Relationship Satisfaction Across the Transition to Parenthood Among Interracial Couples: An Integrative Model

Various studies have demonstrated associations between personality disorders and relationship satisfaction. The authors examine the associations between attention seeking and grandiosity, both features of narcissistic personality disorder, and relationship satisfaction before and after the transition to parenthood. The authors then expand their analysis to parental satisfaction and postpartum depression (PPD). Nonclinical couples (N = 103 couples) expecting their first child completed measures of grandiosity, attention seeking, and relationship satisfaction before birth, and of relationship satisfaction, parental satisfaction, and PPD symptoms 3 months afterward. Attention seeking was associated with less parental satisfaction and more PPD symptoms, and with less prepartum relationship satisfaction for participants' partners. For men, attention seeking was also associated with prepartum relationship satisfaction. Grandiosity was associated with a decrease in relationship satisfaction after birth, although, surprisingly with fewer PPD symptoms for participants’ partners. The authors discuss how these findings might be related to changes in social support and work–life balance during the transition to parenthood.

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Understanding in transition: The influence of becoming parents on empathic accuracy

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ◽

10.1177/0265407520924124 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (8-9) ◽

pp. 2366-2385

Author(s):

Jerica X. Bornstein ◽

Eshkol Rafaeli ◽

Marci E.J. Gleason

Keyword(s):

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Negative Mood ◽

Empathic Accuracy ◽

Relationship Functioning ◽

Major Life ◽

Daily Diary Study ◽

First Child ◽

Relationship Partners ◽

Life Stressor

Empathic accuracy (EA), the ability to understand a close other’s thoughts and feelings, is linked to relationship satisfaction. Yet, it is unclear whether stress interferes with relationship partners’ ability to be empathically accurate. The present study investigates whether a major life stressor, the transition to parenthood (TTP), interferes with EA between partners. In a daily diary study of 78 couples expecting their first child, couples reported on their own and their partners’ daily mood for 3 weeks during three separate time periods across the TTP: pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood. Both mothers and their partners demonstrated EA across the TTP. However, there was evidence that the transition interfered with EA: Partners’ ability to track mothers’ negative mood dropped significantly during infancy and remained low in toddlerhood, whereas mothers’ ability to track their partners’ positive mood dropped significantly in infancy and recovered in toddlerhood. This suggests that one way in which a major life stressor, in this case, the TTP, may interfere with relationship functioning is by decreasing couples’ understanding of each other’s mood states.

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A Dyadic Study on Perceived Stress and Couple Adjustment During Pregnancy: The Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x20934834 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (11) ◽

pp. 1935-1955 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Franco Baldoni ◽

Michele Giannotti ◽

Giulia Casu ◽

Valerio Luperini ◽

Federico Spelzini

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Dyadic Adjustment ◽

Third Trimester ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Couple Adjustment ◽

The Relationship

Stress is associated with dyadic adjustment during transition to parenthood, but little is known about mechanisms underlying this link, particularly during prenatal period. This dyadic study explored the mediating role of depressive symptoms in the relationship between perceived stress and dyadic adjustment in expectant couples. One hundred and fourteen couples at the third trimester of pregnancy completed self-reports of perceived stress, depression, and dyadic adjustment. Results indicated that both parents’ perceived stress was associated with their own lower relationship satisfaction directly and indirectly, through their own higher depressive symptoms. Mothers’ perceived stress was also linked to higher fathers’ depressive symptoms, and thus also to lower fathers’ relationship satisfaction. Both parents’ perceived stress was only directly associated with their own dyadic consensus, and their own and their partners’ affectional expression. Findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing expectant parents’ perceived stress could protect against depressive symptoms and promote the couple’s adjustment during pregnancy.

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Dyad to triad: A longitudinal analysis of humor and pregnancy intention during the transition to parenthood

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ◽

10.1177/0265407519831076 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 36 (11-12) ◽

pp. 3611-3630

Author(s):

Jaclyn C. Theisen ◽

Brian G. Ogolsky ◽

Jeffry A. Simpson ◽

W. Steven Rholes

Keyword(s):

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Longitudinal Design ◽

Unplanned Pregnancy ◽

Stressful Life Event ◽

Positive Association ◽

Pregnancy Intention ◽

Stress Buffering ◽

Aggressive Humor ◽

First Time

The transition to parenthood is a stressful life event that often leads to decreases in relationship satisfaction over time. Guided by the Stress Buffering Model, we examined how pregnancy intention and humor use are associated with relationship satisfaction across the transition to parenthood using a multi-wave longitudinal design. First-time parents were initially assessed prenatally and then every 6-month postpartum for 2 years. Six months after birth, each couple was video-recorded engaging in two support discussions where each partner’s use of different humor styles was observed and rated. The results revealed a positive association between affiliative humor use (assessed at 6-month postpartum) and relationship satisfaction (assessed across the entire transition) for men and women. For men only, there was an interaction between pregnancy intention (assessed prenatally) and aggressive humor use (assessed 6-month postpartum). Specifically, when the pregnancy was unplanned, men who displayed higher levels of aggressive humor at 6-month postpartum reported higher overall relationship satisfaction. There also was a significant interaction between men’s (but not women’s) affiliative humor use and pregnancy intention, such that when men reported an unplanned pregnancy, their greater use of affiliative humor buffered declines in their relationship satisfaction. These findings suggest that, for men, greater use of affiliative humor appears to forestall declines in their relationship satisfaction. More broadly, different forms of humor may promote or sustain higher levels of relationship satisfaction in men across the chronically stressful transition to parenthood because they serve key communicative functions.

