The effect of fathers' involvement and supportive coparenting partnership on Taiwanese new mothers' postpartum adjustment

Objective

In the present study, the cognitive theory of stress and coping was adopted as a framework and a mediation model was developed to investigate the long-term effect of fathers' involvement in child care and mothers' appraisal of a supportive coparenting partnership (SCP) on postpartum depressed mood (PDM) and parenting self-efficacy (PSE) in Taiwanese new mothers.

Background

Due to the risk of PDM and low PSE, many new mothers struggle with first-time motherhood. It is therefore meaningful to investigate the benefits of potential protective factors that can reduce the risk of PDM and enhance PSE, such as fathers' involvement in child care and mothers' appraisal of an SCP, to improve new mothers' postpartum adjustment.

Method

Using secondary data from the nationwide longitudinal project Kids in Taiwan, we analyzed data provided by 2,020 Taiwanese new mothers at 3 and 6 months after delivery. We conducted structural equation modeling to test our hypothetical mediation model.

Results

Fathers' involvement in child care was significantly positively related to mothers' appraisal of an SCP, which in turn had a significant effect on reducing the risk of PDM and increasing PSE in Taiwanese new mothers both concurrently and 3 months later.

Conclusion

This study highlighted the concurrent and long-term benefits of fathers' involvement in child care for new mothers' postpartum adjustment and the importance of new mothers' appraisal of an SCP as a significant mediator.

Implications

These findings warrant the attention and efforts of family life educators, marriage counselors, and other experts in related fields to promote better parenting experiences for new parents.