Stress, Coping and Adaptation to New Parenthood

Abstract

A longitudinal study of 123 couples provided some support for the utility of a model of adaptation to parenthood. Even when the effects of initial well-being were controlled, the level of subjective stress (strain) and the use of tension-reducing coping strategies emerged as (negative) predictors of contemporaneous and delayed measures of adaptation. This support for the model was also evident when an external measure of adaptation was utilized. There was, additionally, support for the proposal that problem-focused coping facilitates adaptation to new parenthood, although 18 weeks after the birth this effect was evident only for males. In relation to coping resources, the data provided some support for the proposed effects of the individual resources (self-esteem, internality) and both marital and family support. Non-family support was not related to any of the measures of adaptation. There was some evidence that females experienced lower levels of psychological well-being in the immediate postnatal period than males, while males rated their partner's coping effectiveness more poorly than females. In addition to the gender difference in the effects of problem-focused coping, there was also evidence to suggest that the effects of internality on adaptation 4 weeks after the event differed for males and females.