Transition to parenthood : relationship of perception of infant to changes in personal and marital satisfaction

Little empirical data exist on the congruence between what first-time parents expect their infants to be like and what the infants actually are like. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a discrepancy between the expected infant behaviors and the actual infant behaviors and, if so, if there was a relationship between the amount of discrepancy and changes in marital satisfaction and personal well-being. Questionnaires were given to 109 couples who were enrolled in preparation for parenthood and Lamaze classes in the Knoxville area before and after the birth of each couple's child.

Data analysis included computing the total scores for expected infant behaviors for husbands and wives together and separately and subtracting the score from the total actual baby score to determine the discrepancy between the two scores. Pearson product moment correlation was used to test for relationships between the perceptual congruence about the infant and the change in marital satisfaction and personal well-being.

A discrepancy was found between the expected and actual infant behaviors during the transition to parenthood for husbands and wives, with the actual score representing more favorable perceptions than the expected score. For husbands there was no relationship between the discrepancy score and changes in marital satisfaction and personal well-being. For wives there was a relationship between the discrepancy and three of the scales assessing marital satisfaction and personal well-being--companionate activities, physical violence, and verbal aggression.