorders) and the implications for future research, program development, and public policy issues. Pertinent research on childhood mood disorders that concentrates on family system and parental subsystem characteristics is reviewed, as are studies that contribute to an understanding of the impact fathers have on the onset and course of childhood mood disorders. Additionally, preliminary information generated from one family based intervention targeting childhood mood disorders is discussed briefly in order to illustrate additional issues to be considered in the design and implementation of family based programming.