Predicting relationship change across the transition to parenthood: Resources and risk factors

Abstract

This dissertation investigates how parents’ romantic relationship changes across the transition to parenthood. Using two longitudinal datasets (N = 109 and N = 210 couples) it aims to identify pre-pregnancy and prenatal strengths and vulnerabilities that predict adaptation to, and relationship quality change across, the transition to parenthood up to several years post-partum. The first study examined positive relationship processes as resources that predict parent’s adaptation to parenthood. The second studied pre-pregnancy happiness as a resource that predicts changes in relationship commitment across the transition to parenthood. The third and fourth studies explored the existence of subgroups in changes in relationship satisfaction, and resources and risk factors as predictors of subgroup membership. The results show that parents with higher levels of resources and lower levels of risk factors fare better across the transition to parenthood in terms of relationship satisfaction, commitment, and adaptation. The predictive power of pre-pregnancy and prenatal factors suggest that childbirth does not create sudden changes in the relationship, but intensifies pre-existing strengths and weaknesses in the relationship. In addition, the results show that parents are a diverse group with unique patterns of change across the transition to parenthood. The majority of parents reported stable relationship satisfaction across the transition to parenthood, while only small subgroups experienced a (strong) decline in satisfaction. The results suggest that early detection of at-risk parents is possible, and this implies that that the efficacy of interventions might be improved by focusing on these parents and increasing their personal and relational resources.