Social investment theory (SIT) proposes that the transition to parenthood triggers positive personality trait change in early adulthood. Using data from a representative sample of first-time parents compared to nonparents, the results of rigorous tests do not support the propositions of SIT. Specifically, we found no evidence for the proposition that parents show more pronounced mean-level increases in emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness compared to nonparents. We did find that agreeableness and openness changed depending on how long someone was in the parent role. Finally, our results suggest that high extraversion and low openness in both genders and high conscientiousness in females predict the likelihood to enter into parenthood. Discussion focuses on why this transition seems to be unrelated to mean-level personality trait change and the implications of these results for SIT.

The present longitudinal study used data from 187 newlywed couples to examine the impact of the birth of the first child on self-esteem over the course of the first 5 years of marriage. Results suggest that the birth of the first child is associated with changes in parents’ (especially mothers’) self-esteem. For the average parent, these changes were negative with sudden declines in self-esteem in the year after childbirth and continuing gradual decreases throughout the remaining years of the study. A comparison group of couples who did not have children during the research period showed no changes in self-esteem, suggesting that the results seen in the parent sample may indeed be due to the birth of the first child. Discussion focuses on the implications of the results for theory and research on the development of the self-esteem.

In the current study, we used 5 waves of longitudinal data from a large representative sample of Norwegian mothers (N = 84,711) to examine the association between romantic relationship satisfaction and self-esteem before and after childbirth in subgroups of first-, second-, third-, and fourth-time mothers. Maternal self-esteem showed a highly similar change pattern across subgroups. Specifically, self-esteem decreased during pregnancy, increased until the child was 6 months old, and then gradually decreased over the following years. The replication of this trajectory across subgroups and pregnancies suggests that this is a normative change pattern. For relationship satisfaction, the birth of the first child seemed to have the strongest impact compared with the birth of subsequent children. In first-time mothers, relationship satisfaction was high during pregnancy, sharply decreased around childbirth, and then gradually decreased in the following years. In second-, third-, and fourth-time mothers, the decrease in relationship satisfaction after childbirth was more gradual and linear compared with the sharp decrease found in first-time mothers. Moderate positive correlated changes between self-esteem and relationship satisfaction indicated that these constructs were linked over time. Discussion focuses on the implications of the results for theory and future research on self-esteem, relationship satisfaction, and personality–relationship transactions.

In the current study, we examined longitudinal associations between romantic relationship satisfaction and self-esteem before and after childbirth in subgroups of first-, second-, third-, and fourth-time mothers.

The aim of the current study was to compare changes in divorcees' life satisfaction to changes in a control sample of nondivorcees. Prospective longitudinal data came from 33 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study. Divorcees (n ϭ 787) were propensity-score matched to nondivorcees (n ϭ 1,629) in the year of marriage. In this way, we created a clear starting point and time scale related to different phases of the divorce process. Piecewise growth models indicated gradual declines in the years before divorce, a sudden decline in the year of divorce, and gradual increases in the years after. The matched control sample of people who remained married throughout the study period showed gradual declines in life satisfaction, suggesting that some but not all of the declines found in divorcees were associated with the divorce process. In the year of divorce and the years after divorce, divorcees showed larger individual differences in change as compared with nondivorcees. Time-invariant moderators explained a small amount of variance in divorcees' life satisfaction trajectories. Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for theory and research on hedonic adaptation during major life transitions.