Beyond the 90 Reserved Days for Each Parent: Associations Between Fathers' Parental Leave Duration and Depression Symptoms in a Swedish National Cohort Study.

Abstract

<b>Objectives.</b> To examine whether paternal leave duration is associated with fathers' depression. <b>Methods.</b> Data from 746 Swedish fathers of children aged 0 to 24 months participated in a national cohort during December 2021 through February 2022 and were followed up 18 months later (July 2023 to January 2024). Fathers reported their depression at both waves and leave duration at follow-up. Logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between leave duration and depression at follow-up after adjustment for baseline depression, maternal leave, sociodemographic factors, coparenting, bonding, and child health care engagement. <b>Results.</b> Fathers taking 14 to 40 weeks of parental leave had lower odds of depression (adjusted odds ratio = 0.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.22, 0.82) than fathers taking 0 to 4 weeks of leave; predicted probabilities were 0.25 (95% CI = 0.15, 0.37) versus 0.12 (95% CI = 0.09, 0.16). No significant benefit was observed for 5 to 13 or 41 or more weeks of leave. <b>Conclusions.</b> Taking parental leave beyond the reserved 90 days appears to protect fathers' mental health, positioning leave duration as a structural determinant of men's health. <b>Public Health Implications.</b> Encouraging fathers to take longer parental leave could be a population-level strategy to reduce depression risk and promote family well-being. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2026;116(8):1121-1129. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308589).