1. 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

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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).

5. 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)

6. 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).

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

9. 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.

10. 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 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

11. 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)

12. 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

13. Couples’ Breakdown – Parenting Responsibility

14. Couples’ Breakdown - Thinking About Parenting

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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