.. .iluak . 5.1 . 'IA.‘ 0 .. ~54!!- ame. um." fan”... “an.” '4 .t \. i.I obn .v:\-. b1! 4 . 0 5,5013% v.. ..\|. l \v 1 1| saumwxuw‘, -. k3.“ it. {.5 Full 1.1.5:} I, n. it; ,1: y. .) m» 1 Or 1.. .1... ‘1‘ 1.01, ' | » . n‘ u n! .9.-- II -..:I.. .v .. In a . "l Illl‘ '1 t 9 ‘ .... firm. 9 V .v..v f: .v I119... . A I 1. .asylfa. . lllllllllllllllllllll ll“ lllllll \[/ 3 1293 0079 ll 113MB Y Michigan State University \ / This is to certify that the dissertation entitled . Development of an Ecological Model: Evaluation of a Parent Education Program during the Transition to Parenthood presented by Shi-Ruei Sherry Fang has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph-D- mgmem Family & Child Ecology de2224¢LJ Ah421&;- ';:>QMH&L/ M a jOt’ professor DMC July 23, 1992 MSU is an Affirmative Action/L2] ual Opportunity Institution 0-12771 PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE M26 “ * Wt": 2, 5 I99 OCTOZZOUS 0427 05 MSU In An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunlty lnetltutlon _r _ cyan-«mug, DEVELOPMENT OF AN ECOLOGICAL MODEL: EVALUATION OF A PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM DURING THE TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD BY Shi-Ruei Sherry Fang A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Family and Child Ecology 1992 ABSTRACT DEVELOPMENT OF AN ECOLOGICAL MODEL: EVALUATION OF A PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM DURING THE TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD BY Shi-Ruei Sherry Fang This study was designed to evaluate the ways families utilize various family resources to adapt to parenting stress that is associated with transition to parenthood. The family resources identified were marital adjustment, parental knowledge of child development, and maternal social support. In addition, this study was also designed to evaluate a parent education program, i.e., the Family Infant Toddler Learning Program (FITL) and its effectiveness in reducing parenting stress. The FITL is a program which requires the participation of mother, father, and their young child ages 3 months to 3 years. Parenting knowledge and skills are taught to parents who are responsible for their own children. Information on four self-report instruments was collected from 76 families in the pretest and 20 families in the posttest. Based on the ecological framework, parenting stress of individuals and families was viewed as the outcome of functioning of the resource variables in various levels of the family ecosystem. Consequently, a large number of hypotheses regarding the ways individuals and families adapted to parenting stress in terms of the relationship to each of the resource variables were tested using parametric statistical methods. Path analysis was performed to assess the conceptual model and the hypothesized causal relationships between resource variables and parenting stress. The results indicated that both mothers and fathers were vulnerable to parenting stress which was associated with the resource variables. Mothers also tended to report more negative aspects of parenthood than fathers. Marital adjustment strongly affected maternal parenting stress and maternal social support strongly affected paternal parenting stress. After the FITL experience, the differences between mothers and fathers in all domains of measurement decreased. Most of all, maternal social support, marital adjustment, and child development knowledge increased while parenting stress decreased. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the FITL program for this particularly highly educated middle-class mothers and fathers. To my mother and her goal for me iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Lillian Phenice, the chairperson of my guidance committee, for her advice and stimulation throughout the years of my study at M.S.U. Special acknowledgement is given to other guidance committee members; to Dr. Linda Nelson for her dedication to excellence and vital support during the very trying moments of finishing this study. To Dr. Verna Hilderbrand for her interest and direction in the writing of this dissertation as well as in my professional growth. To Dr. Lee June for his time and thoughtful comments to the study. My sincere gratitude is extended to Elaine Williams and Dr. Martha Bristor for their constant support throughout the years of my graduate work at M.S.U. Their guidance has contributed to my personal and professional growth. My thanks also go to Zulkefly Abd. Maulud for his technical assistance in the completion of this dissertation. A special appreciation is due to Willard Hooks Jr. for his patience, understanding, and prayers for the past three years. My most heartfelt appreciation goes to my family, especially to my mother, the late Mrs. Mann-Giun Wu Fang V whose love was the very source of my inspiration. She would be proud of this dissertation for this was the outcome of her endurance and devotion. I know she shares this joy with me. To my father, Ju-Chen, my aunt, Huey-Fang, my brother, Tzann-Hour, my sister, Duan for their caring, concern and understanding during my absence from them. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF TABLES .. .............. ... .................. xi LIST OF FIGURES ........... ................. . ...... . xiii CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION .. ..... .................... 1 Purpose of the Study .......................... 3 Statement of the Problem ................. ..... 4 Conceptual Framework .......................... 5 Family Ecological Approach ............... 5 Family Developmental Approach ............ 