Predictors of Change in Relationship Satisfaction during the Transition to Parenthood

• Author: Richard E. Heyman,Katherine J. W. Baucom,Tea Trillingsgaard
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12089
• Published date: 01 December 2014
• Date: 01 December 2014

T T Aarhus University

K J. W. B University of Utah∗

R E. H New York University∗∗

Predictors of Change in Relationship Satisfaction

during the Transition to Parenthood

Couple-focused interventions have shown

limited success at preventing relationship sat-

isfaction decline in couples during transition

to parenthood. More knowledge on what con-

stitutes relationship risk may inform future

practice. This study investigated the role of

underexplored individual and contextual risk

factors through interactive and additive mod-

els. Participating couples (N=228) completed

questionnaires during pregnancy and at 6 and

30 months postpartum. The authors used boot-

strapped Bayesian information criterion analy-

ses to select signicant and reliable predictorsof

change in relationship satisfaction within three

predened sets of factors representing com-

ponents of the vulnerability-stress-adaptation

model. Anxiety and depression symptoms during

pregnancy, shorter length of the relationship,

and lower levels of constructive communication

predicted declines in relationship satisfaction

Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences,

Aarhus University, Bartholins Alle 9 DK-8000 Aarhus C,

Denmark (Teatri@psy.au.dk).

∗Department of Psychology, University of Utah, 380 South

1530 East, BEHS 502, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.

∗∗Department of Cardiology and Comprehensive Care, New

YorkUniversity,345 East 24th Street, 2S-VA, New York,NY

10010.

Key Words: communication, couple relationship, mental

health, pregnancy, relationship satisfaction, transition to

parenthood.

from pregnancyto 30-months postpartum. When

these risk factors were combined, additive rather

than interactive risk models were supported.

Practical implications of additive risk factors

are discussed

The birth of a rst child is a joyous eventfor most

couples. However,it is also a time of exceptional

demand during which new parents may struggle

with fatigue and exhaustion (Petch & Halford,

2008), role overload (Perry-Jenkins, Goldberg,

Pierce, & Sayer, 2007), and reduced time for

leisure and couple intimacy (Feeney, Hohaus,

Noller, & Alexander, 2001). A meta-analysis

(Mitnick, Heyman, & Slep, 2009) documented

the decline in relationship satisfaction across

the transition to parenthood (TtP), but cautioned

that the decline across time in longitudinal

studies did not differ for parents and nonpar-

ents. Two recent studies estimating trajectories

of change for parents and nonparents found

that in parents, the TtP hastened the declines

in relationship satisfaction, though declines

occurred in parent and nonparent groups (Doss,

Rhoades, Stanley,& Markman, 2009; Lawrence,

Rothman, Cobb, Rothman, & Bradbury, 2008).

These results underscore a basic assumption in

most TtP research — that though the passage

of time challenges relationships in general,

the high demands of new parenthood catalyze

declines in relationship satisfaction depending

on a risk gradient (Cowan & Cowan, 1995).

Family Relations 63 (December 2014): 667 – 679 667

DOI:10.1111/fare.12089