1, 2, 3 - Médico Interno, Especialidade de Pedopsiquiatria, Área da Mulher, Criança e Adolescente, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisboa.
4 – Assistente Hospitalar, Especialidade de Pedopsiquiatria, Área da Mulher, Criança e Adolescente, Hospital Dona Estefânia, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Lisboa.
- Reunião internacional: póster apresentado no 18th International Congress of European Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Viena, Áustria.
Introdução: When compared with mothers, fathers continue to be dramatically underrepresented in developmental research on psychopathology. We thought it would be interesting to use the subjective impression that Portuguese fathers are often not present or active in children’s life to study to study what is the father's role in Portuguese population.
Objetivos: To characterize the father’s role and presence of a random Portuguese population of children followed in a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry department.
Métodos: It was considered a convenience sample of children aged 3-12 years old (n=160), from the area of Lisbon, with first consultation at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry department of Dona Estefânia Hospital, during 2018. With the data collected through a clinical interview in the first appointment, it was analyzed the father's educational level, work situation, father's schedule, paternal psychopathology, psychiatric follow-up and father's physical illness. It was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively the contact that the child has with his father and the quality time spent. The family typology and the socioeconomic level were also studied.
Resultados: In a sample of n= 160, 60% were male, with an age mean of 8,17 years old. 60 % of the fathers had full-time job, and 27% had unstable job or are unemployed. 39% of the fathers have symptoms or psychopathology but from this group only 15% are followed in Psychiatry consultation. The classification from therapist shows that 31% of fathers spend poor or no time with the children and 16% of fathers just participate in functional activities, with poor emotional attachment - the research shows a decreased level of father involvement when compared to mothers.
Conclusões: Although the lack of attention given to the role of the father, paternal behaviors, personality characteristics and psychopathology seem to be significant sources of risk for child and adolescent psychopathology. According to our study, it appears to be a significant percentage of the Portuguese fathers poorly – quantitatively and qualitatively - involved in children’s life. More research is needed to understand the impact of such absence. More work is needed to promote father-child relationship, changing the paradigm to consider the importance of father's role in the life and development of the child.
Palavras Chave: Father’s role, child development, clinical population, Child Psychiatry