9 ABCX Family Stress Model ................. 10 Conceptual Model ......................... 12 Theoretical Assumptions ....................... 14 Theoretical Definitions ....................... 15 Research Hypotheses ........................... 16 Preintervention Phase .. ...... .... ....... . 16 Postintervention Phase . ....... .. ...... ... 18 Pretest versus Posttest .................. 19 Evaluation of the Posttest Conceptual Model .................................... 20 Operational Definitions ....................... 20 Significance of the study ..................... 21 CHAPTER II - REVIEI 0! LITERATURE .................. 23 Parenting Stress .............................. 24 vii Marital Relationship ......... ...... ... ..... ... Social Support ................................ Postpartum Depression .................... Coping with the Demands of Parenting ..... Baby's Impact on Social Support Network .. Parental Child Development Knowledge . ....... .. Intervention Program for New Parents .......... Family Infant Toddler Learning Program (FITL) OOO......OO.......OOOIOCOOOOOOOOOOO Summary ....................................... CHAPTER III - METHODOLOGY .......................... Research Design ............................... Sample ................................... Data Collection .......................... Instruments ..... ................... ...... Analysis of Data ......................... Limitations ................................... CHAPTER IV - RESULTS ............................... Preintervention Phase ......................... Mothers .................................. Fathers .................................. Couples .................................. Mothers versus Fathers ................... Preintervention Summary .................. Postintervention Phase ........................ Mothers versus Fathers ................... Postintervention Summary ................. 31 38 39 4O 44 45 49 56 63 65 65 66 68 68 74 77 79 79 80 86 92 95 100 101 101 104 Pretest versus Posttest ”others 0.00.00.00.00.......OOOOOOOOOO.... Fathers ....... ................... . ...... . couples 0.0.000.........OOOOOOOOO ......... Evaluation of Conceptual Model in the Posttest .....OOOOOOOOOOOOO0.00.0000... ........ mothers ......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO00.0.0000... Fathers ...... ......... O 000000000000 ...... summary ......COOOOOOCCOCOOOOOO......OOOOOCOOCC Preintervention Phase .. ..... ............. Postintervention Phase ................... Pretest versus Posttest .......... ........ Evaluation of the Conceptual Model ....... mrmv-smymnxscossIon ......OOOOOOOOOOO Summary of the Study .......................... Discussion of Major Findings ... ............... ResearCh questionl......OOOOOOOOOO ..... 0 Research Question Research Question Research Question 2 3 4 conCIUSion O..........OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO000...... Implications ......OOOOOOIOOOOO00.0.0000....... Implications for Future Research ......... Implications for Family Ecological Theory ......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0.......... Implications for Practice ................ ix 105 105 108 111 113 115 118 122 122 124 124 125 126 126 128 129 138 143 150 154 158 158 161 162 APPENDICES Appendix A: Cover Letter ..... ................ Appendix B: Dyadic Adjustment Scale ... ....... Appendix C: Maternal Social Support Index .... Appendix D: Parental Knowledge of Child Development ............ .......... Appendix E: Parenting Stress Index ........... Appendix F: Description of the PSI Subscales . BIBLIOGMPHY OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 166 167 170 172 174 180 181 Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table 4.5 LIST OF TABLES Demographic Characteristics of Sample.... Maternal Work Status and Parental Status OO0.0.0....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... Summary of Statistical Procedures........ Mothers' Responses to Resource Variables by Parenting Stress Level ..... Multiple Regression Analysis of Resource Variables and Outcome Variable for mothers ......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0...... Regression Analysis of Outcome Variable in Relation to Fathers' and Mothers' Responses to Resource Variables for Mothers ................................. Fathers' Responses to Resource Variables by Parenting Stress Level ..... Regression Analysis of Resource Variables and Outcome Variable for Fathers .....OOOOOOOOOO0.00.00....... Regression Analysis of Outcome Variable in Relation to Fathers' and Mothers' Responses to Resource Variables for Fathers ................................. Couples' Responses to Resource Variables by Parenting Stress Level ..... ANOVA of Mothers' and Fathers' Responses to Resource and Outcome Variables Before FITL Experience ........ Paired T-Test of Within Family Differences of Mothers' and Fathers' Responses to Resource and Outcome Variables Before FITL Experience ........ xi PAGE 67 67 75 81 84 85 88 90 91 93 96 98 Table Table Table Table Table Table Table 4.10 Mothers' and Fathers' Responses to Resource and Outcome Variables After FITL Experience ......COOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... Paired T-Test of Within Family Differences of Mothers' and Fathers' Responses to Resource and Outcome Variables After FITL Experience ......... Two-Tailed T-test Comparisons of Mothers' Responses to Resource and Outcome Variables Before and After FITL Experience .................. Two—Tailed T-test Comparisons of Fathers' Responses to Resource and Outcome Variables Before and After FITL Experience .................. Two-Tailed T-test Comparisons of Couples' Responses to Resource and Outcome Variables Before and After FITL Experience .................. Summary Table of Major Findings According to Hypothesis ................ Summary Table of Path Analysis ......... xii 102 103 106 109 112 123 123 LIST OF FIGURES PAGE Figure 1 Conceptual Model ......................... 6 Figurez Family Ecosystem OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. 7 Figure 3 Trimmed Model of Postintervention Phase for Mothers (with Modification) .......... 116 Figure 4 Trimmed Model of Postintervention Phase for Fathers (with Modification) .......... 120 xiii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The arrival of the first child is an event of extreme biological, psychological, and social significance. It is a transition that challenges and profoundly affects the people who are directly involved in this process of becoming a family. The consequence of the first child's arrival signifies an event that ripples through parents' relationship and along their life course in important and irreversible ways. Parenthood is considered a normative life experience, however, it is highly stressful for the majority of adults (Miller & Myers-Walls, 1983). In the study of transition to parenthood, the effect of an infant on parents' relationship with one another and family interaction is well documented. The period of transition to parenthood was found, at best, to be a time accompanied by some difficulties (Meyerowitz & Feldman, 1966; Russell, 1974) and at worst, a crisis of severe proportions (Dyer, 1963; Hobbs, 1965, 1968; Lemasters, 1957). For the large majority of adults, one of the sharpest changes in life is having the first child. In fact, Rossi (1968) has stated that the major transition from 1 2 adolescence to adulthood is not marriage, but parenthood. As soon as the first infant is born, parents have to face the change of roles and the social expectation of what parents should do. By comparison, later normative changes during the parental career occur much more gradually. At the point of transition to parenthood, the parental roles are abruptly acquired, often with little preparation. Transition to parenthood, therefore, represents a period of stressful time for most of the adults involved in this transition. Despite the fact that much theory and research have been generated in studying high-risk families and their response to various nonnormative and normative transitions, there is a lack of systematic and theoretically guided research of "mainstream" families' responses to normative events, such as transition to parenthood. In addition, numerous support groups and parent education opportunities have been available only for high-risk families. Services for parents whose children are not at special risk have been confined to preparation for childbirth classes. Nevertheless, the job of parenting an infant effectively is being taken seriously by young adults more than ever before. The mainstream families are not free from the uncertainties, stress, and social pressure of parenting. Programs that provide parental support and education which result in greater sense of parenting competency for mainstream families are needed. 3 Purpose of the Study In reviewing the literature, the majority of research studying the transition to parenthood has focused primarily on the mother-infant dyad as a static unit of analysis. The role of father and the family as an integrated system of many forms of relationship which are affecting, as well as being affected by, the presence of the infant are often not included in these studies. Furthermore, there are no widely available interventions specifically designed to prepare couples for becoming parents (Markman & Kadushin, 1986). Consequently, new parents are left alone to deal with the stress they face in adjusting from the adult-centered dyad to a child-focused triad. The purpose of this study, therefore, was an attempt to focus on the potential parenting stress associated with the transition to parenthood for parents with no prior identified risk. More specifically, the study examined the association between various resource variables and parenting stress at this transitional period of time. Furthermore, it investigated the effect of the Family Infant Toddler Learning (FITL) program on families. The FITL program is an ongoing program which approaches the family as an integrated system. It provides support and educational opportunities for parents, child, and family to learn and to grow together. The FITL program tries to promote family strength and capabilities in order that families can successfully resolve this very 4 difficult transition. It is hoped that the results of this study will provide some empirical evidence upon which to build a more comprehensive picture of the complex process of transition to parenthood. Furthermore, knowledge from this intervention program can be used in helping parents cope more effectively with this potentially very difficult period in the family life-cycle. Statement of the Problem This research examined selected family and individual factors which are associated with parenting stress during the period of transition to parenthood. It attempted to answer the question about why some families coped with this transitional period with ease while others faced this period with a great deal of difficulty. It also examined the impact of the intervention program, i.e., the FITL program, on a family's adaptation to parenthood. The following research questions were asked: 1. What is the relationship between the resource variables, i.e., marital adjustment, maternal social support, child development knowledge, and the outcome variable, i.e., parenting stress? 