The role of mutually responsive orientation in promoting relationship satisfaction for first-time and experienced parents: An investigation from pregnancy to toddlerhood

E. Ramsdell, Frances C. Calkins, Rebecca L. Brock
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Abstract

The transition to parenthood creates a context for family reorganization that can place couples at risk for declining relationship satisfaction; however, few studies have examined the experiences of parents navigating this transition while parenting other children in the home. Further, there is a critical need to identify factors explaining unique trajectories of relationship satisfaction and determine whether these factors serve similar functions for first-time versus experienced parents. The goal of the present study was to examine relationship satisfaction across the pregnancy-postpartum transition for not only first-time, but also experienced parents, and identify prenatal couple dynamics and contextual factors that explain individual differences in these trajectories across parenting groups. We pursued these aims in a sample of 152 mixed-sex couples, across five waves of data spanning pregnancy to 2 years postpartum. First-time and experienced parents demonstrated unique trajectories of relationship satisfaction across the transition to parenthood. Greater mutually responsive orientation (i.e., MRO; an established system of attunement, reciprocity, cooperation, and warmth) between partners during pregnancy was associated with higher overall levels of relationship satisfaction spanning pregnancy to 2 years postpartum for first-time mothers and low-income experienced mothers and less relationship satisfaction decline over time for low-income experienced fathers. The present study replicates past work suggesting that experienced parents are also at risk for relationship discord across the pregnancy-postpartum transition and identifies prenatal MRO as a dyadic relationship quality that maintains and promotes satisfaction across this transition, warranting closer attention in future research and interventions.
相互响应导向在促进首次为人父母和经验丰富的父母关系满意度中的作用:从怀孕到幼儿期的调查
为人父母的转变为家庭重组创造了环境,这可能会使夫妻关系满意度面临下降的风险;然而,很少有研究考察了父母在养育家中其他孩子的同时经历这一转变的经验。此外,我们亟需找出解释夫妻关系满意度独特轨迹的因素,并确定这些因素是否对初次为人父母和经验丰富的父母起着相似的作用。本研究的目的是考察首次为人父母和经验丰富的父母在怀孕-产后过渡期间的关系满意度,并确定产前夫妻动态和环境因素,以解释不同育儿群体在这些轨迹上的个体差异。为了实现这些目标,我们对 152 对男女混合夫妇进行了抽样调查,共收集了从怀孕到产后两年的五波数据。初次为人父母和经验丰富的父母在为人父母的过渡时期表现出独特的关系满意度轨迹。初次为人父母的母亲和有经验的低收入母亲在怀孕期间伴侣间更大程度的相互回应取向(即 MRO;一种已建立的调适、互惠、合作和温暖系统)与从怀孕到产后 2 年的总体关系满意度较高相关,而有经验的低收入父亲的关系满意度随着时间的推移下降较少。本研究重复了过去的工作,表明有经验的父母在怀孕-产后过渡期间也面临关系不和谐的风险,并确定产前 MRO 是维持和促进这一过渡期间满意度的一种伴侣关系质量,值得在未来的研究和干预中予以密切关注。
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