Gender-role attitudes and behavior across the transition to parenthood.

Abstract

Based on social structural theory and identity theory, the current study examined changes in gender-role attitudes and behavior across the first-time transition to parenthood, and following the birth of a second child for experienced mothers and fathers. Data were analyzed from the ongoing longitudinal Wisconsin Study of Families and Work (WSFW). Gender-role attitudes, work and family identity salience, and division of household labor were measured for 205 first-time and 198 experienced mothers and fathers across four time points from five months pregnant to 12 months postpartum. Multi-level latent growth curve analysis was used to analyze the data. In general, parents became more traditional in their gender-role attitudes and behavior following the birth of a child, women changed more than men, and first-time parents changed more than experienced parents. Findings suggest that changes in gender-role attitudes and behavior following the birth of a child may be attributed both to transitioning to parenthood for the first time, and to negotiating the demands of having a new baby in the family.

Parental Psychological Distress and Confidence After an Infant’s Birth: The Role of Attachment Representations in Parents of Infants with Congenital Anomalies and Parents of Healthy Infants

“…During the first months of the infant's life, mothers face a greater number of changes by assuming the role of main caregivers of their infants (Katz-Wise et al, 2010), which may explain their increased levels of depressive symptoms, when compared to fathers. However, the absence of a multivariate gender effect underscores the similarity of the maternal and paternal experiences.…”

“…Higher scores in the Anxiety dimension of attachment were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in both groups of mothers, which is consistent with previous studies of parents of healthy infants (Feeney, 2003) and of mothers of infants with a CA (Berant et al, 2001). Regardless of the infant's medical condition, mothers are faced with the majority of stressful demands of caretaking in the first months of life (Katz-Wise et al, 2010). When dealing with these stressful demands, mothers with insecure working models of the self (those who perceive themselves as unworthy of support) tend to exacerbate their psychological distress because they are excessively preoccupied with their own distress and tend to rely on emotion-focused coping strategies (Berant et al, 2001;Mikulincer & Florian, 1998).…”

“…This may be related with women's main biological role in childbearing (e.g., pregnancy, lactation), cultural expectations regarding motherhood, and social constraints (e.g., maternity leave, gender differences in income; Katz-Wise et al, 2010). Therefore, for mothers, becoming a parent may be a more life-changing transition than for fathers, which may lead to more adjustment difficulties (e.g., Demo & Cox, 2000).…”

“…In response to the additional tasks of childcare after the infant's birth, mothers and fathers tend to adopt more traditional gender roles regarding work and family: while mothers assume the role of main caregivers (i.e., infant care and household), fathers assume the role of providers (i.e., managing family finances; Belsky, Lang, & Huston, 1986;Katz-Wise, Priess, & Hyde, 2010).…”

Qualidade de vida e sintomatologia psicopatológica em pais de crianças com diagnóstico de deficiência/anomalia congénita: A importância das características de resiliência

“…As mães tendem a apresentar mais dificuldades de ajustamento individual (Beckman, 1991;Fonseca, Nazaré, & Canavarro, 2012;Hastings et al, 2005;Lawoko & Soares, 2006;Olsson & Hwang, 2001;Weinhouse, Weinhouse, & Nelson, 1992) do que os pais. Este aspeto tem sido explicado pelo facto de as mães assumirem a maior parte da prestação de cuidados à criança (Moes, Koegel, Schreibman, & Loos, 1992), enquanto os pais manifestam uma maior preocupação com o futuro da criança, com os estigmas da deficiência (Batshaw & Perret, 1990), e parecem assumir, desde o nascimento do bebé, a responsabilidade pelo sustento financeiro da família (Katz-Wise, Priess, & Hyde, 2010). Mais recentemente alguns autores têm salientado a existência de interdependência diádica no âmbito da parentalidade em geral, destacando como os atributos e comportamentos de um membro da díade poderão influenciar a adaptação do outro (Campbell & Kashy, 2002).…”