Gender and the Transition to Parenthood: Introduction to the Special Issue

The transition to parenthood is a rite of passage for most adults; however, given the dynamic state of gender roles in society, the parameters surrounding the ease or difficulty with this transition are evolving. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the work included in the special issue, Gender and the Transition to Parenthood. Academic literature has been filled with articles on how women cope with the transition to parenthood from a variety of perspectives, including a feminist perspective. However, much of this literature is dated and cannot account for how today’s gender roles in society (particularly those of fathers) may influence the transition to parenthood. We argue that, with the rapidly changing gender roles in society, it is crucial to consider three perspectives in parenting: hers, his, and theirs. The ten works included in this special issue represent these three perspectives and seek to understand the transition to parenthood and its intersection with today’s gender roles. Based on these works, the authors encourage researchers interested in the transition to parenthood to incorporate both male and female perspectives, as well as the interplay between the genders in making the transition smooth or difficult. Following a brief overview of the existing literature, we introduce the articles in the special issue. All papers in this special issue are based on U.S. samples.     

Age Moderates the Mediational Role of Empathy in the Association Between Gender and Forgiveness

Researchers have suggested that empathy may serve to explain, at least in part, the relationship between gender and forgiveness. Some findings in the literature have supported this claim, while other studies have not. Accounting for the variable of age might help to explain these inconsistencies, as age has been found to influence the expression of empathy across gender. As such, in the present study we examined whether age might exert a conditional indirect effect on the relationship between gender and forgiveness as mediated by empathy. Participants were recruited from the community (N?=?62) and on a college campus (N?=?94). Within the community sample the average age was 74.8, while on the college campus the average age was 20.7. Participants were given a survey packet that included the Heartland Forgiveness Scale and the Empathy Quotient Scale, among other instruments. A moderated-mediational analysis showed that while gender was related to empathy and empathy was associated with forgiveness, empathy served as a significant mediator only for those younger than 62 years of age. This finding suggests that empathy serves as an important mediator in the relationship between gender and forgiveness for adults aged 61 and younger, because younger women are more likely to respond empathetically to a transgressor as compared to younger men. Older women also tend to be more forgiving than older men, but in the present study empathy was not as important of a factor in explaining this relationship for individuals 62 years and older. These findings help to address the inconsistencies in the literature with regard to the relationships among gender, age, empathy, and forgiveness.     

Gender Moderates the Relationship Between Empathy and Aggressiveness in Sport: The Mediating Role of Anger

This research investigated whether gender moderates, and anger mediates, the relationship between empathy (i.e., perspective taking and empathic concern) and aggressiveness in sport. In Study 1, perspective taking and empathic concern were negatively associated with aggressiveness, and this effect was stronger in women compared to men. In Study 2, perspective taking was a negative predictor of aggressiveness and antisocial behavior in sport, and anger mediated these relationships in women but not in men. Our findings suggest that empathy and emotion-based strategies targeted at reducing aggressiveness in sport need to be tailored for male and female athletes.     

Situational Content Moderates the Association Between the Big Five Personality Traits and Behavioral Effectiveness

It has been suggested that self-regulatory goal processes are pervasive and powerful determinants of human behavior. Behavior, in turn, is thought to influence both emotions and cognitions to affect future self-set goals. Although determinants and consequences of self-set goals have been examined independently in past research, there is a paucity of theoretical integration across motivational theories. In this article, major elements from social-cog- nitive and attribution theories-and some elements from expectancy and con- trol theories-are integrated with goal theory to develop a cyclical model of self-set goals. In the development and discussion of this model, we present ar- guments for (a) how self-set goals are chosen, (b) how self-set goals affect subsequent behavior, and (c) how self-set goals change over time. Hypotheses are proposed, theoretical implications are discussed, and future research di- rections are suggested.     

