Parenting Journal · Volume 1 · Issue 5 · Licensed source edition
Paternity leave duration and maternal depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study of paternal involvement and coparenting in Japan
Originally published 2026-07-22 · Frontiers in Public Health
Frontiers Media SA · DOI 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1891071 ↗
Working-family evidence
Work, care and the whole person.
Studies paternity leave, paternal involvement and coparenting over early postpartum months, connecting leave availability with the sharing of care rather than duration alone.
Directly examines work and family life, parenting, caregiving or employment policies for families.
Editorial reading guide · Collaboration
Does time away from work translate into shared caregiving at home?
Studies paternity leave, paternal involvement and coparenting over early postpartum months, connecting leave availability with the sharing of care rather than duration alone.
Study context
396 Japanese mothers, including first-time and experienced mothers, assessed at three and six months postpartum.
Age / stage: Mothers of infants aged three to six months.
Read with three questions
- How were leave duration, paternal involvement and coparenting measured?
- How small were the modeled indirect associations with maternal depressive symptoms?
- Why do formal nonsignificant between-group tests matter despite different within-group results?
Keep the limits in view
All principal variables were mother-reported and leave was not randomized; modeled indirect paths are observational, and the study did not establish parity differences or clinical benefits.
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Original authorship, publication date, journal and DOI are preserved. This issue’s TRICK placement and reading questions are editorial additions, not claims made by the original authors.
Aiko Hironaka; Hiroko Watanabe (2026). Paternity leave duration and maternal depressive symptoms: a longitudinal study of paternal involvement and coparenting in Japan Frontiers in Public Health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1891071
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