Changes in relationship satisfaction across the transition to parenthood: A meta-analysis.

Abstract

The U.S. government has recently spent several hundred million dollars to promote healthy relationships in new parents. The influx of money implies that relationships of new parents are at elevated risk for declining satisfaction and dissolution. This meta-analysis aggregates data from 37 studies that track couples from pregnancy to after the birth of the first child and 4 studies that track childless newlywed couples over time and compare couples who do and do not become parents. Results indicate significant, small declines in relationship satisfaction for both men and women from pregnancy to 11-months post-birth; five studies that followed couples for 12-14 months found moderate-sized declines. Seven variables moderated the decrease in relationship satisfaction from pregnancy to early parenthood. However, the decrease in satisfaction may not indicate anything unique about the transition to parenthood; the four studies following newlyweds indicated that those who do not become parents experience a similar decrease in relationship satisfaction as parents do across a comparable span of time. Implications for prevention and future directions are discussed. KeywordsTransition to Parenthood; Relationship Satisfaction; Meta-Analysis; Couples; longitudinal The transition to parenthood (TtP) has received increasing attention over the last decade, with the U.S. government spending several hundred million dollars for interventions for new parents aimed at promoting healthy relationships (e.g., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). The influx of money implies that parents with newborns are at elevated risk for relationship distress and dissolution. Although numerous studies have reported that relationship satisfaction significantly declines after the birth of the first child (e.g., Van Egeren, 2004), other studies have found no change or even an increase in relationship satisfaction (e.g., Wallace & Gotlib, 1990). This meta-analysis of the change in relationship satisfaction across the TtP will derive a composite estimate of the direction and magnitude of the effect. We hypothesized that there will be a decrease in relationship satisfaction from pregnancy to early parenthood.

Social Network Characteristics of Early Midlife Voluntarily and Involuntarily Childless Couples

“…Partner relationship distress was low in partners with children, voluntarily childless, and involuntarily childless individuals. Such findings may highlight the similarity of long-term relationship processes in stable partnerships irrespective of parental situations (Mitnick et al, 2009). In addition, this finding may have particularly important implications for counselors working with infertile couples: Neither parents nor infertile couples have more strained partnerships per se (for further consideration, see the Limitations and Outlook section).…”

“…In addition, meta-analytical findings have stressed that relationship satisfaction of newlywed couples generally decreases after marriage, irrespective of their parental status (Mitnick, Heyman, & Smith Slep, 2009). Direct comparisons between mothers, voluntarily childless women, and involuntarily childless women have yielded heterogeneous results.…”

Postpartum Depression and the Affordable Care Act: Recommendations for Social Work Educators

“…The fathers complain of feeling left out and less satisfied in their relationship with the mother (Mitnick, Heyman, & Slep, 2009). Keefe et al/POSTPATUM DEPRESSION 203 Unlike symptoms of major depressive disorder, which manifest within two weeks of the precipitating stressors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), symptoms of postpartum depression may not become evident until several months after the mother has given birth (Chaudron et al, 2010;Parade, Blankson, Leerkes, Crockenberg, & Faldowski, 2014).…”

Family Policy: an integrated approach?

“…For example, evidence shows that becoming a kinship carer (Farmer and Moyers, 2008) and caring for a disabled child (Glenn, 2007) place particular strain on relationships, while more universally, becoming a parent is one of the most stressful life events (Walker et al, 2010) and is therefore one of the life events most likely to reduce relationship quality (Cowan et al, 1991). First-time parents are at risk of experiencing personal and marital distress (Twenge et al, 2003;Mitnick et al, 2009;Mansfield and Collard, 1998;OnePlusOne, 2006), and it is estimated that 40-70% of couples experience a decline in relationship quality in their first year of parenthood (Shapiro and Gottman, 2005). Government has therefore focused on support around this life transition within its relationship support funding, for example by producing guidance for health visitors to support them to spot signs of relationship distress and to respond by supporting new parents, as well as piloting relationship support within perinatal provision (DWP, 2015b).…”