Infant behavior and the transition to parenthood

The primary purposes of this study were to consider the effects of infant behavior as a central independent variable on the transition to parenthood and to test a mini-theory describing how those infant behavior effects occurred. Sixty-four expectant couples were recruited on a voluntary basis from prenatal classes in Nashville, Tennessee, to participate in the study. Data were collected once in the last trimester of pregnancy and once when the infant was one month of age.

The mini-theory describing the infant behavior effects was comprised of two paths: (1) one path indicated that infant behavior affected role activity change, which in turn affected ease of role transition; and (2) the second path suggested that infant behavior affected parental perceptions of role competence, which in turn affected postnatal self-esteem, which in turn affected ease of role transition. . Because of clinical interests of the investigator, a second dependent variable, parents' perception of the infant, was included in the mini-theory along side ease of transition to parenthood. It was proposed that parents' perceptions of the infant and ease of transition to parenthood would be positively related. Also, it was proposed that the parents' prenatal self-esteem would be positively related to their postnatal self-esteem.

It was found that infant behavior was negatively related both to ease of role transition and to parents' perceptions of their infant for both mothers and fathers. The mini-theory was supported, with the

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exception that parental perceptions of role competence were not related to postnatal self-esteem. Parental perceptions of role competence were found to be directly related to ease of transition to parenthood and to parents' perception of the infant, however, and postnatal self-esteem was found to be related to the ease of transition to parenthood and to the parents' perception of the infant. It was concluded that postnatal self-esteem was an important variable to be considered in relation to the transition to parenthood, but that it should be studied further in the context of some variables other than those assessed in this study.

The study also found that fathers had an easier transition to parenthood than did mothers and that mothers experienced greater perceptions of role competence and greater role activity change. When parents were divided into occupational groups, there were significant differences in the ease of transition and in the effectiveness of the mini-theory for explaining the infant behavior effects for mothers, but not for fathers. It was concluded that differences in the transition to parenthood for mothers and fathers should receive more attention and that mothers' occupational characteristics should be investigated further. Finally, expectations of infant behavior in relation to actual infant behavior were explored. It was determined that expected/actual infant behavior discrepancies may be important in influencing ease of transition to parenthood for mothers, but probably not for fathers.