Dads of young children are being invited to take part in a new UQ study (University of Queensland) exploring how self-compassion can help strengthen parent-child connections.
Led by Associate Professor James Kirby from UQ’s School of Psychology, the research team is calling for 500 fathers of children aged three to nine to participate in a free, online program designed to promote self-compassion and support dads’ wellbeing.
“Self-compassion simply means noticing your own suffering and doing something to help alleviate it,” Dr Kirby said. “It’s about being kind to yourself, validating and reassuring yourself, accepting what is, and encouraging yourself to keep going.
“So often we ignore our pain or try to avoid it, but self-compassion takes courage.”
UQ study is first of its kind
Dr Kirby said this is the first program of its kind developed specifically for fathers and offers practical tools to manage everyday parenting challenges.
The self-directed online program takes around 50 minutes to complete and includes short surveys as part of the research. The goal is to help dads and significant male caregivers respond to their children with greater empathy and patience.
“Strong father-child attachments predict positive social and emotional outcomes for children,” Dr Kirby said. “But many dads feel stressed and under pressure as they juggle multiple roles. During these times, they can be hard on themselves — especially when mistakes happen — which can make things worse.
“This project aims to build fathers’ self-compassion, because dads with high self-compassion are better able to regulate emotions and connect with their kids in meaningful ways.”
The UQ study, run by researchers from UQ’s Compassionate Mind Research Group, is open to fathers across Australia and includes a follow-up survey three months later.
To learn more or take part, visit The Compassionate Mind Research Group.
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