# The role of fathers' sleep quality and white matter microstructure on the adjustment to parenthood

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2022 · $46,752

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The transition to parenthood is a period of profound transformation and often vulnerability in new
parents. Though most of the research on this transition has focused on mothers, new fathers must also adapt
to parenthood. Many parents experience sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality, which may increase mental
health risks of new parents and reduce the quality of caregiving behavior. Prior work in non-parent samples
suggests that sleep quality may be linked to the structural connectivity of the brain, as measured within white
matter microstructure (WMM). Less efficient connectivity of WMM has also been associated with mental health
problems. This project will examine postpartum sleep quality in first-time fathers and test associations with their
postpartum mental health and WMM. The project also examines postpartum WMM as a mediator between
sleep quality and mental health symptoms during the transition to parenthood. This project draws from an
existing longitudinal study of first-time parents followed from the prenatal to postpartum periods that
incorporated neuroimaging.
 Study aims are to: (1) Examine how postpartum sleep quality, controlling for prenatal sleep quality,
affects psychological adjustment to parenthood in new fathers; (2) Investigate whether sleep quality is
associated with postpartum white matter microstructure (WMM) among first-time fathers; (3) Examine the
mediating role of postpartum WMM on the relationship between postpartum sleep quality and fathers’
adjustment to parenthood. Study findings can provide insight into the role of sleep on the paternal brain and
mental health and inform interventions facilitating the adjustment to parenthood. The proposed project will
support the applicant’s training in biobehavioral research methods to become an interdisciplinary health and
family studies researcher.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10536542
- **Project number:** 1F31HD108957-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Sofia Isabela Cárdenas
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $46,752
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-03-01 → 2025-03-01

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10536542

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10536542, The role of fathers' sleep quality and white matter microstructure on the adjustment to parenthood (1F31HD108957-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10536542. Licensed CC0.

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