2. Does gender of parents have an effect on the experience of transition to parenthood in terms of relationship between resource variables and the outcome variable? 5 3. Does the FITL program have an impact on the participating families during the transition to parenthood? If it does, who truly benefited from the FITL program, i.e., mothers or fathers? 4. Does the conceptual model (Figure 1) fit the data? It focuses on the causal relationship between the resource variables and the outcome variable. This is in part an evaluation of the effectiveness of the FITL program. Conceptual Framework Due to the purposes and objectives of this study and the inadequacy of conceptual frameworks to encompass the very complex nature of a family's adaptation to the period of transition to parenthood, components of three conceptual frameworks were selected and combined to guide this study. These three conceptual frameworks were: (a) the family ecological framework (Bubolz & Sontag, in press), (b) the ABCX family stress model (Hill, 1949), and (c) the family developmental approach (Duvall, 1977). Each of the conceptual models will be described and selected components identified. The proposed conceptual framework will be discussed in detail. W The ecological perspective refers to the interaction between an organism and its environment. In its application to the family, as indicated in Figure 2, emphasis is on the 3pc: _a:uaoucou LIME—flu. 3:... ‘ zo.5~>¢m._.z.._.moa Shim—ENE $55.65. moouusozx pzwxaodioodzu hzuzaodio 3.201.. 45252.. 3223:: \ \ \ \ \\ % $5 2235 _ coo—15:5. $5.5 . #525222 3:5 1/ / / / / / 25 .558: hzuxpmsqo< hzoflnmfifisuo.“ 1:52... _II at“. 33535 535.5 m3<§<> 3.555; hzu>w $5950 zoC-1t. 9- #1 a 1' W99- In order to test the hypothesis, fathers' pretest scores on Parental Child Development Knowledge (PKD) were compared to those of posttest scores. As illustrated in Table 4.13, the scores in the posttest 110 were slightly higher than in the pretest, however the difference was not statistically significant (t = 1.68, p < .70). Based on the finding of the analysis, the null hypothesis was not rejected. Hypothesis 24. Thepe will he ne difference in ppetest scores and posttest scores to; fathers on parenting etpess. Table 4.13 illustrated a nonsignificant difference occurred in comparison when the overall responses on the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) of fathers in the pretest were compared with those of posttest (t = .076, p < .50), thus, providing support for the null hypothesis. In this case, a decrease of overall parenting stress was observed in the posttest for fathers. A closer examination of the subscales in the PSI revealed that a significant difference was found in only one of the 13 subscales. Fathers responded less stress in the posttest in the area where they felt the lack of competence in parenting skills (t = 2.32, p < .05). In the majority of the subscales, parenting stress was reduced in the posttest for the fathers. ‘ In summary, these results provide further support for the effectiveness of the FITL program. In several instances, there was a consistent, though not always statistically significant, tendency for fathers to report increased scores on marital adjustment and child development knowledge while their scores on parenting stress were decreased after the FITL experience. 111 Conplee The couple scores were derived by adding and averaging mothers' and fathers' individual responses in each of the measurements. The combined experience of attending the FITL program on both mother and father as a family experience is important to consider given that separating the two as independent categories may present a different view of a family system. A Hypothesis 25, There will be no digfiepenee in prehesh end posttest fog conples on nepital adjnshnenp. As indicated in Table 4.14, in the overall comparison, couples' scores on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale increased significantly in the posttest when compared with that of the pretest (t = 2.338, p < .05). The responses in the subscales showed a similar trend to that of the overall comparison. A significant increase of scores was shown in one of the four subscales, i.e., the Consensus subscale (t = 2.432, p < .05). The results of the analyses provided no support for the null hypothesis. That is, there were significant differences in the pretest and the posttest for couples on marital adjustment. hypethesis 26. Thepe will he no diffiepence in ppehesh a ostte c e n o are deyelepnenp_hneyledge. An attempt was made to determine if the FITL experience was associated with different amounts of child development knowledge. Couples' scores on the PKD before the FITL experience were compared with those of post FITL experience, t = 112 1.49, p < .20 (Table 4.14). Although a higher amount of child development knowledge was found to be associated with the post FITL experience in couples, no statistically significant difference was established to reject the null hypothesis. Table 4.14 Two-Tailed T-Test Comparisons of Couples' Responses to Resource and Outcome Variables Before and After FITL Experience Pre Poet Variable Mean SD Mean SD N T p MTAJ 112.18 13.27 129 117.78 11.19 37 2.338 .0206* Cohesion 15.73 3.17 129 16.68 3.85 37 1.529 .1281 Consensus 48.05 5.66 129 50.51 4.49 37 2.432 .0161* Satisfac. 39.91 5.12 129 41.51 3.75 37 1.768 .0789 Affect. 