Harnessing Social Media and mHealth to manage adjustment to parenthood in fathers

INTERVENTION: The intervention will be delivered via a smartphone app. The intervention is designed to address core paternal postpartum depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms and maintaining factors. There will be 4 modules to this intervention completed over 4 weeks, and participants will be asked to complete these modules in order. The content covering each module is as follows: (1) a values clarification and goal setting module; (2) a mindfulness meditation module, containing relaxation techniques to help manage mood; (3) a cognitive restructuring module, assisting participants to increase positive thoughts, and manage negative thoughts; and (4) a behavioural activation module, encouraging participants to increase their engagement in pleasant activities, e.g., activity planning, behaviour tracking. Participants will be encouraged to commence each new module after around 7 days, although they will be instructed that they can go at a pace that suits them. Each module will take approximately 30mins to complete, and participants will be encouraged to implement the strategies prescribed in each module on a daily basis. Each module will contain various audio recordings of a professional describing and guiding the intervention content and what is required; various quizzes to facilitate learning; text boxes for participants to read; and writing spaces for participants to record their thoughts, feelings and behaviors to certain exercises. The app also contains additional resources, including a self‐monitoring tool for daily mood monitoring (with feedback graphs) and psychoeducation materials designed specifically for this study educating participants on precipitating and perpetuating factors for paternal perinatal depression, anxiety and stress. Ap CONDITION: Mental Health ‐ Anxiety Mental Health ‐ Depression Perinatal mental health;Paternal postnatal depression;Paternal postnatal anxiety; ; Perinatal mental health ; Paternal postnatal depression ; Paternal postnatal anxiety Reproductive Health and Childbirth ‐ Childbirth and postnatal care PRIMARY OUTCOME: DASS‐21 Anxiety scores[Baseline, post‐test (4 weeks post‐baseline)] DASS‐21 Stress score[Baseline, post‐test (4 weeks post‐baseline)] Postnatal depression assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS)[Baseline, post‐test (4 weeks post‐baseline)] SECONDARY OUTCOME: Linguistic dimensions (e.g. language and grammar) assessed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) from social media data[Baseline, post‐test (4 weeks post‐baseline)] Parenting Sense of Competence Scale[Baseline, post‐test (4 weeks post‐baseline)] Paternal Postnatal Attachment Scale[Baseline, post‐test (4 weeks post‐baseline)] INCLUSION CRITERIA: (1) aged 18 or over; (2) identify as a father; (3) have an infant aged under 12 months of age; (4) be a user and contributor to the social media platform Reddit; (5) have sufficient English literacy; (6) have access to an Android or iOS smartphone or tablet for the duration of the study; and (7) be moderately symptomatic for depression, anxiety, or stress (EPDS, DASS)