Healthy Nests Transition to Parenthood Program: A Mixed-Methods Study

Intimate partner relationship distress is associated with a wide range of negative adult and child outcomes. The transition to parenthood is often a time in the life of a couple where relationship distress increases and satisfaction and intimacy decrease and thus is an ideal time for targeted intervention. The Healthy Nests (HN) intervention is a three-meeting, strength-focused couples intervention for first-time parents designed to decrease maladaptive relationship conflict and increase couple well-being. The authors conducted a mixed-methods exploratory study investigating participants' overall experiences with the HN intervention and measured outcomes associated with relationship satisfaction, help seeking, father involvement, substance use, and depression. A total of 130 parents (65 dyads) participated in a randomized intervention and educational materials–only alternative intervention. Twenty dyads were interviewed as a part of the qualitative portion of the study. While the authors did not find significant quantitative effects on key outcomes, the qualitative findings suggested that participants had a positive experience with the HN intervention and indicated it was useful to have designated time and space to communicate as a couple. Qualitative findings also suggest that the focus on “aspects of strength” and “areas of change” in their relationship was useful. Implications for practice, research, and training are discussed.     

Bidirectional Spillover in the Family across the Transition to Parenthood

Although family systems theory posits reciprocal causality between subsystems of the family, such as intimate partner violence exacerbating harsh parenting and vice versa, longitudinal studies with cross‐lagged models have been used infrequently to test these principles. As guided by the spillover model, this study examined bidirectional associations between couple dysfunction, parent–child aggression risk, and child functioning across the transition to parenthood to determine whether and how disruptions in one subsystem relate to problems in other family subsystems. Participants were 201 first‐time mothers and 151 fathers from a diverse community sample, evaluated during pregnancy, and reassessed two more times through their child's first 18 months of life. Individual and dyadic path model results indicate bidirectional spillover effects between parent–child aggression risk and child functioning for both mothers and fathers, and spillover from parent–child aggression risk to couple dysfunction for mothers but not fathers. However, limited spillover effects were identified between couple functioning and child adjustment, in contrast to previous work. Findings suggest that spillover can happen reciprocally and early in the family, supporting transactional models of behavior and highlighting the need for early family level intervention.     

Emotional Impact of Teasing Moderates the Association Between Teasing Frequency and Self-Worth in Youth

The purpose of the present study was to examine the moderating role of emotional impact on the relationship between teasing frequency and self-worth in a community sample of youth. Participants included a community sample of 405 youth (M age = 10.22) who completed self-report measures of the frequency and emotional impact of teasing and self-worth. Latent moderated structural equation modeling indicated that emotional impact moderated the association between teasing frequency and self-worth (β = ?.15, p = .04). Probing of the interaction revealed that among youth who experienced frequent teasing, self-worth was lower when emotional impact was high (β = ?.25, t = 2.34, p = .02). Findings demonstrate that emotional impact moderated the relationship between teasing frequency and self-worth. Intervention designed to reduce teasing and its associated negative outcomes may benefit from intervention components designed to address the emotional impact of teasing.     

The Uncertainty Paradox: Perceived Threat Moderates the Effect of Uncertainty on Political Tolerance

People respond to dissimilar political beliefs in a variety of ways, ranging from openness and acceptance to closed‐mindedness and intolerance. While there is reason to believe that uncertainty may influence political tolerance, the direction of this influence remains unclear. We propose that threat moderates the effect of uncertainty on tolerance; when safe, uncertainty leads to greater tolerance, yet when threatened, uncertainty leads to reduced tolerance. Using independent manipulations of threat and uncertainty, we provide support for this hypothesis. This research demonstrates that, although feelings of threat and uncertainty can be independent, it is also important to understand their interaction.     

Parental Efficacy Moderates the Association Between Empathy and Burden Among Parents of Children Admitted to a Psychiatric Ward

Empathy is considered a positive aspect of caregiving, although in certain circumstances, being empathic might increase the burden of caregivers. The current study assessed the associations between empathy, parental efficacy, and family burden among parents of children who were hospitalized in a psychiatric unit. Specifically, we examined whether the association between empathy and family burden was moderated by the parents’ sense of self-efficacy. Seventy parents of children with psychiatric disorders, hospitalized in an inpatient psychiatric unit, filled out questionnaires of empathy, parental efficacy, and family burden. Results supported a moderating role of parental efficacy between empathy and family burden (interaction effect: β = −1.72, p = .0406). Specifically, empathy was positively related to family burden among parents with low self-efficacy (conditional effect = 0.70, p = .032) and negatively related to family burden among parents with high self-efficacy (conditional effect = −0.39, p = N.S). Implications for practice include the importance of self-efficacy and address the possible negative implications of empathy among parents of children treated in a psychiatric hospital.     

