01 / Friendship
Dads need people, too.
Showing up for your family can coexist with wanting friendships of your own. Interviews with new fathers bring that need for connection into focus.
Explore the fathers’ experiences →Learning / The case for community
We show up
for each other.
Fatherhood asks us to show up for our families. Dad’s Club makes room for something dads need, too: friendship, belonging, and a community of their own.
Why community mattersThree reasons to make room for community
Connection belongs
in a dad’s life.
02 / Belonging
Community has a place.
Family, work, and community offer different kinds of connection. Research on fathers’ community ties gives us a reason to value relationships beyond the workplace.
Explore community ties →03 / Showing up
Make room for one another.
Research underscores the importance of social relationships. Our response is practical: regular gatherings, real conversation, and opportunities to turn familiar faces into friends.
Explore the relationship research →Our purpose is community.
These studies help explain why connection matters. They did not test Dad’s Club or prove that joining a group causes a particular outcome. We’re here to create opportunities for friendship and belonging.
Four studies worth knowing
The evidence behind
the conversation.
The importance of relationships
The importance of social relationships.
Explore the study
What researchers studied: 148 studies involving 308,849 participants, examining social relationships and mortality.
What they found: Stronger social relationships were associated with higher odds of survival during follow-up (pooled odds ratio: 1.50).
Keep in mind: This was not a study specifically of fathers or Dad’s Club. The finding does not mean joining a club extends life by 50%, and it does not establish causation.
Read the full reviewCommunity ties
Connections beyond work matter.
Explore the study
What researchers studied: An analysis of 398 couples recruited at two hospitals in Tokyo, with fathers followed from the first week after birth to three months.
What they found: Stronger reported community social capital—trust and connection in the community—was associated with fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms at three months. Workplace social capital did not show the same association.
Keep in mind: This observational study cannot establish that community ties caused the difference. Its setting and sample also limit generalization.
Read the full studyBelonging and support
The supporter needs support.
Explore the study
What researchers studied: Interviews with 12 fathers in Ireland who had babies aged six months or younger, during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
What they found: Fathers connected their loneliness with a lack of support. They described financial pressures, balancing family roles, and feeling excluded from maternity care.
Keep in mind: Interviews illuminate lived experiences; this small, pandemic-era study cannot tell us how common loneliness is among all fathers.
Read the full studySupporting evidence / Fathers’ experiences
Additional context: the transition to fatherhood.
Explore the study
What researchers studied: 74 studies involving 41,480 fathers, covering pregnancy through the first year after birth.
What they found: The pooled estimate of paternal depression was 8.4% (95% confidence interval: 7.2–9.6%). Estimates varied substantially across studies.
Keep in mind: This is a combined prenatal and postpartum estimate, not a diagnosis rate for every group of new dads. Differences in measures and study settings matter.
Read the study abstractFrom research to a seat at the table
Meet as dads.
Grow as a community.
We’re building a place where dads know one another, welcome new faces, and make connection part of their lives.
Every gathering is another opportunity to start a conversation, hear a different perspective, and strengthen a friendship. That is the work of Dad’s Club.
Find your next gathering