8.49 1.94 129 9.08 1.61 37 1.689 .0930 PKD 10.44 3.56 98 11.39 2.25 36 1.490 .1377 PSI 218.08‘ 31.90 131 208.54 36.00 37 1.561 .1205 CD1 25.67 4.31 132 24.92 6.30 37 .838 .4030 CD2 12.29 3.46 133 12.14 3.80 37 .228 .8197 CD3 17.95 4.15 132 17.70 4.79 37 .313 .7548 CD4 9.53 2.44 133 10.38 3.15 37 1.753 .0814 CD5 24.54 4.79 133 23.81 5.11 37 .081 .4202 CD6 8.99 2.66 133 9.14 2.43 37 .309 .7578 PD1 18.66 4.59 132 17.19 3.55 37 1.805 .0734 PD2 12.55 3.07 132 12.43 3.12 37 .209 .8344 PD3 18.07 4.40 132 17.03 4.27 37 1.279 .2028 PD4 26.42 5.30 132 23.78 5.46 37 2.660 .0086** PDS 13.06 3.31 131 11.95 2.83 37 1.856 .0652 PD6 17.45 4.47 132 15.86 3.90 37 1.963 .0513 PD7 12.60 2.90 131 11.54 2.97 37 1.953 .0525 *p < .05. **p < .01. 119' 1‘- .Il. I -1- - “ —‘. e: In the overall comparison of the PSI, although lower levels of parenting stress were observed in the posttest measurement for couples, the difference between pretest and posttest was nonsignificant, t = 1.561, p < .15 (Table 4.14). This finding did not provide substantial evidence to reject the 113 null hypothesis. Upon examining the individual subscales, a significant difference was shown in one of the 14 comparisons. It is also noted that in all but two subscales, parenting stress was reduced in the posttest. A significant decrease of parenting stress was especially observed in the area where parenting competence was assessed, t = 2.66, p < .001. Although the results were not always statistically significant, generally speaking, these results provided support for the effectiveness of the FITL. Greater amount of marital adjustment, and child development knowledge as well as reduction of parenting stress were associated with the FITL experience. Evaluation of the Conceptual Model in the Posttest Path analysis was performed to test the overall fit of the model to the current data. Several hypotheses were incorporated in the conceptual model (Figure 1) and were tested by path analysis. EQ§0§£§ This section will provide information about evaluation of the proposed conceptual model for mothers in the posttest. Path analysis was used to find the relationship among maternal social support, child development knowledge, marital adjustment, and their association with parenting stress. The proposed conceptual model is illustrated in 114 Figure 1. There is evidence sharing that maternal social support and child development knowledge gained from the FITL program had direct effects on parenting stress. Furthermore, maternal social support and child development knowledge were linked indirectly to parenting stress through their effects on marital adjustment. Spousal relationship is believed to be the first source of maternal social support. Greater social support enhances the marital relationship which in turn reduces parenting stress. By the same token, greater amounts of child development knowledge and parenting skills enhance the cohesiveness of spousal relationship which appear to lead to reduced parenting stress. Marital adjustment was identified as the indirect path in the model. Although the FITL program does not focus on couple relationship directly, however, by attending the program jointly, a sense of closeness and couple identity will be fostered which will impact directly on parenting stress. According to the model, the two exogenous variables were maternal social support and child development knowledge. The endogenous variables were: marital adjustment and parenting stress. e tu de . A series of hierarchical regression equations were used to derive standardized beta weights to estimate path coefficients. The only significant predictor of maternal parenting stress was marital adjustment. Maternal social support was found to have some direct, inverse impact on parenting stress. The effects of 115 maternal social support were largely indirect, by way of the marital adjustment. The impact of child development knowledge on marital adjustment was weak. Mothers' child development knowledge did not have a direct effect on maternal parenting stress. A trimmed model of the original conceptual model was obtained by deleting the insignificant path (B < .05) from the just-identified model, and the standardized beta weights of the paths remaining were recalculated as presented in Figure 3. A comparison of the conceptual model with the trimmed model reveals that many of the predicted paths were supported. Maternal social support exerted a direct, inverse effect on maternal parenting stress. It also had a direct, positive effect on marital adjustment. Marital adjustment in turn had a direct, inverse effect on maternal parenting stress. As predicted, parental child development knowledge directly affected marital adjustment. The predicted direct effect of parental child development knowledge on parenting stress, however, was deleted from the original model. To test the fit of the trimmed model, the Q score was obtained by calculating the ratio of the variance explained by the trimmed model to the variance of the just-identified model (Pedhazur, 1982). As pointed out by Pedhazur, the closer the Q score is to 1 the better the model fits the data, i.e., very little explained variance was lost in the process of setting certain paths to zero. The results of 116 8050: toe omega coacoteuczmon. ..o .30: 358:... ..MIIHIQI: .u. mung! h2w884u>mo 048.5 .1592“. N m—r mmuth ‘IIIII! h2w!hm3m0< w2_h2w¢ we 04.20 .2...sz — 121 development knowledge on marital adjustment, however, was deleted in the trimmed model. The Q score was obtained in order to test the trimmed model. The results of the Q score was 0.99989, indicating the trimmed model provided an excellent fit of the data. The W score was also calculated to test the overall effect of the model. The W score's distribution approximates that of the X2 with degrees of freedom equal to the number of paths in the trimmed model set to zero. The results of the W score (X2 = .0016, df = 1, p < .90) indicate that the model fits the data almost perfectly. More specifically, the null hypothesis that the model fit the data could not be rejected. 119° 1---. ‘1 o. 1' 9. .- - 9911-1 .19. 1°- 1-: .1 1 - s- 1' - u°z ., oa - 1. 9. :1t11- : -=:. The hypothesized effect of parental child development knowledge on parenting stress was insignificant (B = -.33, t = -1.265, p < .30). The hypothesis, therefore, was rejected. Parental knowledge of child development was not found to have a significant inverse, direct impact on paternal parenting stress. 'r ac ent' s . The inverse effect of marital adjustment on parenting stress was insignificant (B a -.14, t = -.536, p < .60). The finding did not support the conclusion that parenting stress was affected by marital adjustment significantly. 122 Hypothesis 35. Child development knewledge hae a direct impact on paternal marital adjustment. The results indicated the effect of child development knowledge on paternal marital adjustment was insignificant (B = .011, t = .9678, p < .90). Summary All the major hypotheses were reported with statistical findings. The results are summarized in Tables 4.15 and 4.16. Eneintervention Phase Parenting stress levels were found to be a significant factor in affecting mothers' and fathers' responses, and the combined responses of mothers and fathers on marital relationship, maternal social support, and parental knowledge of child development. Parenting stress was inversely related to all resource variables, e.g., higher levels of parenting stress were associated with significantly lower levels of marital adjustment, maternal social support, and child development knowledge in all respondents. Lower levels of parenting stress were associated with significantly higher levels of marital adjustment, maternal social support, and child development knowledge in all respondents. Multiple regression indicated that marital adjustment was the strongest predictor in affecting maternal parenting stress while maternal social 123 Table 4.15 Summary Table of Major Findings According to Hypothesis Null Hypothesis Rejected Retained Preintervention Phase Mothers 1-2 p 4 3 Fathers 5 6-7 Couples 8 9-11 Mothers vs. Fathers 12-13 14 Postintervention Phase Mothers vs Fathers 15-17 Pretest vs. Posttest Mothers 18—19, 21 20 Fathers 22 23-24 Couples 25-27 support was the most significant predictor in affecting paternal parenting stress. No significant relationship was found between the resource variables and the outcome variable for parents with high levels or low levels of parenting stress. Table 4.16 Summary Table of Path Analysis Hypothesis Sig. Nonsig. Mothers 28-29, 31-32 x 30 x Fathers 33-35 x 124 When mothers' responses were compared with those of fathers, mothers were slightly more positive about their marital adjustment, and scored higher on child development knowledge than the fathers. However, mothers also tended to indicate greater amount of stress and were more negative about parenthood than their spouses. hestintepvention Ehase In the postintervention phase, the differences found between mothers and fathers in the preintervention phase disappeared after the FITL experience. They tended to score increasingly similarly in the postassessment. The nonsignificant trend illustrated that fathers scored slightly higher on marital adjustment. Mothers scored slightly higher on child development knowledge. Both mothers and fathers were very similar in their responses to the PSI. BI§§§§£_!§1_EQ§L££§§ The results of the analyses revealed that higher scores were reported on marital adjustment, parental child development knowledge, and maternal social support after the FITL experience for both mothers and fathers. Parenting stress was reduced after the FITL experienced for both mothers and fathers. The results were not always statistically significant, however, they showed some evidence of support in the effectiveness of the FITL experience. 125 hyeluation of the Concephuel hodel Based on the results of path analysis and X2 test, it was concluded that the trimmed model fitted the current data well and represented the causal relationship illustrated by the hypothesized model. Tests of hypotheses in this section were based on the hypothesized conceptual model by using path analysis. Hypotheses were tested through multiple regressions. For the mothers, the strongest direct, inverse relationship was found between marital adjustment and parenting stress. Perceived maternal social support was an element had an impact on marital adjustment. Maternal social support was also found to have direct, inverse impact on maternal parenting stress. Parental knowledge of child development was found to have a very weak influence on marital adjustment. A direct impact of child development knowledge on maternal parenting stress was not found. For the fathers, the strongest relationship was found between child development knowledge and paternal parenting stress. The effect of marital adjustment on parenting stress was rather weak. A direct effect of child development knowledge on marital relationship was not found. CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION In this chapter, four parts will be presented: the summary of the research, discussion of the major findings, conclusion of the study, and recommendations and implications for future research. Summary of the Study The main purpose of this research was to test empirically the relationships between various selected resource variables associated with parenting stress in the transition to parenthood. The selected resource variables tested were: