Perceived Admiration and Transition to Parenthood for Black and White Married Couples

Abstract

Perceived admiration was examined in this study as a mediator of marital quality and transition to parenthood among Black American and White American couples. Both positive and negative dimensions of marital quality were assessed for husbands (N = 148) and wives (N = 155) during their first and third years of marriage in a large-scale survey. Findings revealed that transitioning Black American husbands reported lower marital tension than transitioning White American husbands. Perceived admiration mediated the link between transition to parenthood and marital wellbeing for wives, and between transition to parenthood and marital tension for husbands. Results suggest that perceived admiration plays a critical role in understanding the transition to parenthood, regardless of race. Insights are offered for practitioners who provide relationship or parental counseling and education to couples during the transition to parenthood.

Taking stock of the longitudinal study of romantic couple relationships: The last 20 years

“…Emery and Finkel (2021) further found that the structural challenges lower SES individuals experience (measured as educational attainment in their study) made it more difficult to achieve satisfying relationships. Articles also highlighted that gender plays a significant role in levels of relationship quality over time (particularly over the transition to parenthood; e.g., Huss & Pollmann‐Schult, 2020; Peterson et al, 2014). For example, gender was a significant moderator for the effects of relationship processes (e.g., unmitigated communion, support provided to ill partners, psychological functioning, changes in marital tension) on relationship quality over time (e.g., Horne et al, 2020; Iida et al, 2010 and Manalel et al, 2019).…”