Transition to Parenthood in Couples: The Role of Communal Parenting on Relationship Satisfaction & Depression Jonathan J. Covarrubias & Kristin D. Mickelson Arizona State University School of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Transition to Parenthood & Relationship Satisfaction One of the most consistent findings during the transition to parenthood is a decrease in marital satisfaction following the birth of a couple’s first child (e.g. Belsky & Kelly, 1994) Period surrounding the transition to parenthood seems to impact husbands and wives differently Women experience more positive and negative changes than men

Sex Differences in Transition Women are more directly involved, in many cases, in parenting More recent trend toward egalitarianism in parenting with men being more involved than in past generations However, research also suggests a shift toward more traditional gender attitudes with the transition to parenthood – especially for men (Cowan & Cowan, 1992) Thus, women may experience greater declines in relationship satisfaction than men (Belsky, Spanier, & Rovine, 1983)

Transition to Parenthood & Personal Distress Many first-time parents report that they feel unprepared for the transition to parenthood (Vanzetti & Duck, 1996) Pregnancy is known to be a potential trigger for depression and anxiety in expectant parents (e.g. Entwisle & Doering, 1988; Matthey, S., Barnett, B., Howie, P., & Kavanagh, D.J., 2003) Less research on men - researchers have found that some men experience depression both during pregnancy and in the postpartum period (e.g. Morse, Buist, & Durkin, 2000; Raskin, Richman, & Gaines, 1990), but anxiety is highest for men during pregnancy and then declines after the birth – suggesting that increased anxiety for men may be a result of concerns about the transition to parenthood (e.g. Glazer, 1980; Teixeira, Figueiredo, Conde, Pacheco, & Costa, 2009).

COMMUNAL COPING Stress Appraisal Action My Our responsibility Communal (our problem) Individual help/support provision our problem – my responsibility Communal Coping our problem – our responsibility Action My responsibility Our responsibility Individualism my problem – my responsibility Help/support seeking my problem – our responsibility Individual (my problem)

Communal Coping and Transition to Parenthood Belsky and Kelly (1994) argue it is important for couples to view the transition to parenthood as happening to the couple communally rather than individually Definition: feelings of responsibility about parenting and the issues arising from it Couples who view the experience collectively rather than separately will work together to discuss issues that arise and determine ways to reduce potential negative stress on their lives However, an earlier study of mine found that being concordant on feelings of communal pregnancy responsibility was related to better mental health and relationship satisfaction for expectant mothers only (Biehle & Mickelson, 2011).

What happens when one views parenting as communal and the co-parent does not?

Study Hypotheses H1: Fathers will be more likely to view early parenting as communal, whereas mothers will be more likely to view it as her responsibility. H2: Discordance regarding the perceived responsibility for parenting will be related to less relationship satisfaction and more depression. H3: Spousal support and conflict will mediate the association between communal responsibility and relationship satisfaction and depression. H5: For the latter two hypotheses, results will be stronger for mothers than fathers.

Baby T.I.M.E. Study Recruited from online pregnancy sites and local birthing classes Couples were interviewed during 3rd trimester, 1-month, 4-months postpartum, and 9-months postpartum Sample: 104 married/cohabiting couples expecting their first child (i.e., primiparous) 93 fathers and 94 mothers completed at 1-month 86 fathers and 88 mothers completed at 4-months 91.3% married and 8.7% cohabiting; living together for average of 3.29 years; average household income between $60K-$80K; 56.5% had a baby girl Mother were 28.5 years on average and fathers were 30.3 years on average Approximately 90% of the sample was White; 77.9% mothers and 67.4% of fathers have a college education or higher

Measures Communal Responsibility for Parenting 1) “When issues arise about parenting, whose responsibility is it to try to deal with the issues?” 2) “When thinking about parenting, how do you consider it?” 1 = completely my/my partner’s responsibility; 2 = partially my/my partner’s responsibility; 3 = completely our responsibility Relationship Satisfaction Relationship Assessment Scale (Hendrick, 1988) Fathers: α = .77; Mothers: α = .81 Depression CES-D (Radloff, 1977) Fathers: α = .87; Mothers: α = .88 Spousal Support & Conflict Adapted from UCLA Social Support Inventory (Dunkel-Schetter, Feinstein & Call, 1986)