maternal social support, amount of parental child development knowledge, and marital adjustment. Parenting stress was the outcome variable in the current study. Another purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of a parent education program, i.e., the Family Infant Toddler Learning (FITL) program. The FITL program was developed mainly for first time mothers, fathers and their young children with the goals of enhancing meaningful parent-child interaction and decreasing parenting stress. However, there 126 127 were those who were not first time parents (10.9%) in the program. In addition, in order to understand the process of the FITL program, this study also attempted to evaluate a viable conceptual model to explain how parenting stress was related to utilization of family resources. Instead of focusing on the mother-infant dyad or father-infant dyad as the primary unit of analysis, the current study viewed family as an integrated system of relationships which are affecting and being affected by the presence of the infant. The family ecological approach provided the major theoretical guidance for the research. Under the theoretical assumptions of the family ecological approach, the impact of transition to parenthood was evaluated as the result of interactions between individual/family and the multilevel systems in which the individual/family was embedded. Furthermore, the ABCX family stress model developed by Hill (1949) provided the initial conceptual framework for the present study in understanding families' capabilities of coping with the parenting stress associated with the transition to parenthood. Findings of this study were based on a secondary analysis of data collected in the period of 1988 to 1989. Pretest data were collected from 76 families upon their enrollment in the FITL program. Postdata were collected from 20 mothers and 16 fathers at the last session of the FITL series. In order to examine the impact of the FITL program on the participating parents, individual parents 128 were given separate packets of self-administered questionnaires, they were: the Maternal Social Support Index (Pascoe, 1982) which measures maternal social support for mothers, Parental Knowledge of Child Development (Bristor 8 Williams, 1988) which measures the amount of parental child development knowledge, Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976) which measures couple relationship, and Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1986) which measures amount of parenting stress perceived by parents. A large number of hypotheses were developed based on theoretical and empirical grounds. Various parametric statistics were used to test the hypotheses. Path analysis was used to test the proposed conceptual model. Discussion of Major Findings Discussion of findings must be viewed with caution given the limitations previously discussed (see p. 77). The present study investigated: (a) the relationship between the resource variables, i.e., marital adjustment, parental child development, maternal social support, and the outcome variable, i.e., parenting stress at the transition to parenthood; (b) the differences of gender in the transition to parenthood in the context of the relationship between the resource variables and the outcome variable for mothers and fathers, (c) the effectiveness of the intervention program on the participating parents, and (d) the evaluation of the 129 conceptual model. Due to the large number of hypotheses generated by the investigator and summarized in Tables 4.15 and 4.16, findings will be discussed in relation to the research questions posed by the investigator in Chapter 1. heseepeh Qnestion l What is the relationship between resource variables and the outcome variable? The study was designed to investigate the observation of why some individuals/families were able to manage parenting stress associated with the transition to parenthood more effectively than other individuals/families. Therefore, only individuals] families who reported high or low parenting stress were included in this part of investigation. One can conclude that the nature of the relationship of the resource variables and the outcome variable is reciprocal, however, this relationship was not clearly defined in previous empirical studies. In the present study, the relationship between the resource variables and the outcome variable was first explored by ANOVA. The dependent variables were the resource variables, i.e., marital adjustment, parental child development knowledge, and maternal social support. The independent variables were the high and low levels of parenting stress. In the second part of the analysis, the relationship between the resource variables and the outcome variable was explored by multiple regression, the dependent variable was the 130 parenting stress; the independent variables were the various resource variables. hapital adjustment. The results of ANOVA strongly indicated a significant relationship between stress levels and various resource variables. Significant difference was found between parents with high and low levels of parenting stress in their Dyadic Adjustment scores. High levels of parenting stress were associated significantly with low levels of marital adjustment for both mothers and fathers and vice versa. This result parallels the findings of many other studies that examine the relationship between marital relationship and the onset of parenthood, e.g., Cherlin (1977), Cowan 8 Cowan (1988), Harriman (1986), and Miller and Myers-Walls (1983). As far as the investigator can determine, very few studies have focused directly on the relationship