Search

The transition to parenthood is an exciting, yet stressful, time during which trajectories of infant outcomes, parent health, and coparenting dynamics are established. New parents often receive messaging about what "successful" parenting entails. Expectant parents may adopt rigid beliefs about parenting roles, including views that mothers are more important and "know best." New fathers who view their parenting role as less essential may be at risk for low levels of parenting self-efficacy. This brief report examines changes in self-reports of maternal essentialism beliefs and parenting self-efficacy in first-time fathers. A community sample of first-time fathers, N = 66, completed self-report online questionnaires at the 3rd trimester and 3 months postpartum. Dependent samples t-tests were conducted to evaluate changes in maternal essentialism beliefs and parenting self-efficacy across the transition to parenthood. Bivariate correlations and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate relations between maternal essentialism and parenting self-efficacy within and across time-points. Fathers' essentialist beliefs and parenting self-efficacy increased across the transition to parenthood. We found negative, cross-sectional associations between fathers' maternal essentialist beliefs and parenting self-efficacy at both time points. These results underscore the importance of assessing fathers' beliefs about parenting and parent roles as they transition to fatherhood. Highlights: This study assesses beliefs surrounding maternal essentialism and parenting self-efficacy in a sample of first-time fathers. First-time fathers may experience low levels of self-efficacy in the transition to parenthood. Maternal essentialism, or belief that mothers are more important, tends to increase across the transition to parenthood. Maternal essentialism is related to lower parenting self-efficacy in fathers at 3-months postpartum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the associations between narrative coherence, the 5Cs of positive youth development, and cultural self-construals among 91 Turkish emerging adults (48 females, 42 males, and 1 other) aged between 18 and 29 (M age = 23.01, SD =.52). Emerging adults partook in a life story interview to share three important narratives involving parental interactions that were assessed for causal and thematic coherence. Participants also self-reported on their positive development (competence, confidence, character, caring, and connection) and cultural self-construals (autonomy, relatedness, and autonomy relatedness). Results of path analysis revealed that high causal coherence in narratives was associated with lower levels of competence, confidence, and connection, whereas high thematic coherence was linked to higher levels of competence, confidence, and connection. Further, we examined the role of cultural self-construals in moderating the link between narrative coherence and the 5Cs. Thematic coherence was related to decreased caring when autonomy was high and relatedness was low. Thematic coherence was also related to increased connection only when autonomy was low and relatedness was high. Moreover, causal coherence was related to decreased caring and connection for emerging adults with highly autonomous self-construals. Similarly, causal coherence was associated with lower levels of confidence for emerging adults with high autonomous-related self-construals. Implications for research with Turkish emerging adults are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the correlates of fathers' satisfaction with physical affection (SPA) in their marital relationship before and after the birth of a new baby. Both parents (N = 97) completed surveys assessing SPA, and fathers completed surveys assessing division of household labor and coparenting quality during the third trimester of pregnancy and again at 3 months post-birth. An actor-partner interdependence model revealed partner effects, such that mothers' SPA post-birth was predicted by fathers' SPA pre-birth but not viceversa. Cross-lagged path analyses indicated that fathers who have high SPA pre-birth reported more supportive coparenting post-birth. Furthermore, fathers who believed pre-birth that they would be more involved in child-related household labor had increased SPA after the birth of a new baby. Results are discussed in terms of implications for couple and family therapy, education for new fathers, as well as programs designed to support parents during the transition to parenthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescent parents often maintain a coparenting relationship that is characterized by frequent conflict and unhealthy communication. However, in relationships with less conflict and more cooperation, adolescent mothers display well-being and greater self-acceptance, while young fathers are more likely to be involved with their children. Based on human, financial, and social capital theory that reinforces the influence of parents' investments on family processes and well-being, we examined how capital was related to coparenting behaviors, and how coparenting related to parental functioning. We examined data from 125 adolescent mothers who attended a program for pregnant/parenting teens. Using a latent profile analysis, we (1) identified patterns of coparenting; (2) examined