Mechanisms linking childhood harsh fathering to adult sons' health
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Updated: Mar 3, 2026

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1Urban Society Research Division, Seoul Institute.
Objective:
Fathering is now recognized as influencing children's health, yet the physiological and behavioral pathways linking harsh fathering to men's health-particularly in the context of intergenerational fathering-remain less understood. This study examined the long-term effects of harsh parenting by Generation 1 (G1) fathers during Generation 2 (G2) men's childhood on physical and mental health problems in G2's adulthood, focusing on three potential processes: (a) G2 men's physiological stress regulation reflected in diurnal cortisol patterns, (b) the quality of the G2 men-G3 child relationship, and (c) the sequential mediation of these two processes.
Method:
Data from three waves of the Midlife Development in the U.S. survey (MIDUS) of 265 G2 men were analyzed using latent growth modeling and structural equation modeling.
Results:
Results revealed that G1's harsh fathering in childhood significantly increased the risk of G2 men's physical health problems in middle and old adulthood through dysregulated diurnal cortisol patterns, specifically flattened diurnal slopes in early to mid-adulthood, even while controlling for covariates. Neither the direct impact of harsh fathering nor the mediating mechanisms through the G2-G3 relationship were significant.
Conclusions:
The present findings suggest that the effects of harsh fathering during childhood on adult sons' health are long-lasting, and the stress regulation system may serve as a key underlying mechanism in this relationship. This study highlights the need for evidence-based fatherhood programs aimed at preventing harsh parenting practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
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