# Predictors and Outcomes Across the Transition to Fatherhood

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2020 · $11,136

## Abstract

Project Abstract
The current study aims to characterize fathers' response to infant cry and explore potential predictors,
moderators and outcomes of this response. Excessive and inconsolable crying is a common trigger of parental
stress, which can compromise parent-child bonding and make the transition to parenthood more challenging.
However, when and why fathers' responses to infant cries might trigger parenting stress is unknown. The
proposed study seeks to fill this gap by identifying how expectant fathers respond to infant cry across multiple
modalities (behavioral, physiological, and neural), and investigating potential predictors and outcomes of these
responses. The current study hypothesizes that neural, behavioral and psychophysiological responses to infant
cry will predict fathers' parenting stress and father-infant bonding in the first months postpartum. Potential
moderators and mediators of fathers' responses to infant cry, such as prenatal testosterone level and
childhood exposure to a risky family environment, will be tested. We also plan to test a theoretical model that
includes father reactivity to cry sounds as a pathway linking father risk factors to postpartum parenting
outcomes. The project will utilize data from the NSF-funded Hormones Across the Transition to Childrearing
(HATCH) study, currently being conducted by the Neuroendocrinology of Social Ties (NEST) lab at the
University of Southern California (USC). This ongoing study follows pregnant couples from mid-pregnancy into
the postpartum period. Data for the proposed study will be collected only from fathers during the prenatal lab
visit, an MRI scanning visit scheduled within a few weeks of the main study visit, and a three-month
postpartum assessment. Psychophysiological (skin conductance), behavioral (handgrip dynamometer-
assessed grip strength modulation), and neural data will be collected from expectant fathers along with salivary
testosterone. This approach promises to elucidate how expectant fathers respond to infant cry, and connect
these responses to postpartum measures of parenting stress and distressed parental bonding. This project will
be a first step in identifying biological risk factors for parenting stress or dysfunctional bonding in the first
months postpartum. This project will enable clinicians and researchers to understand the underlying
neurobiological processes in response to infant cry that may indicate risk for negative parenting outcomes
postpartum.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9875271
- **Project number:** 5F31HD093107-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Hannah Lyden
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $11,136
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2020-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9875271

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9875271, Predictors and Outcomes Across the Transition to Fatherhood (5F31HD093107-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9875271. Licensed CC0.

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