{"id":1600,"date":"2021-06-17T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T22:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/a-fathers-parenting-style-could-be-predicted-in-advance-of-his-childs-birth\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T21:54:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T04:54:20","slug":"predicting-new-fathers-parenting-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/predicting-new-fathers-parenting-style\/","title":{"rendered":"A father\u2019s parenting style could be predicted in advance of his child\u2019s birth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3496-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3496-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"A father\u2019s parenting style could be predicted in advance of his child\u2019s birth\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Physical closeness and responsiveness to a child\u2019s needs are hallmarks of an intuitive parenting style. USC Dornsife scholars are studying how oxytocin levels and brain activation may be linked to this style. (Image Source: iStock\/Ridofranz.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=faculty\">Faculty<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>A father\u2019s parenting style could be predicted in advance of his child\u2019s birth<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A preliminary study finds that expectant fathers with higher levels of oxytocin and brain activation later endorse a more \u201cbaby-led,\u201d empathetic parenting style. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Margaret Crable<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">June 17, 2021<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>When a baby cries, how do you figure out what they want? Without the ability to use words to communicate, we must rely on our \u201cmentalizing\u201d skills \u2014 our imaginative ability to intuit what someone else is feeling and what they need in response. When we mentalize, our brain lights up in regions associated with \u201ctheory of mind,\u201d areas believed to be connected with the ability to understand and empathize with another.<\/p>\n<p>This parental intuition is often associated with mothers, but preliminary work by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences has found that fathers also use mentalizing skills \u2014 and that neural activity while engaging in mentalizing may predict later parenting styles.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/350279119_Theory_of_mind_processing_in_expectant_fathers_Associations_with_prenatal_oxytocin_and_parental_attunement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A study<\/a>, recently published in the journal\u00a0<i>Developmental Psychobiology<\/i>, found that when mentalizing, some expectant fathers had stronger activation in brain areas linked to theory of mind. They also had higher levels of oxytocin, often correlated with close relationships, in several mentalizing areas.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 315px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/FatheringBrain_InStoryA-3496.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Sofia Cardenas\" width=\"315\" height=\"490\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sofia Cardenas. (Photo: Courtesy of Sofia Cardenas.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After the birth of their child, these same fathers reported a more \u201cbaby-led\u201d parenting style involving physical closeness with the infant and responsiveness to infant cues, such as fussing or body language. A man\u2019s prenatal brain could therefore potentially predict how he parents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur study suggests that prenatal neural activation in theory of mind regions does seem to be related to a postpartum father\u2019s self-reported endorsement of an intuitive parenting style,\u201d says Sofia Cardenas, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/psyc\/\">psychology<\/a>\u00a0Ph.D. student at USC Dornsife. In intuitive parenting, the parent and child form a close bond which enables the parent to recognize what their child needs instinctively.<\/p>\n<p>Cardenas is lead author of the study. She began the research as the focus of her master\u2019s thesis, which she is now completing as part of her doctoral studies at USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n<h2>Activating fatherhood<\/h2>\n<p>The study looked at 39 first-time, expectant fathers who completed a task called the Why-How Localizer while in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. The task consists of a series of images of individuals completing various activities, such as helping someone zip up a dress or looking to the side.<\/p>\n<p>Test-takers were asked to rate \u201chow\u201d or \u201cwhy\u201d a person engaged in a particular task.<\/p>\n<p>Asking a person\u00a0<i>how\u00a0<\/i>an<i>\u00a0<\/i>action is being performed activates areas of the brain associated with bodily oriented mental processes. Asking someone\u00a0<i>why\u00a0<\/i>that action is being taken activates social behavior-oriented thought processing, or mentalizing. This enabled researchers to isolate and measure activation in areas of the brain when engaged in mentalizing.<\/p>\n<p>During the Why-How task, the MRI machine acquired images of each subject\u2019s blood flow. Participants also had blood drawn to measure oxytocin levels.<\/p>\n<p>Following the birth of their child, fathers returned to the lab to complete a parenting philosophy questionnaire. Those who had shown strong activation in brain regions that support theory of mind reported a more empathetic form of parenting.<\/p>\n<p>Also, fathers\u2019 with greater theory of mind activation also tended to have higher prenatal oxytocin levels. This is the first study to examine expectant fathers\u2019 prenatal oxytocin levels in tandem with brain activation.<\/p>\n<p>While the sample size is small, Cardenas feels this highlights an opportunity for additional investigation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough a handful of studies have looked at oxytocin levels in new mothers,\u201d says Cardenas. \u201cFathers have mostly been ignored within this neurobiological research. We hope that will contribute to larger studies that investigate how fathers bond with a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Learning dad skills<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 315px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/FatheringBrain_InStoryB-3496.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Darby\" width=\"315\" height=\"490\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Darby Saxbe. (Photo: Peter Zhaoyu Zhou.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The study reveals an opportunity for improving fatherly bonding, says\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/psyc\/psyc_faculty_display.cfm?person_id=1032709\">Darby Saxbe<\/a>, associate professor of psychology and the corresponding author of the study. Saxbe is also founding director of the USC\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/labs\/usc-ccf\/\">Center for the Changing Family<\/a>, headquartered at USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe often think of parenting as something that\u2019s intuitive [to motherhood] \u2014 that moms are able to innately understand and connect with the infant in a way that fathers feel is more challenging,\u201d says Saxbe. \u201cI think we can reframe it to think of this as a skill. There\u2019s really promising research suggesting that empathy can actually be trained and taught.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Informing dads that empathy and mentalizing skills can be enhanced with practice could help new fathers feel more empowered. She adds that this preliminary research emphasizes how much there still is to learn about fatherhood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFathers are really understudied. The fact that our study is so preliminary speaks to the state of the [research],\u201d says Saxbe. \u201cWe still don\u2019t understand the basics of how men prepare to become parents or how men\u2019s brains may map on to their parenting behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both Saxbe and Cardenas are continuing research on the subject of fatherhood. Saxbe\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/nestlab\">Neuroendocrinology of Social Ties (NEST) Lab<\/a>, where Cardenas is completing her Ph.D., is currently studying how both parent\u2019s hormones change during pregnancy and after the birth of a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A preliminary study finds that expectant fathers with higher levels of oxytocin and brain activation later endorse a more \u201cbaby-led,\u201d empathetic parenting style. <strong>[4 min read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":1603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,17],"tags":[425,112],"class_list":["post-1600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","category-student","tag-darby-saxbe","tag-psychology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A father\u2019s parenting style could be predicted in advance of his child\u2019s birth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Expectant fathers with higher levels of oxytocin and brain activation later endorse a more \u201cbaby-led,\u201d empathetic parenting style.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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