The majority of previous studies focused on mothers’ distress and considered partner support from the father to the mother. The current research studies the level and the course of distress and partner support in new mothers and fathers during the transition to parenthood and tests the protective role of partner support against distress. Data were collected in a two-wave longitudinal design from 53 heterosexual couples. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires at two measurement occasions, that is, in the third trimester of pregnancy and 3 months after childbirth. The results provided arguments in favor of a dyadic perspective on distress during the transition to parenthood. No difference was displayed between mothers and fathers before and after childbirth. The level of distress decreased in mothers and also in fathers but only for those whose partner’s distress also decreased. The importance of partner support against postpartum distress was highlighted for mothers and fathers.
BelskyJ. (1984). The determinants of parenting: A process model. Child Development, 55(3), 83-96.
2.
BrannanA. M.HefflingerC. A. (2001). Distinguishing caregiver strain from psychological distress: Modeling the relationships among child, family, and caregiver variables. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 10, 405-418.
3.
BrockR. L.O’HaraM. W.HartK. J.McCabeJ. E.WilliamsonJ. A.LaplanteD. P.. . . KingS. (2014). Partner support and maternal depression in the context of the Iowa floods. Journal of Family Psychology, 28, 832-843. doi:10.1037/fam0000027
4.
ColeD. A.MaxwellS. E. (2003). Testing mediational models with longitudinal data: Questions and tips in the use of structural equation modeling. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112, 558-577.
5.
CookW. L.KennyD. A. (2005). The actor–partner interdependence model: A model of bidirectional effects in developmental studies. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 101-109.
6.
DeaveT.JohnsonD.IngramJ. (2008). Transition to parenthood: the needs of parents in pregnancy and early parenthood. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 8, 30.
7.
DelicateA.AyersS.McMullenS. (2018). A systematic review and meta-synthesis of the impact of becoming parents on the couple relationship. Midwifery, 61, 88-96.
8.
ErdfelderE.FaulF.BuchnerA. (1996). GPOWER: A general power analysis program. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 28, 1-11.
9.
FavezN. (2013). La transition à la parentalité et les réaménagements de la relation de couple [Transition to parenthood and reorganization of the relationship within the couple]. Dialogue: Recherches sur le Couple et la Famille, 199, 73-83. doi:10.3917/dia.199.0073
10.
GaldioloS.RoskamI. (2014). Development of personality traits in response to childbirth: A longitudinal dyadic perspective. Personality and Individual Differences, 69, 223-230.
11.
GaldioloS.RoskamI. (2017). Development of attachment orientations in response to childbirth: A longitudinal dyadic perspective. Personality and Individual Differences, 108, 136-143.
12.
GeorgyD.MalleryP. (2001). SPSS for Windows, step by step: A simple guide and reference. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
13.
GleasonM. E. J.IidaM.ShroutP. E.BolgerN. (2008). Receiving support as a mixed blessing: Evidence for dual effects of support on psychological outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 824-838. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.94.5.824
14.
GmelchS.BodenmannG.MeuwlyN.LedermannT.Steffen-SozinovaO.StrieglK. (2008). Dyadisches Coping Inventar (DCI): Ein Fragebogen zur Erfassung des partnerschaftlichen Umgangs mit Stress [Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI): A questionnaire for assessing how people deal with stress in partnership]. Zeitschrift für Familienforschung–Journal of Family Research, 20, 185-202.
15.
GrahamH.OakleyA. (2005). Medical and maternal perspectives on pregnancy. In ScamblerG. (Ed.), Medical sociology: Major themes in health and social welfare: Vol. 3. Coping with illness (pp. 110-122). Abingdon, England: Routledge.
16.
HendersonJ.RedshawM. (2013). Anxiety in the perinatal period: Antenatal and postnatal influences and women’s experience of care. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 31, 465-478. doi:10.1080/02646838.2013.835037
17.
IBM. (2015). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (Version 23.0). Armonk, NY: Author.
18.
KashyD.KennyD. (1999). The analysis of data from dyads and groups. Handbook of research methods in social psychology. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
19.
