Daily self-esteem and relationship quality in first-time parents

Abstract

Do people feel better about themselves on days when they are more satisfied with their relationship? This study addressed this question in a sample of 238 first-time parents who provided daily reports of their self-esteem and relationship quality 6 weeks before, 6 months after, and 18 months after the birth of their first child. Consistent with theory and between-person evidence, we found both mothers and fathers to have higher self-esteem on days when they were more satisfied with their relationship than on an average day. The link between daily relationship quality and self-esteem was robust across the transition to parenthood and generalized across people with different levels of dispositional self-esteem and ages.