Maternal Over-Control Moderates the Association Between Early Childhood Behavioral Inhibition and Adolescent Social Anxiety Symptoms

Behavioral inhibition (BI) and maternal over-control are early risk factors for later childhood internalizing problems, particularly social anxiety disorder (SAD). Consistently high BI across childhood appears to confer risk for the onset of SAD by adolescence. However, no prior studies have prospectively examined observed maternal over-control as a risk factor for adolescent social anxiety (SA) among children initially selected for BI. The present prospective longitudinal study examines the direct and indirect relations between these early risk factors and adolescent SA symptoms and SAD, using a multi-method approach. The sample consisted of 176 participants initially recruited as infants and assessed for temperamental reactivity to novel stimuli at age 4?months. BI was measured via observations and parent-report across multiple assessments between the ages of 14?months and 7?years. Maternal over-control was assessed observationally during parent–child interaction tasks at 7?years. Adolescents (ages 14–17?years) and parents provided independent reports of adolescent SA symptoms. Results indicated that higher maternal over-control at 7?years predicted higher SA symptoms and lifetime rates of SAD during adolescence. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between consistently high BI and maternal over-control, such that patterns of consistently high BI predicted higher adolescent SA symptoms in the presence of high maternal over-control. High BI across childhood was not significantly associated with adolescent SA symptoms when children experienced low maternal over-control. These findings have the potential to inform prevention and early intervention programs by indentifying particularly at-risk youth and specific targets of treatment.     

The Transition to Parenthood: III. Incorporation of the Child into the Family

The major focus of this article is the relationship of the parents' marital relationship structure to the incorporation of the child into the family. Our central hypothesis is that couples who have evolved more competent marital structures prenatally are more likely to incorporate the child successfully into the family.     

Relationship Between Miscarriage and Dysfunctional Cognitions About Trauma,Coping Mechanisms,and Posttraumatic Growth

Many studies have described grief and psychiatric symptomatology as a typical feature following miscarriage. How women who had a miscarriage (MG) respond to trauma in terms of negative cognitions about their selves and the world, the coping strategies they employ to overcome the effects of the trauma, and what factors might be indicative of posttraumatic growth (PTG) in this population have not been extensively studied so far. We aimed to identify whether women who had a miscarriage (N = 74 vs. N = 82 control subjects) exhibited higher levels of psychological distress symptoms, dysfunctional cognitions, and maladaptive coping strategies, and whether women with lower PTG employed more maladaptive coping strategies, and reported higher levels of dysfunctional cognitions. Group comparisons according to the diagnostic groups based on self-report measures for depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder and according to the level of PTG, and stepwise linear regression analyses with PTG as the outcome were performed. Our study demonstrated that the MG does not necessarily differ from the control group on some measures of psychopathology, coping mechanisms, dysfunctional cognitions, or PTG. Yet, the MG who exhibited higher levels of PTG had specific predictors, and women with a psychiatric diagnosis differed from participants with no diagnoses on some measures of dysfunctional cognitions, coping mechanisms, and PTG. Further studies with a prospective design could further clarify the needs of the MG requiring psychotherapeutic interventions.     

Attentional Orienting to Emotional Faces Moderates the Association Between Callous-Unemotional Traits and Peer-Nominated Aggression in Young Adolescent School Children

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are associated with aggressive behavior but preliminary research suggests this relationship is modified by patterns of emotional processing. This study examined whether attentional orienting to emotional faces moderated the association between CU traits and peer-nominated aggression in 251 middle school students (53% females, mean age = 13.24 years, SD = 0.73). Attentional orienting was assessed using an emotional faces (i.e., angry, fearful, happy, sad, and neutral) variant of the dot-probe task. Students also completed a self-report measure of CU traits and their classmates made peer nominations of aggression. Logistic regression analyses showed that peer-nominated aggression was positively related to CU traits at low levels of attentional orienting to angry faces, whereas aggression was unrelated to CU traits at high levels of attentional orienting to angry faces. That is, peer-nominated aggression was greatest for youth high on CU traits who were not engaged by angry faces. These findings support the importance of considering different patterns of emotional responding when studying the association between CU traits and aggressive behavior in youth.     