KeizerR.SchenkN. (2012). Becoming a parent and relationship satisfaction: A longitudinal dyadic perspective. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74, 759-773. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00991.x
20.
KerstisB.EngströmG.EdlundB.AartsC. (2013). Association between mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms, sense of coherence and perception of their child’s temperament in early parenthood in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 41, 233-239.
21.
KnoesterC.EggebeenD. J. (2006). The effects of the transition to parenthood and subsequent children on men’s well-being and social participation. Journal of Family Issues, 27(11), 1532-1560. doi:10.1177/0192513X06290802
22.
Kuersten-HoganR. (2017). Bridging the gap across the transition to coparenthood: Triadic interactions and coparenting representations from pregnancy through 12 months postpartum. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 475.
23.
LaxmanD. J.McBrideB. A.JeansL. M.DyerW. J.SantosR. M.KernJ. L.. . . Weglarz-WardJ. M. (2015). Father involvement and maternal depressive symptoms in families of children with disabilities or delays. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 19, 1078-1086. doi:10.1007/s10995-014-1608-7
24.
LeeK. J.RobertsG.DoyleL. W.AndersonP. J.CarlinJ. B. (2016). Multiple imputation for missing data in a longitudinal cohort study: A tutorial based on a detailed case study involving imputation of missing outcome data. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 19, 575-591.
25.
LindorffM. (2000). Is it better to perceive than receive? Social support, stress and strain for managers. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 5, 271-286. doi:10.1080/713690199
26.
LovibondP. F.LovibondS. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 335-343.
27.
MaoQ.ZhuL. X.SuX. Y. (2011). A comparison of postnatal depression and related factors between Chinese new mothers and fathers. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20, 645-652.
28.
MartinM. W. (2008). Paradoxes of happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 171-184.
29.
NelsonA. M. (2003). Transition to motherhoodJournal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 32, 465-477.
30.
ParfittY.AyersS. (2014). Transition to parenthood and mental health in first-time parents. Infant Mental Health Journal, 35, 263-273. doi:10.1002/imhj.21443
31.
PerrenS.Von WylA.SimoniH.StadlmayrW.BürginD.Von KlitzingK. (2003). Parental psychopathology, marital quality, and the transition to parenthood. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 73, 55-64. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.73.1.55
32.
RaudenbushS. W.ChanW.-S. (1992). Growth curve analysis in accelerated longitudinal designs. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 29, 387-411.
33.
Salmela-AroK.NurmiJ.-E.SaistoT.HalmesmakiE. (2010). Spousal support for personal goals and relationship satisfaction among women during the transition to parenthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 34, 229-237.
34.
SéjournéN.VaslotV.BeauméM.ChabrolH. (2012). Intensité de la dépression postnatale dans un échantillon de pères français [Intensity of postnatal depression in a sample of French fathers]. Psychologie Française, 57, 215-222.
35.
SéjournéN.VaslotV.BeauméM.GoutaudierN.ChabrolH. (2012). The impact of paternity leave and paternal involvement in child care on maternal postpartum depression. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 30, 135-144. doi:10.1080/02646838.2012.693155
36.
SkouterisH.WertheimE. H.GermanoC.PaxtonS. J.MilgromJ. (2009). Assessing sleep during pregnancy: A study across two time points examining the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and associations with depressive symptoms. Women’s Health Issues, 19, 45-51.
37.
SkredenM.SkariH.BjorkM. D.MaltU. F.VeenstraM.FaugliA.. . . EmblemR. (2008). Psychological distress in mothers and fathers of preschool children: A 5-year follow-up study after birth. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 115, 462-471. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2007.01631.x
38.
TwamleyK.BruntonG.SutcliffeK.HindsK.ThomasJ. (2013). Fathers’ involvement and the impact on family mental health: Evidence from millennium cohort study analyses. Community, Work & Family, 16, 212-224. doi:10.1080/13668803.2012.755022
39.
WallaceP. M.GotlibI. H. (1990). Marital adjustment during the transition to parenthood: Stability and predictors of change. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 21-29. doi:10.2307/352834
40.
WarrenP. L. (2004). First-time mothers: Social support and confidence in infant careJournal of Advanced Nursing, 50, 479-488.
