Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

6-1982

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major Professor

Gary Peterson

Abstract

Although there is a large body of literature on the transition to parenthood, there has been little effort to organize this information within a theoretical framework. Therefore, the present study will examine and evaluate the data collected in the Tennessee Transition to Parenthood Project in accordance with an hypothesized framework. This framework is based on a review of the literature and a mid-range theory of family career transitions proposed by Rollins and Galligan (1978).

The Tennessee Transition to Parenthood Project was a 2-year longitudinal study of personal and marital variables in relation to the birth of an initial child. The project involved 3 evaluations of each participant couple. The first evaluation was made prior to each baby's birth and the remaining evaluations were made at 6-weeks and 8-months postpartum. The project was completed by 109 couples who were recruited through preparation for childbirth classes.

The hypothesized model for the present study consisted of 5 variables: infant caregiving activities, family role transitions, marital companionship, marital stress, and marital satisfaction. These variables were associated with each other through 9 proposed relationships. Initially, each variable was operationalized by factor analysis. Then, using these operationalized variables, the data obtained from the second set of questionnaires (6-weeks postpartum) were analyzed by path analysis.

It was determined by this analysis that relationships existed within the hypothesized model for both husbands and wives. Although the men in this study seemed to be affected minimally by the transition to parenthood, most of their adverse consequences stemmed from the loss of services provided by their wives (e.g., meal preparation, attention). Women, on the other hand, were affected to a greater extent by this transition. These effects could be attributed to 2 factors: the increased work load for which they usually had responsibility and the abrupt, relative isolation from adult contacts that they had experienced for a large part of each day.

The findings from the present study support the work of previous researchers on the transition to parenthood. These findings could be useful in preparing people for this transition as well as for discussions about sex-role behaviors. In addition, further research on the transition to parenthood is needed, both within the framework proposed by the present study as well as within alternative theoretical structures.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS