Impact of parental leave on paternal well-being

Discussions regarding parental leave have focused on both the structural definitions of leave types and their subsequent impact on mental health.

Initial information clarified the distinction between paternity leave, a fully paid two-week period, and parental leave, which lasts between 41 and 43 weeks. Since April 2023, a non-transferable nine-week portion of parental leave has been reserved for fathers at 70% pay.

A study from the Karolinska Institutet published in the ‘American Journal of Public Health’ further examined these dynamics by tracking 746 young fathers in Sweden. The research indicated that the duration of leave is linked to paternal mental health, finding that fathers who took between 14 and 40 weeks of leave exhibited fewer depressive symptoms when their children were 9 and 27 months old. However, the study noted that fathers taking between 5 and 13 weeks, or those exceeding 40 weeks, did not show the same reduction in depressive symptoms, suggesting that extremely long absences might introduce financial or career-related stressors.