Attachment Matching and Coparental Interactions in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples Planning Parenthood

Abstract

The present study focuses upon an early step in the transition to parenthood when partners start to plan their pregnancies. We aim to understand the determinants of coparenting in a triadic interactive system prior to conception, exploring the role of partners' attachment histories in their coordination of pre-conception coparenting behaviours. We also wondered how dyadic adjustment of the conjugal couple might interact with partners' attachment similarity in predicting coparenting behaviour. We recruited 111 unmarried Lesbian, Gay and Heterosexuals couples across Italy (N = 49) and Belgium (N = 62), resulting in 222 total participants (64 Gay; 62 Lesbians; 96 Heterosexuals). For each couple, we computed a Couple Average Attachment Security (CAAS) score and a Couple Difference in Attachment Security (CDAS) score. Our results revealed a significant interaction effect between couples' average attachment security and their intra-couple differences in attachment security. We found that partners' average level of attachment security impacted their pre-conception coparental alliance, only when both partners had similar levels of attachment security. Results showed that similar patterns of attachment security between partners predicted the quality of coparental interactions irrespective of whether the potential parenting couple comprised two mothers, two fathers or a heterosexual mother and father.

Dyadic Prenatal Coparenting Interaction Behaviors Predicting Postpartum Depressive Symptoms during the Transition to Parenthood

“…Moreover, because research on postpartum depression points to variability in the onset, intensity, and course of development of postpartum depressive symptoms across individuals [ 29 ], we wanted to explore and highlight the idiosyncratic relations independently between the variables in our study at each time point after the birth. For these two reasons, we produced separate independent models for each time point (see also [ 19 , 30 , 31 ]). Due to the dyadic nature of our data, however, we did analyze them using two-intercept models, where both partners were included, to account for couple interdependence and for any dyadic variability, and to allow for the consideration of estimating effects for male and female participants both simultaneously and separately (see [ 32 , 33 ]).…”

Romantic Attachment, Relationship Satisfaction, Internalized Sexual Stigma, and Motives for Parenthood in Italian Lesbian Women and Gay Men

“…Finally, several studies identified a series of challenges encountered by same-sex couples in their process toward parenthood, from social stigma and legal biases in the recognition of their suitability as parents, as well as in their recognition as parents, to difficulties in gaining support and validation for their parental goals from the their families of origin and communities [50][51][52][53][54].…”