The Effect of Positivity Approach Counseling on Acceptance and Adaptation to Parental Role in Husbands of First-Time Mothers

Background: Becoming a father is a crucial stage in men s lives, which is associated with high levels of stress, as this event challenges their ability to cope with new situations, requires adapting to the new roles, and creates concerns regarding being a successful father. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the effect of positive approach counseling on acceptance and adaptation to the role of becoming a father in husbands of first-time mothers. Methods: This is an experimental study conducted on husbands of first-time mothers with unsuccessful adaptation to their role as a father who referred to health centers of Khodabandeh city in 2019. Participants were selected using convenience sampling and then separated into two groups of intervention and control (27 subjects in each group). Data were collected using a demographic information questionnaire (socio-economic status and family relationships) and the standard paternal adaptation questionnaire (PAQ). The intervention group received eight 60-minutes sessions of positive approach counseling. Then, after one month, they again filled the PAQ. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon, Friedman, and ANOVA with repeated measures with a significance level of 0.05 by SPSS version 16. Results: There was no difference in the mean score of PAQ before providing the intervention; however, after providing the intervention, the level of adaptation to the parenting role and its sub-scales were significantly higher in the intervention group (from 117.6 to 155.4) (p 0.05). Conclusion: The positive approach counseling could improve the parenting role of husbands of first-time mothers. Therefore, the findings of the present study can be used for developing comprehensive public health plans for better adaptation with the parenting role.