The Best and Worst of Times: Predictors of New Fathers’ Parenting Satisfaction and Stress

Schoppe‐Sullivan, Sarah J.; Donithen, Reed W.; Lee, Jin Kyung; Simon, Laura T.; Wang, Jingyi

doi:10.1007/s42844-021-00032-y

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Additionally, mothers are more likely than fathers to show gatekeeping behavior in the coparenting context (Schoppe-Sullivan & Altenburger, 2019). Mothers who have negative evaluations of fathers’ parenting and coparenting behaviors might have a greater likelihood to limit and undermine, instead of supporting and encouraging, fathers’ involvement in parenting (Wang & Schoppe-Sullivan, 2021), which will further affect fathers’ parenting satisfaction (Schoppe-Sullivan et al, 2021), parenting stress (Choi & Becher, 2019), and probably also mental health, as shown in the present study. As a result, mothers’ perceptions of fathers as coparents may have more substantial influence on fathers’ well-being than fathers’ perceptions of mothers as coparents have on mothers’ well-being.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

Coparenting, parental anxiety/depression, and child behavior problems: The actor–partner interdependence model with low-income married couples.

Yang,

Kim,

Wang

et al. 2023

Journal of Family Psychology

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A considerable amount of research has suggested significant associations among perceived coparenting relationships, parental anxiety/depression, and children's adjustment. Although family members' function is influenced by other members in a shared context, much of the prior work relied on one parent's perspective to examine the relationship between both parents. To address this important limitation, we applied the actor-partner interdependence model and accounted for the interdependence between fathers and mothers in examining the mediating role of parental anxiety/depression in the association between coparenting quality and child behavior problems. The present study included 1,827 low-income couples from the Supporting Healthy Marriage project (mothers: 51.25% of White, 14.34% African American, 35.31% Hispanic; fathers: 48.11% White, 18.54% African/Black American, 35.34% Hispanic). The results showed that both fathers' and mothers' perceptions of coparenting quality had significant effects on fathers' anxiety/depression. In contrast, mothers' anxiety/depression was affected only by mothers' perceptions of coparenting quality and not by fathers' perceptions. Overall, the effects of parents' perception of coparenting on children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems were largely mediated by parental anxiety/depression. The findings highlight both interdependent and independent roles of fathers and mothers in the pathways from coparenting quality to children's behavior problems.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

Coparenting, parental anxiety/depression, and child behavior problems: The actor–partner interdependence model with low-income married couples.

Yang,

Kim,

Wang

et al. 2023

Journal of Family Psychology

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“…Second, the temporal order of the given models does not imply unidirectional or causal effects. Due to bidirectionality and mutual interdependence in the family system, ineffective parenting behavior (i.e., low parental self-efficacy) could also increase parental stress over time ( Schoppe-Sullivan et al, 2021 ). Third, sample size restrictions prevented us from simultaneously estimating a complete model with multiple risk factors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental stress mediates the effects of parental risk factors on dysfunctional parenting in first-time parents: A dyadic longitudinal study

Senn

Stadelmann

Forster

et al. 2023

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Both parental psychological well-being (e.g., depressive symptoms) and parental relationship functioning (e.g., negative communication) are common parental risk factors for dysfunctional parenting. The spillover process from these parental characteristics to dysfunctional parenting is assumed to be amplified by parental stress, which is particularly common among mothers and fathers of young children. However, few studies have examined dyadic spillover processes from parental risk factors and parental stress on parenting in early childhood. In the current study, we first examined direct actor and partner effects of parents’ depressive symptoms and negative communication at 10 months postpartum on dysfunctional parenting at 48 months postpartum in 168 primiparous mixed-gender couples. Second, we analyzed indirect effects via one’s own and the partner’s parental stress at 36 months postpartum using Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Models (APIMeM). We found direct actor effects for mothers’ depressive symptoms and negative communication on their dysfunctional parenting. Additionally, indirect actor effects were found for depressive symptoms and negative communication among mothers and fathers. Specifically, mediating effects of depressive symptoms and negative communication on one’s dysfunctional parenting through one’s parental stress were found. There were no indirect partner effects through parental stress. These findings highlight the important role of parental stress in early childhood as a mediator between both individual and relationship parental risk factors and dysfunctional parenting. These results further underscore the importance of longitudinal dyadic analyses in providing early and tailored interventions for both mothers and fathers of young children.

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“…These associations were maintained from infancy into adolescence and were particularly strong for children from lower socioeconomic statuses with access to subpar education systems [12]. Similarly, past research has linked increased father confidence with decreased stress and increased satisfaction in fathers during the infancy period [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

The Impact of Stress on Father Involvement in Early Infancy: Examining Risk and Protective Factors in Residential and Nonresidential Fathers

Krueger,

Smith,

Pollock

et al. 2024

OBM Integr Complement Med

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Residential and nonresidential fathers are taking an increasingly greater role in their children’s lives, and father involvement predicts positive child outcomes across development. This study utilized data from a large sample of racially and ethnically diverse fathers of low to middle income (n = 1,112) to test if paternal stress is associated with lower father involvement in early infancy and whether perceived social support is protective. Exploratory analyses examined whether the effects of stress on father involvement differ depending on whether a father lives with his child. Multiple regression analyses tested associations between three different forms of stress (perceived general stress, financial stress, major life events) and father involvement measured as time spent with infant, father confidence, and father provision of tangible support, and to examine whether social support moderated the relation. Controlling for residential status, results showed that perceived and financial stress in fathers were significantly associated with lower father confidence in parenting and lower provision of tangible support. In addition, higher paternal perceived stress related to less time spent with infants. Some patterns differed for residential versus nonresidential fathers. Further, only perceived available affectional social support emerged as protective. These results highlight the importance of identifying the unique types of stress that affect father involvement in the first few months of life, what may be protective, and a possible need to distinguish between residential and nonresidential fathers as they enter parenthood.

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The Best and Worst of Times: Predictors of New Fathers’ Parenting Satisfaction and Stress

Cited by 6 publications

References 81 publications

Coparenting, parental anxiety/depression, and child behavior problems: The actor–partner interdependence model with low-income married couples.

Coparenting, parental anxiety/depression, and child behavior problems: The actor–partner interdependence model with low-income married couples.

Parental stress mediates the effects of parental risk factors on dysfunctional parenting in first-time parents: A dyadic longitudinal study

The Impact of Stress on Father Involvement in Early Infancy: Examining Risk and Protective Factors in Residential and Nonresidential Fathers

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