First‐time parents’ personal growth: Role of parental separation anxiety

Abstract

In recent years, there has been growing recognition that the need to cope with the inevitable stress of the transition to parenthood may lead to the experience of personal growth, reflected in the discovery of new strengths, setting of a renewed path in life and a newfound appreciation of interpersonal relationships (Taubman -Ben-Ari, 2019). Considerable evidence has been presented over the last two decades regarding the role of personal resources in the personal growth (originally termed posttraumatic growth; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004) of both women and men in the transition to parenthood (Taubman -Ben-Ari, 2019) and the contextual aspects which may be related to it, especially levels of objective or perceived stress. The present study was aimed at furthering this line of inquiry by examining the role played by parental separation anxiety as a potential stressor and the personal resources of self-mastery and emotional intelligence in the personal growth of new mothers and fathers in the first two years following childbirth.

Higher Levels of Postnatal Depressive Symptomatology, Post-Traumatic Growth, and Life Satisfaction among Gay Fathers through Surrogacy in Comparison to Heterosexual Fathers: A Study in Israel in Times of COVID-19

“…This journey to fatherhood often incorporates dealing with stressful circumstances, such as concerns deriving from the geographic distance from the pregnant woman [62] and the many financial, legal, and bureaucratic hardships involved in cross-border surrogacy [63]. These stressful circumstances might promote adaptation that manifests itself in a heightened sense of growth, such as was found among women contending with difficulties in their journey to motherhood e.g., [35,37].…”

“…This scale [56] was used to measure personal growth and adjustment among fathers following the transition to parenthood [37]. The inventory consists of 10 items that relate to changes on personal, interpersonal, and philosophical levels (e.g., "I found I am stronger than I previously believed").…”

“…There therefore remains a need to measure growth among gay fathers who used surrogacy while taking into consider-ation the stressful experiences accompanying this path. Among new mothers assessing posttraumatic growth, namely growth after contending with stressful birth events such as giving birth to premature babies, has repeatedly pointed to posttraumatic stress symptoms reported during stressful pregnancies as a main predictor of their posttraumatic growth e.g., [35][36][37][38].…”