Abstract
This study examines the mechanism of maternal parenting stress on marital satisfaction based on the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Model (VSAM), and draws on the needs theory to explore the role of alone time in marital relationships under different solitude preferences. The marital satisfaction Scale, Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Parenting Stress Scale (PSS), Preference for Solitude Scale (PSS), and alone time scale were used to conduct a questionnaire survey of 1,387 Chinese mothers in their parenting stage. The results found that: (1) in the overall group and the high and low solitude preference level group, depression plays a significant mediating role between parenting stress and marital satisfaction. (2) For mothers who prefer solitude, alone time can reduce the positive impact of parenting stress on depression, and but it cannot alleviate the negative impact of parenting stress and depression on marital satisfaction. (3) In the low solitude preference level group, alone time can aggravate the positive impact of parenting stress on depression and the negative impact of parenting stress on marital satisfaction.
Highlights
In recent decades, due to rapid economic development and changes in people’s values, the divorce rate worldwide is increasing significantly
For many parents who have experienced the same parenting stress, the quality of their marriage did not get affected, and some even show higher family functions (Tedeschi et al, 1998; Lavee and Ben-Ari, 2008). This point is worthy of our attention; that is, is there a protective factor in the marriage relationship? Is this raising factor useful just to help parents relieve the pressure of parenting during the parenting period? What about the key resources to maintain marriage relationships? Given these questions, one of the main goals of this research is to explore restorative factors that have a positive impact on marriage quality
The results showed that mothers who scored high levels of marriage satisfaction were more likely to have low levels of parenting stress (b = −0.294, p < 0.01) and depression (b = −0.345, p < 0.01)
Summary
Due to rapid economic development and changes in people’s values, the divorce rate worldwide is increasing significantly. Since 2003, China’s divorce rate has gradually increased for 15 consecutive years (Zhang, 2020). According to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs in China, the divorce rate in the country has risen from 2.8% in 2015 to 3.1% in 2020, and 40% of divorced couples have been married within 3 years (Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, 2020). In view of these facts, China’s rising divorce rate has prompted scholars to start investigating its underlying causes
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