Predictiors And Correlates Of Marital Satisfaction During The Transition To Parenthood

Ninety-six couples were studied during the transition to parenthood in order to assess a) relative contributions of equity and traditionality in sex role attitudes to marital satisfaction prior to parenthood, b) changes in marital satisfaction and equity after the birth of the infant and c) contributions of traditionality, equity, father involvement and infant temperament to marital satisfaction after the birth of the infant. All data were analyzed separately for males and females to examine differences in gender response. A series of hierarchical regressions were used to determine contributions of predictor variables to marital satisfaction both prebirth and postbirth. Repeated measures analysis of variance (gender x time) were used to evaluate changes in marital satisfaction and equity, and a contingency analysis was used to determine categorical changes in equity. At the pretest equity contributed significantly to marital satisfaction for females only. While neither gender showed significant change in equity postbirth, both genders had a significant decline in marital satisfaction. Women's evaluations of their postbirth marital relationship was positively influenced by more non-traditional sex role attitudes and greater father involvement in infant care and negatively influenced by a more temperamentally active infant. Men's postbirth marital satisfaction was not influenced by any of these factors. Equity contributed significantly to the decline of postbirth marital satisfaction for both genders, though more for men than women. Father involvement in the care of the infant was very limited and did not relate to perceptions of equity. These results suggest that women's perception of marital satisfaction after parenthood is more complex than her spouse's, while the amount and significance of father's involvement with infant caretaking suggest little recent change in family practices of infant care.

This 1988 book brings together leading scholars from a range of disciplines concerned with the study of the transition to parenthood. The text discusses the reasons why some new parents experience an enhanced sense of self and a deepening of important relationships, whereas others experience crisis and conflict.

This book presents cutting-edge research and theory on couple relationships, with an emphasis on the implications for child development. It demonstrates the influence of couple relationships on parenting processes and child development; explores the determinants of couple functioning, relationship satisfaction, and relationship stability; and, details the mechanisms by which marital difficulties impact children's development and functioning.

"Previous research has demonstrated that the transition to parenthood is a time of change for couples during which marital satisfaction generally declines; however, not all couples experience declines in marital satisfaction during this time. Given that family-of origin experiences are thought to lay the foundation for adults' experiences in their close interpersonal relationships, the purpose of the current study was to examine remembered parental rejection during childhood as a predictor of individual differences in trajectories of change in marital satisfaction across the transition to parenthood. Drawing upon the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation perspective, marital aggression was considered as a mediating mechanism to better understand the process by which remembered rejection influences change in marital satisfaction. Additionally, the extent to which infant negative emotionality moderates the association between remembered parental rejection and both aggressive strategies to resolve conflict and change in marital satisfaction was examined. In an effort to extend theory and build upon previous research, both self- and partner-remembered parental rejection and aggressive conflict strategies were considered as predictors of change in marital satisfaction. Hypotheses were examined using data drawn from a study of family relationships across the transition to parenthood. Results demonstrated that there was significant variation around wives' but not husbands' trajectories of change in marital satisfaction across the transition to parenthood. Remembered parental rejection was not linked with change in wives' marital satisfaction across the transition to parenthood, independently or in conjunction with infant negative emotionality. In contrast, husbands' remembered maternal rejection was negatively associated with husband's marital satisfaction at six months postpartum, but only among husbands' whose infants were high on negative emotionality. Wives' remembered paternal rejection was negatively associated with husbands' marital satisfaction at six months postpartum. Infant negative emotionality was a significant negative predictor of wives' change in marital satisfaction across the transition to parenthood. There was no evidence of marital aggression as a mediating mechanism."--Abstract from author supplied metadata.

This book studies the transition to parenthood and its effects on individual well-being and couple relationships.

All parents experience stress as they attempt to meet the challenges of caring for their children. This comprehensive book examines the causes and consequences of parenting distress, drawing on a wide array of findings in current empirical research. Kirby Deater-Deckard explores normal and pathological parenting stress, the influences of parents on their children as well as children on their parents, and the effects of biological and environmental factors. Beginning with an overview of theories of stress and coping, Deater-Deckard goes on to describe how parenting stress is linked with problems in adult and child health (emotional problems, developmental disorders, illness); parental behaviors (warmth, harsh discipline); and factors outside the family (marital quality, work roles, cultural influences). The book concludes with a useful review of coping strategies and interventions that have been demonstrated to alleviate parenting stress.

Transition to Parenthood moves beyond a one-study focus and captures multidisciplinary work on all families making the transition to parenthood. The book covers societal trends, changes, and most importantly expectations. Focus is also placed on how families are impacted by their surroundings and their individual members. Strengths and limitations of current theories are discussed, as well as how the phenomenon of parenthood requires a combination of both macro- and micro-level theories.