Paternal involvement in childcare and unintentional injury of young children: a population-based cohort study in Japan.

BACKGROUND Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death in young children. A previous study reported the protective effect of maternal parenting on young childhood injury; however, few studies have shown an association between paternal involvement in childcare and young childhood injury. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of paternal involvement in childcare to reduce the likelihood of childhood injury. METHODS A population-based birth cohort study in Japan (2001-02), the 'Longitudinal Survey of Babies Born in 21st Century', was used (n = 42 144). The impact of paternal involvement in childcare of 6-month-old infants (feeding, diaper change, bathing, putting the child to sleep, playing, taking a walk) on the incidence of young childhood injury (fall, near-drowning, accidental ingestion or burn) until 18 months of age was analysed by multiple logistic regression. RESULTS Infants who received a high degree of paternal involvement in childcare at 6 months were less likely to suffer from all unintentional injuries at 18 months than those who received a low degree of paternal involvement in childcare (adjusted odds ratio 0.91, 95% confidence interval 0.85-0.98). Taking the child for a walk by the father strongly prevented all unintentional injuries, and there were dose-effect relationships (P(trend) < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Paternal involvement in childcare at 6 months of age prevented childhood injury at 18 months of age. Paternal involvement in childcare might be a useful indicator for predicting childhood injury.