Cross-national comparison of family dynamics during the third trimester of pregnancy in the United States and Iceland.

Abstract

In a cross-national analysis of family dynamics in the United States and Iceland, we examined several factors that influence family life during the third trimester of pregnancy. Three hundred five women and 113 of their partners completed the Family Dynamics Measure (Lasky et al., 1985). Marital status and social status had differential effects on family dynamics in each country. Unmarried families in the United States reported more negative family dynamics than did married families in the United States and both married and unmarried families in Iceland. Although higher social status was associated with more positive family dynamics in both countries, the effects of low social status were more pronounced in the United States. This comparison of families in two modern Western nations points to possible effects of the presence or absence of national family policies supporting childbearing families and contributes to the development of international family science.