The Relationship Between Mothers' and Fathers' Eriksonian Psychosocial Attributes, Perceptions of Family Support, and Adaptation to Parenthood.

Abstract

Adaptation to parenthood is a complex process that requires changes at both an individual and a family level. This study explored the relationship between mothers' and fathers' psychosocial development, their perceptions of family support, and their adaptation to parenthood at 8-9 months postpartum. A major hypothesis of the study, based on the nursing theory of Modeling and Role-Modeling (Erickson, Tomlin, and Swain, 1983), was that an individual's psychosocial development (reflected by attributes derived from progression through Erikson's eight stages of development) would influence his/her adaptation to the birth of child. The study also hypothesized that family support and spouse characteristics would contribute to each parent's adaptation. The sample consisted of 214 couples responding to a mailed survey. Mothers and fathers completed similar questionnaires measuring: Eriksonian attributes (the Modified Erikson's Psychosocial Stage Inventory, Darling-Fisher and Kline, 1986); family support (the Family APGAR, Smilkstein, 1978); adaptation to parenthood (the Parenthood Self-Evaluation Questionnaire, Lederman, Weingarten, and Lederman, 1981); and descriptive data about the family. The findings supported the major hypotheses. Causal models developed for mothers' and fathers' adaptation showed that although family support had the strongest direct effect on adaptation, psychosocial development had the strongest total effect due to the combination of its direct and indirect (mediated through the parent's perceptions of family support) effect on adaptation. Each parent's adaptation was also influenced by his/her spouse's adaptation and psychosocial development. Father involvement in parenting was important for both mothers' and fathers' adaptation. Fathers were less confident in their child care abilities and were less satisfied with a perceived less support for their parenting role than was the case for mothers. A positive spouse relationship was important for each parent's adaptation, particularly for fathers. Experienced parents also felt less satisfied with parenthood and perceived less support for their parenting from friends and relatives than did first-time parents. Results indicate that it is important to consider both individual and family factors in underst and ing adaptation to parenthood. Fathers and experienced parents require increased support. Interventions that are sensitive to the individual's psychosocial development and foster a positive marital relationship are needed to promote adaptation to parenthood.