Fathers Mothers Mean SD 4.80 .75 4.81 .73 4.74 .70 .74 9.12b 6.77 Relationship Satisfaction 1-month 4.80 .75 4.81 .73 4-months 4.74 .70 .74 Depression 9.12b 6.77 11.73a 8.10 8.20a 6.55 9.86a Spousal Support 2.92 .61 3.05 3.06 .58 .56 Spousal Conflict 0.66a .59 1.04b 0.82a .67 1.08b .76

Couples’ Breakdown – Parenting Responsibility

Couples’ Breakdown - Thinking About Parenting

Disagreement on Communal Thinking (1-month) Proximal Mediation for Mothers: Discordance on Communal Thinking and Depression Spousal Conflict (1-month) 0.51** 5.46*** Disagreement on Communal Thinking (1-month) Depression (4-months) 0.73 0.49 -0.22 Spousal Support (1-month) Indirect Effect Spousal Conflict = 2.79, SE = 1.58, 95% CI [0.54, 6.82], p = .02 ***p < .001, **p < .01

Disagreement on Communal Responsibility Proximal Mediation for Mothers: Discordance on Communal Responsibility and Depression Spousal Conflict (1-month) 4.41** 0.42* Disagreement on Communal Responsibility (1-month) Depression (4-months) 1.86 0.78 -0.40** Spousal Support (1-month) Indirect Effect Spousal Conflict = 1.85, SE = 1.11, 95% CI [0.39, 4.87], p = .05 ***p < .001, **p < .01, *p<.05

Proximal Mediation for Mothers: Discordance on Communal Responsibility and Relationship Satisfaction Spoousal Conflict (1-month) -0.20 0.41* Relationship Satisfaction (4-months) Disagreement on Communal Responsibility (1-month) 0.21 0.54*** -0.47** Spousal Support (1-month) Indirect Effect Spousal Support = -0.22, SE = 0.10, 95% CI [-0.49,-0.07], p = .03 **p < .001, *p < .05, +p<.07

CONCLUSIONS Most couples agree on their parenting being communal; however, when there was discordance it was most often in the direction of fathers thinking communally while mothers perceived parenting as primarily her responsibility. Support was only found for mediation among mothers on both relationship satisfaction and depression. Mediation for depression was through spousal conflict, whereas mediation for relationship satisfaction was through spousal support LIMITATIONS: Homogenous small sample, single communal parenting items, and not much variability in the agreement- disagreement

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Proximal Mediation for Mothers: Discordance on Communal Thinking and Relationship Satisfaction Spousal Conflict (1-month) 0.57** -0.24+ Relationship Satisfaction (4-months) Disagreement on Communal Thinking (1-month) -0.01 0.51** -0.24 Spousal Support (1-month) Indirect Effect Spousal Conflict = -0.14, SE = 0.11, 95% CI [-0.45,-0.001] **p < .001, *p < .05, +p<.07

Proximal Mediation for Fathers: Discordance on Communal Thinking and Relationship Satisfaction Negative Support (W2) -0.19 0.16 Disagreement on Communal Thinking (W2) Relationship Satisfaction (W3) -0.13 -0.20 0.46** Positive Support (W2) **p < .01

Disagreement on Communal Thinking (W2) Proximal Mediation for Fathers: Discordance on Communal Thinking and Depression Negative Support (W2) 0.19 6.20*** Disagreement on Communal Thinking (W2) Depression (W3) 0.39 1.37 -0.28+ Positive Support (W2) ***p < .001, +p < .07

Proximal Mediation for Fathers: Discordance on Communal Responsibility and Relationship Satisfaction Negative Support (W2) -0.20 0.09 Disagreement on Communal Responsibility (W2) Relationship Satisfaction (W3) 0.12 -0.22 0.46** Positive Support (W2) **p < .01

Disagreement on Communal Responsibility (W2) Proximal Mediation for Fathers: Discordance on Communal Responsibility and Depression Negative Support (W2) 0.09 4.33** Disagreement on Communal Responsibility (W2) Depression (W3) 2.80* 0.53 -0.21 Positive Support (W2) ***p < .001, *p < .05