Becoming a dad can be daunting. A recent article by the Good Men Project highlighted that there aren’t any clear guidelines to prepare men for this significant change in their roles. In some places, the traditional view of men being breadwinners still exists, yet the role of a dad is much more than that. We’re funding a number of programs aiming to help blokes plan for fatherhood.
As part of our work with the Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre and beyondblue we have funded the Aboriginal Fathers Project - a web based resource to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young Indigenous fathers.
We’ve also funded a $2.6 Million project with University of New South Wales to address the mental health outcomes of young boys with behavioural conduct problems, through engaging the dads of these boys in the treatment process. This will be achieved by establishing a national collaboration of researchers, clinicians, policy leaders, and consumer groups to effectively reduce aggression and antisocial behaviour in Australian communities through attempting to reach 200,000 fathers of boys who need assistance.
Some recent Movember Foundation funded research on men’s social connectedness, commissioned by beyondblue, further reinforces the importance of the father-son relationship and how good communication between a father and son is a protective factor from social isolation later in life.
All of these projects aim to ultimately improve the mental health of fathers and sons.
