Fatherhood Leads to Decrease in Substance Use
According to a Medical News Today article, a 19-year long study of males showed that when men became dads they exhibited decreases in alcohol, crime and tobacco use. The researchers studied over 200 at-risk young males aged 12 through 31 and checked how their alcohol, crime, marijuana and tobacco use changed throughout time.
Prior studies had shown that marriage could change a male's negative actions, but they had never tested the aspect of fatherhood in an isolated environment. Oregon State University's assistant professor of psychology, David Kerr, says that fatherhood was independent in the prediction of decreases in the above areas and that they added to the general tendencies of boys engaging in less of these behaviors as they approached adulthood.
The research team further found that men who were in their 20s to early 30s when becoming dads for the first time showed even greater decreases in crimes and alcohol use as compared with those who had their first child in their teenage years or early 20s. Kerr also discovered that children born to men who were older and more mature were more able and willing to accept fatherhood and shed otherwise previous lifestyle choices that were negative. Tobacco use usually decreased after the birth of their first child, according to Kerr, and this type of change most certainly could have positive health consequences for the men and their families.
Kerr is hopeful that this discovery can be a positive opportunity if intervention is necessary because new dads may be more willing to make the changes needed due to the experience of fatherhood in their lives.