Mindfulness Moderates the Association Between Perceived Burdensomeness and Suicide Ideation in Adults With Elevated Depressive Symptoms

A conceptual model in which the associations between perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation, and between thwarted belongingness and suicide ideation, are moderated by mindfulness was examined. Participants were 218 undergraduates (mean age = 20.81) with moderate‐to‐severe depressive symptoms. Mindfulness significantly moderated the association between perceived burdensomeness and suicide ideation; participants with thoughts of burdensomeness experienced lower levels of suicide ideation if they were high, as opposed to low, in mindfulness. Mindfulness did not significantly moderate the association between thwarted belongingness and suicide ideation. Implications for intervention and elaboration of the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide are discussed.     

Interventions to Empower Adults with Eating Disorders and Their Partners around the Transition to Parenthood

The transition to parenthood is perceived as a stressful life event, when parents experience an immense change of their psychological focus and a reorientation of roles and responsibilities in the family system. This process may be even more challenging in the presence of a parental eating disorder history. This paper reviews the impact of parental eating disorders on the parents, the couple relationship, and their child during the perinatal period. A parental eating disorder is associated with more negative expectations of parental efficacy as well as specific difficulties in couple communication over the child’s feeding, shape, and weight. Providers who better understand the effects of an eating disorder on parental functioning can more effectively intervene early on. We also present couple- or parent-based, empirically supported interventions for adults with eating disorders and their partners in the prenatal and postnatal periods: Uniting Couples in the treatment of Anorexia Nervosa (UCAN) and Uniting couples In the Treatment of Eating disorders (UNITE) both enhance recovery from the eating disorder through a couple-based intervention; the Maudsley Model of Treatment for Adults with Anorexia Nervosa (MANTRA) incorporates the support of partners, when appropriate; Parent-Based Prevention (PBP) focuses on improving parental functioning and reducing risk of negative parental and child outcomes. Finally, we discuss the clinical implications of addressing parental eating disorders and encourage more research on these families.     

Maternal Depression History Moderates the Association Between Criticism (but not Praise) and Depressive Symptoms in Youth

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Children of mothers with past depression are at increased risk for developing the disorder themselves; however, the specific factors that increase...     

Age Moderates the Relationship Between Social Support and Psychosocial Problems

Social support is commonly assumed to protect people from the experience of psychological distress and to enhance well‐being. However, past research shows that the effectiveness of social support from family members and friends varies over the life span. Both the stage model of life satisfaction and compensatory processes associated with aging provide accounts for why this may be the case. Accordingly, age was predicted to moderate the association between perceived functional and structural social support and the experience of depressive symptoms and loneliness. Age was also predicted to be associated with lower relationship standards that allow people to remain content regardless of whether available social support decreases. This moderational model was tested in a community‐based sample of 325 adults ranging in age from 19 to 85 years. Results indicated that social support from family members and sheer contact with them, as well as social support from a spouse or partner, was most strongly and negatively related to the psychosocial problems in the younger participants. Age also moderated the association between relationship standards and loneliness. Consistent with the assumptions of the stage model of life satisfaction and previous research on compensatory processes associated with aging, older people do not appear to be as dependent as younger people on receiving social support from diverse sources in order to maintain a sense of well‐being.     

Stress Moderates the Association between Action Orientation and Goal Internalization

The purpose of this study is to examine whether stress moderates the association between action-state orientation and goal internalization. People estimated how autonomous (vs. controlled) they would feel if they pursued goals of either an extrinsic or an intrinsic type. Measures of action orientation and stressful life events were also taken. Results showed that autonomy of goal motive for action orientation was moderated by stress (failure-related and demanding) situation. Action-oriented people have less internalized goal than state-oriented people in stress situation. Implication for self-determination theory and action-control theory is discussed.