FIRST-TIME MOTHERS' AND FATHERS' TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD: Infant Care Self-Efficacy, Parenting Satisfaction, and Infant Sex

Abstract

The threefold purposes of our study were to determine differences between first-time mothers' and fathers' development of infant care self-efficacy and parenting satisfaction, relationships between mothers' and fathers' infant care self-efficacy and parenting satisfaction, and the effect of infant sex on the development of mothers' and fathers' infant care self-efficacy and parenting satisfaction during the first 4 months following the infant's birth. A convenience sample of 44 couples in a midwestern state completed the Demographic Questionnaire, the Infant Care Survey, and What Being the Parent of a New Baby is Like-Revised. Fathers' reports of infant care self-efficacy increased linearly during the first 4 months following the infant's birth while mothers' reports of infant care self-efficacy increased linearly during the first 3 months. At all data collection times, fathers reported significantly lower infant care self-efficacy than mothers. Reports of parenting satisfaction increased over time for mothers and fathers. At 8, 12, and 16 weeks following the infant's birth, mothers' infant care self-efficacy scores were significantly related to their parenting satisfaction scores. Fathers' infant care self-efficacy scores were significantly related to their parenting satisfaction scores at 12 and 16 weeks. Fathers of male infants had significantly higher parenting satisfaction scores than fathers of female infants at 12 and 16 weeks following the infant's birth. Nurses can develop individualized interventions to assist mothers and fathers during the transition to parenthood.

Dads doing diapers: Individual and relational outcomes associated with the division of childcare across the transition to parenthood.

“…Specifically, women’s childcare self-efficacy declined across the transition when they reported making low childcare contributions, whereas men’s childcare self-efficacy actually increased at low contribution levels. These findings are consistent with prior research showing that new mothers tend to report greater infant care self-efficacy and more parenting satisfaction than new fathers do (Ehrenberg et al, 2001; Elek et al, 2003; Hudson et al, 2001), and they also shed light on the role of childcare contribution levels in predicting these differences over time.…”

“…This greater comfort may also lead women to feel relatively more satisfied with the childcare they do complete (Ehrenberg et al, 2001). Indeed, new mothers report greater infant care self-efficacy and greater parenting satisfaction than new fathers do (Elek, Hudson, & Bouffard, 2003; Hudson, Elek, & Fleck, 2001). Thus, despite the fact that most women engage in significantly more childcare tasks than most men, women’s reactions to these tasks should be more positive than their male partners’ reactions.…”

Parenting self-efficacy predicts perceptions of infant negative temperament characteristics, not vice versa.

“…Studies have shown that parents with multiple children had higher parenting self-efficacy than parents with one child (Leahy-Warren & McCarthy, 2011). Also, parenting selfefficacy increased gradually over the first months after birth in first-time parents (Hudson, Elek, & Fleck, 2001;Porter & Hsu, 2003), consistent with the idea that higher parenting self-efficacy beliefs come with more experience.…”

Who Are the Gatekeepers? Predictors of Maternal Gatekeeping

“…On the one hand, parenting self-efficacy is a critical resource for effective parenting and promotes positive child development (Jones & Prinz, 2005), and new mothers with higher levels of confidence in their parenting abilities may be more willing to open the gate to fathers’ involvement in childrearing via active encouragement. On the other hand, mothers with high levels of parenting self-efficacy, because of their strong confidence in their own approach to parenting, may be more likely to experience frustration when fathers – who tend to have less experience with infants and less confidence in their own parenting (Hudson, Elek, & Fleck, 2001) – care for or engage with their children in ways they do not endorse. Thus, we expected that mothers with greater parenting self-efficacy would be more likely to engage in both types of gatekeeping behavior – reported gate closing as well as gate opening – and would be more likely to hold gate closing attitudes.…”