Social support in the transition to parenthood

Abstract

The study explored the effects of different types of social support on the adjustment of first time parents in the postpartum period. At three months and nine months postpartum, questionnaires were filled out by 18 fathers and 23 mothers who attended parenting groups, and 23 mothers and 24 fathers in a comparison group. Four types of early postpartum social support (parenting group, marital instrumental, marital emotional, and network) were related to later postpartum adjustment (well-being, marital interaction, and parental sense of competence). The results suggest that the importance of a particular type of support may be different for fathers and mothers. Parenting group support and emotional marital support were found to be related to well-being, marital interaction, and parental competence for fathers. Emotional marital and network support were positively related to well-being and marital interaction for mothers. Implications for the provision of support by the naturally occurring informal networks of family and friends, and by specific group support systems were suggested. The limitations of the impact of social support and its assessment were discussed.