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Is it me or you? First-time mothers’ attributions for postpartum sexual concerns are associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction in the transition to parenthood

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ◽

10.1177/0265407517743086 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 577-599 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Sarah A. Vannier ◽

Kaitlyn E. Adare ◽

Natalie O. Rosen

Keyword(s):

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Intimate Relationships ◽

Sexual Functioning ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Four Dimensions ◽

Wide Range ◽

First Time Mothers ◽

Sexual Concerns ◽

First Time

Most first-time mothers experience a decline in both their sexual and relationship satisfaction from prepregnancy, which has negative consequences for the couple and their family. Prior studies have begun to identify risk and protective factors (e.g., empathy) for postpartum sexual and relationship satisfaction. Causal attributions for postpartum sexual concerns may be important because a specific cause can be difficult to pinpoint given the wide range of postpartum sexual problems among first-time parents. In the current study, 120 first-time mothers (3–12 months postpartum) completed validated measures assessing attributions for postpartum sexual concerns, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction. Attributions were measured on four dimensions: internal/external (i.e., is the sexual concern due to the self or the situation), stable/unstable (i.e., will the cause of the concern occur again in the future), global/specific (i.e., will the cause of the concern affect other situations), and partner responsibility (i.e., is the partner the cause). When new mothers reported more stable and partner attributions for postpartum sexual concerns, they were less sexually satisfied, and when they attributed greater responsibility for sexual concerns to their partners, they were less satisfied with their overall relationship. These associations remained significant after controlling for potential challenges that may also impact sexual and relationship satisfaction during this period (i.e., breastfeeding, sexual frequency, depressive symptoms, fatigue, sexual functioning). As postpartum sexual concerns are common, attributions for these changes may be a valuable target for interventions aimed at strengthening the intimate relationships of women making the transition to parenthood.

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Relationship Satisfaction Across the Transition to Parenthood: The Impact of Conflict Behavior

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x19876084 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (3) ◽

pp. 383-411 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Björn Huss ◽

Matthias Pollmann-Schult

Keyword(s):

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Strong Support ◽

Conflict Behavior ◽

Transition To Motherhood ◽

Differential Vulnerability ◽

Relationship Conflicts ◽

Differential Exposure ◽

Vulnerability Hypothesis ◽

The Impact

The transition to parenthood is often accompanied by declines in relationship satisfaction. Using longitudinal data from six waves of the German family panel pairfam ( N = 1,739), the authors tested whether these declines are driven by increases in and more intense forms of conflict (differential exposure hypothesis) and by a greater sensitivity to relationship conflicts after the transition to parenthood (differential vulnerability hypothesis). The analyses showed strong support for the differential exposure hypothesis among women and partial support among men. Across the transition to motherhood, women experience increases in conflict that account for decreases in relationship satisfaction. The findings showed no support for the differential vulnerability hypothesis, as neither men’s nor women’s relationship satisfaction becomes more sensitive to relationship conflicts across the transition to parenthood.

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Improved Child Mental Health Following Brief Relationship Enhancement and Co-Parenting Interventions During the Transition to Parenthood

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17030766 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 766

Author(s):

Lianne M. Tomfohr-Madsen ◽

Gerald F. Giesbrecht ◽

Joshua W. Madsen ◽

Anna MacKinnon ◽

Yunying Le ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Child Mental Health ◽

Internalizing Symptoms ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Externalizing Symptoms ◽

Parenting Intervention ◽

Negative Emotionality ◽

Emotional And Behavioral Problems ◽

Parenting Interventions

The transition to parenthood has been identified as a significant relationship stressor. Many couples report declines in relationship satisfaction and difficulty with individual stress and co-parenting—problems that have been associated with both child temperament as well as emotional and behavioral problems. Several parenting and relationship interventions have been developed to buffer against these difficulties. In the current study, we report secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial of brief (6-h) interventions that focused on improving either relationship satisfaction or co-parenting, delivered during pregnancy and the early postpartum period. In this trial, 90 opposite-sex couples (180 participants), who were pregnant with their first child, and were assessed as being at high risk for declines in relationship satisfaction, were randomized to receive either (1) a relationship intervention, (2) a co-parenting intervention, or (3) an information control. At 12 months postpartum, couples who received either the relationship or co-parenting intervention rated their infants as having lower negative emotionality and as having fewer externalizing symptoms compared to the information-only control. Lower externalizing symptoms at 12 months were, in turn, associated with reduced externalizing symptoms at 24 months postpartum. Whereas, lower ratings of child negative emotionality at 12 months were associated with reduced internalizing symptoms at 24 months postpartum. These results indicate that brief relationship or co-parenting interventions delivered during the transition to parenthood have secondary benefits for child mental health.

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Relationship Behaviors across the Transition to Parenthood

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x19878864 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 483-506 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Valentina Rauch-Anderegg ◽

Rebekka Kuhn ◽

Anne Milek ◽

W. Kim Halford ◽

Guy Bodenmann

Keyword(s):

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

Transition To Parenthood ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Dyadic Coping ◽

Relationship Education ◽

Negative Behaviors ◽

First Child ◽

Negative Communication ◽

Regulation Strategies

The transition to parenthood (TTP) often is associated with declines in couple relationship satisfaction. The current study evaluated changes in three relationship behaviors, namely communication, dyadic coping and relationship self-regulation, across the TTP and the association of those behaviors with relationship satisfaction. One hundred and three couples completed questionnaires twice before and three times after the birth of their first child. Prenatally, all behaviors were stable, except negative communication that declined. Postnatally, positive relationship behaviors decreased in both genders, and negative communication increased in men. Negative behaviors were associated with relationship satisfaction throughout the TTP. Furthermore, relationship self-regulation strategies and males’ negative dyadic coping prospectively predicted male relationship satisfaction, while men’s supportive dyadic coping predicted female relationship satisfaction. Enhancing positive relationship behaviors through relationship education programs might help couples successfully adjust to parenthood.

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