Mothers' Experience of Stress Following the Birth of a First Child: Identification of Stressors and Coping Resources1

The purpose of this study is to identify, through a retrospective methodology, stressor and coping resource variables which are involved in mothers' experience of stress one month after the birth of a first child. The variables were identified on the basis of previous work in this field, and were categorized as stressor or coping resource variables according to the writings of authors in the larger domain of stress and coping. The influence of interactive and additive combinations of stressors and coping resources, as described by Wheaton (1985), were also examined in a multiple regression model. A five-variable model, accounting for 58.74% of the variance of a measure of the experience of stress, was obtained. Discussion focuses around the predictive possibilities of such a model, the impact of coping resources, and on the potential for utilizing this model for describing the process of adaptation following this event over time.