social, financial and human capital resources; and (3) evaluated between-group differences in parental functioning. Results indicated four unique patterns of coparenting based on adolescent mothers' reports, which were associated with indicators of social, financial, and human capital and between-group differences in parental functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective.This study examined ethnicity (African American, European American, and Lumbee American Indian) and child gender as moderators of gender differences in parents’ emotion socialization behaviors.Design.Mothers and fathers from two samples responded to questionnaires assessing self-expressiveness in the family (N = 196) or reactions to children’s negative emotions (N = 299).Results.Differences between mothers and fathers varied as a function of ethnicity. Mothers and fathers showed similar levels of negative expressiveness in European American and African American families, whereas fathers were more negatively expressive than mothers in Lumbee families. Mothers reported more supportive reactions than fathers among European Americans and Lumbees, but African American mothers and fathers reported nearly equal levels of supportive reactions. Parent gender × ethnicity interactions were further moderated by child gender. Mothers were generally more supportive of girls’ negative emotions than fathers across all ethnicities. For boys, however, parent gender differences in supportive reactions to negative emotions varied by ethnicity. Mothers were more supportive than fathers among European American parents of boys, but mothers were less supportive than fathers among African American parents of boys.Conclusions.Results highlight the contextualized nature of emotion socialization, and the need to consider ethnicity and child gender as influences on mothers’ and fathers’ gender-specific emotion socialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. We investigated the social, behavioral, and psychological factors associated with concurrent (i.e., overlapping in time) sexual partnerships among rural African American young men with a primary female partner. Methods. We recruited 505 men in rural areas of southern Georgia from January 2012 to August 2013 using respondent-driven sampling; 361 reported having a primary female partner and participating only in heterosexual sexual activity. Men provided data on their demographic characteristics and HIV-related risk behaviors, as well as social, behavioral, and psychological risk factors. Results. Of the 361 men with a primary female partner, 164 (45.4%) reported concurrent sexual partners during the past three months. Among the 164 men with a concurrent sexual partner, 144 (92.9%) reported inconsistent condom use with their primary partners, and 68 (41.5%) reported using condoms inconsistently with their concurrent partners. Having concurrent sexual partnerships was associated with inconsistent condom use, substance use before sex, and self-reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Bivariate correlates of concurrent sexual partnerships included incarceration, substance use, early onset of sexual activity, impulsive decision-making, and masculinity attitudes (i.e., men's adherence to culturally defined standards for male behavior). In a multivariate model, both masculinity ideology and impulsive decision-making independently predicted concurrent sexual partnerships independent of other risk factors. Conclusion. Masculinity attitudes and impulsive decision-making are independent predictors of concurrent sexual partnerships among rural African American men and, consequently, the spread of HIV and other STIs. Developing programs that target masculinity attitudes and self-regulatory skills may help to reduce concurrent sexual partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate whether an anti-spasticity medication can facilitate the effects of robotic locomotor treadmill training (LTT) to improve gait function in people with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: Individuals with chronic incomplete SCI were recruited and carried out a 4 week intervention of either locomotor treadmill training (LTT) alone (n = 26) or LTT combined with Tizanidine (TizLTT), an anti-spasticity medication (n = 22). Gait function was evaluated using clinical outcome measures of gait, speed and endurance. To better understand the underlying mechanisms of the therapeutic effects, maximal strength, active range of motion (AROM) and peak velocity (Vp) of ankle dorsi- and planter-flexor muscles were also measured. Differences were assessed using two-way mixed design analysis of variance. The number of subjects that achieved the minimal important difference (MID) for clinical scores was also measured for each group, and the results of those that did attain the MID were compared with those that did not. Results: Both LTT and TizLTT resulted in significant improvements in walking speed and dorsiflexion maximum strength, with no significant differences between them, using group-averaging analysis. However, using the MID analysis, a higher proportion of subjects in the TizLTT group achieved the MID for walking speed (40%) compared with LTT alone (13%). Those that achieved the MID for walking speed were significantly higher functioning at baseline than those that did not in the TizLTT group, and