The Good, The Dad, and the Ugly:
Fathers’ Mental Health and Relationships through a Lifespan Development Lens
Presented by
Dr. Daniel Singley and Dr. Jena King
1.5 CE Credits
Friday, September 5, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Live on Zoom
COST:
SDPA Members: $25
Non Members: $35
Given the crucial role of caring and emotionally available fathers in fostering secure attachment, the presenters will address the general role of fathers’ mental health, experience of a caring type of masculinity, and how paternal depression relates to attachment, specifically examining the relationship between fathers’ depression and pre-adolescent attachment to their fathers. The presenters will describe a reconceptualization of contemporary “Dad 2.0” as reflecting an inflection point that may allow for more willingness on men’s part to enact more caring relationships in their lives.
In addition to research on theory giving foundational information regarding mental health in early fatherhood and the psychology of modern masculinities, the presenters review findings from a non-experimental study used quantitative methods—correlation, regression, and mediation analyses—to explore non-causal, cross-sectional hypotheses. 42 father-child dyads (children aged 9-12) were recruited for the study. Fathers completed a demographic questionnaire, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-V, and a self-report measure. Children completed the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment and the Experience in close relationship scale-revised Child version to examine the impact of paternal depression on attachment. A significant relationship emerged between pre-adolescents' total attachment scores on the Experience in close relationship scale-revised Child version and their father's depression status. Specifically, when fathers had an episode of major depressive disorder during their child’s life, children felt less securely attached.
These findings contribute to the limited literature on pre-adolescent attachment in the context of paternal depression and aligns with previous research showing infants are less securely attached to depressed fathers (Sethna et al., 2015; Sethna et al., 2018). While infant attachment is predictive of later adolescent development, researchers have not widely studied attachment during pre-adolescence (Moretti & Peled, 2004). Furthermore, this presentation broadens the conceptualization of fathers as men who are able to develop caring identities in a variety of relationships including with their children, family members, and friends.
Learning Objectives:
-
Apply theoretical and empirical knowledge of relationship between paternal mental health and attachment across developmental stages to enhance clinical conceptualization and treatment planning.
-
Analyze and evaluate the influence of masculinity and family systems dynamics on fathers’ mental health and parenting practices in diverse contexts.
-
Demonstrate the ability to identify and utilize the paternal identity shift in early fatherhood to foster positive father engagement and normalize fathers as caring and emotionally engaged in various relational roles
Target audience: Licensed Psychologists, Psychology Graduate Students, Allied Mental Health Professionals
Conflicts of Interest: There are no conflicts of interest with any of the speakers.
Daniel Singley, PhD
Dr. Singley is a San Diego-based board certified psychologist and Director of The Center for Men’s Excellence. His research and practice focus on men’s mental health with a particular emphasis on reproductive psychology and the transition to fatherhood. Dr. Singley won the American Psychological Association’s 2017 Practitioner of the Year Award from the Division on Men & Masculinities. He is Past President of the APA’s Section on Positive Psychology and is currently the Past President of the APA’s Society for the Psychology of Men and Masculinities and the President’s Advisory Council for Postpartum Support International. He conducts trainings and presentations around the country to assist individuals and organizations to enhance their level of father inclusiveness and founded the grant-funded Basic Training for New Dads, Inc nonprofit just for dads in order to give new fathers the tools they need to be highly engaged with their infants as well as their partners.
Jena King, PhD
Dr. King is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Men’s Excellence in San Diego, California. Her research and clinical work have given her extensive experience in men’s issues and fathers’ mental health. Her research focuses on how fatherhood depression relates to father-child attachment. Dr. King’s passion for working with fathers and birthing people focuses in the areas of depression, anxiety, trauma, and anger management throughout the perinatal period as well as adolescence.
Conflicts of Interest: As an APA-approved sponsor of continuing education, San Diego Psychological Association is committed to the identification and resolution of potential conflicts of interest in the planning, promotion, delivery, and evaluation of continuing education. Please review the conflict of interest guideline below.
APA Guidelines Regarding Potential Conflicts of Interest
Consistent with concepts outlined in the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, potential conflicts of interest occur when an individual assumes a professional role in the planning, promotion, delivery, or evaluation of continuing education where personal, professional, legal, financial, or other interests could reasonably be expected to impair his or her objectivity, competence, or effectiveness.
CE Grievance Procedure
SDPA is fully committed to conducting all activities in strict conformance with the APAs Ethical Principles of Psychologists. SDPA will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content and in the treatment of program participants.
See CE Grievance Procedure.
Attendance Policy: CE Credit and Certificates will not be issued to those who arrive later than 10 minutes or leave early from any course scheduled time. This policy is strictly enforced to ensure compliance with APA Guidelines.
Cancellation Policy: No refund will be given to any registered individual who is a no-show to a course. Any individual canceling within 72 hours of a course will be refunded 50% of the course fee.
American Psychological Association
The San Diego Psychological Association (SDPA) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. SDPA maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
LCSW, LFMT, LEP & LPCC
In California, APA approved CE’s are valid for licensed psychologists, licensed school psychologists, LCSW, LMFT, LEP & LPCC licensees. Though APA is a national organization, the out of state licensee should check with their state governing board to make sure that APA approved CE'’s are valid in their state for their license.
See SDPA Website Continuing Education Policies.