the change in walking speed was associated with the change in dorsiflexion peak velocity (R2 = 0.40; P < 0.05). Conclusion: Tizanidine appears tofacilitate the effects of LTT on gait function in individuals with chronic SCI that are higher functioning at baseline. We speculate that this may be due to restoration of inhibitory mechanisms by Tizanidine, resulting in greater stretch in the planterflexor muscles during the LTT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study explored how family characteristics (i.e., family cohesiveness and marital adjustment) and child characteristics (i.e., temperament) assessed when the child was 13 months old predicted child behavior with mothers and fathers at 36 months. Mother–father–child interaction was observed to assess family cohesiveness at 13 months. Mothers and fathers also completed questionnaires assessing their perceptions of marital adjustment and their child’s temperament at 13 months. Based on dyadic parent–child interactions at 36 months, under-controlled behavior and positive engagement were examined as outcome variables. Results indicated that observed family cohesiveness predicted positive engagement with both parents. Moreover, in families with high cohesiveness at 13 months, child behavior was significantly consistent across mother–child and father–child interactions, whereas in families with low cohesiveness, consistency of child behavior was not observed. Results also revealed that fathers’ perceptions of marital adjustment directly predicted child behavior with fathers, while the combination of low family cohesiveness/low marital adjustment and difficult temperament predicted child behavior with mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined trajectories of relationship satisfaction for couples (n = 99) who had recently experienced the birth of an infant, and further examined the roles of parent gender, personality, depression, and first-time parent status in initial levels of relationship satisfaction and change over time. Expectant parents reported their personalities during the third trimester of pregnancy, and relationship satisfaction and depression during the third trimester and at 3.5 and 13 months postpartum. Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses indicated that individuals who were initially more satisfied in their relationships were those whose partners were low in negative emotionality. In addition, first-time fathers had higher initial relationship satisfaction than non-first-time fathers, but experienced fathers had higher initial relationship satisfaction when their partners had greater agency. Declines in relationship satisfaction were more pronounced for mothers and those with higher levels of depressive symptoms across the transition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A growing body of research suggests that, compared with single parent–child attachment relationships, child developmental outcomes may be better understood by examining the configurations of child–mother and child–father attachment relationships (i.e., attachment networks). Moreover, some studies have demonstrated an above-chance level chance of concordance between the quality of child–mother and child–father attachment relationships, and child temperament has been offered as a plausible explanation for such concordance. To assess whether temperament plays a role in the development of different attachment network configurations, in this preregistered individual participant data meta-analysis we tested the degree to which the temperament dimension of negative emotionality predicts the number of secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant, and disorganized attachment relationships a child has with mother and father. Data included in the linear mixed effects analyses were collected from seven studies sampling 872 children (49% female; 83% White). Negative emotionality significantly predicted the number of secure (d = −0.12) and insecure-resistant (d = 0.11), but not insecure-avoidant (d = 0.04) or disorganized (d = 0.08) attachment relationships. Nonpreregistered exploratory analyses indicated higher negative emotionality in children with insecure-resistant attachment relationships with both parents compared to those with one or none (d = 0.19), suggesting that temperament plays a small yet significant role in child–mother/child–father insecure-resistant attachment relationships concordance. Taken together, results from this study prompt a more in-depth examination of the mechanism underlying the small yet significantly higher chance that children with increased negative emotionality have for developing multiple insecure-resistant attachment relationships. Public Significance Statement: Little is known about whether temperament, which is thought of as a behavioral manifestation of one's genetic predisposition, plays a role in the development of simultaneous attachment relationships with multiple caregivers. Results from this study suggest that parents-reported temperamental attributes of negative emotionality play a small yet significant role in the number and concordance of insecure (especially resistant type) attachment relationships children develop with their mothers and fathers, prompting an in-depth examination of the mechanism underlying such associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]