between parenting stress at the period of transition to parenthood and the marital relationship. However, in all of the studies reviewed, a negative marital relationship was associated with the transition to parenthood, a period when time and effort required for child care was at the peak, i.e., when parenting stress was unusually high. According to Rossi (1968), much of the parenting stress is the result of the difficulties associated with caring for a young infant for which most new parents are not prepared. This dramatic increase in personal responsibilities with substantial new limits on free time, and the increased amount of work associated with 131 the birth of a first child heighten the likelihood for difficulties. Consequently, it is not unreasonable to speculate that high parenting stress is associated with a negative marital relationship. In fact, in comparing stress and satisfaction reported by couples with young children and couples without children, Feldman (1971) found parents with young children appeared to have less satisfying marriages and were under more stress than couples without children. Perhaps one can conclude that negative marital adjustment at the period of transition to parenthood is not a result of the presence of the new born child, but rather, a result of the high level of parenting stress accompanying this period of time. This line of reasoning was supported by the data of this study. Lower levels of parenting stress were found to be associated with significantly higher levels of marital adjustment. Marital difficulties experienced by many new parents may be avoided if levels of parenting stress remain reasonably low. Clearly, it is not the baby who should be blamed for the parent's distress with the marriage. Rather, spouses who decide to move from the status of couple to family must confront conflicting needs of adults, children, marriages, and families. With little outside support, the relationship of spouses will be vulnerable to strain during the transition to parenthood (Cowan 8 Cowan, 1987). Mothers are usually more affected by parenting stress than fathers. Mothers, in general, take on most of the responsibilities in caring for children. However, it is 132 interesting to note that in this present study, fathers' marital adjustment was as much or even more affected by parenting stress than that of mothers'. This finding is congruent with other research studies which found that the marital relationship played a central role in the men's adjustments to parenthood (Belsky 1979; Goth-Owens et al., 1982; Wandersman 1980). Goth-Owens and colleagues pointed out that "in the absence of specific socialization of fathers into a caregiving role, fathers' parenting role and style may become organized and develop primarily in the context of their relationships with their spouses" (p.187). The central importance of marital relationship to parenting for fathers was supported by the findings of the present study. Fathers with high levels of parenting stress reported much less satisfaction in their marriages and were less likely to show affection toward their spouses than did fathers with lower levels of parenting stress. Parenting stress, on the other hand, did not seem to have the same amount of effect on the mothers' marital adjustment as it did on the fathers. However, this study clearly shows that parenting stress is an important factor affecting marital relationships for both mothers and fathers. WWW- An attempt was made to determine whether parental child development knowledge was associated with levels of parenting stress. It was observed that both mothers and fathers with high levels of parenting stress did not respond significantly 133 differently from mothers and fathers with low levels of parenting stress in terms of their amount of child development knowledge. Generally speaking, both mothers and fathers did not possess a great deal of child development knowledge. However, the results did show an important trend revealing that greater amounts of child development knowledge were associated with parents of lower levels of parenting stress. It is important to point out the fact that the instrument of Parental Knowledge of Child Development developed by Bristor and Williams (1989) was neither tested for reliability nor validity prior to the data collection. Parental Knowledge of Child Development was designed to test parents' awareness of children's major developmental milestones. Perhaps this type of child development knowledge has very little to do with parenting stress in daily caretaking situations. In an earlier study by Fang (1981), it was found that senior college students majoring in Child Development and Early Childhood Education responded consistently differently from mothers in hypothetical home situations that called for an immediate adult response. The investigator concluded that a gap was found between the type of book knowledge that child development students have and the application of the knowledge in home situations where child care management skills are required. More studies need to be done to evaluate the appropriateness of the training in providing formal and informal child development 134 knowledge and the way parents translate this knowledge into daily parenting situations, especially at the period of transition to parenthood when demands for parenting are especially great. hahernal social enpponh. Results of the study showed a significant difference in maternal social support at the p < .01 level between mothers with high levels of parenting stress and mothers with low levels of parenting stress. Mothers with high levels of parenting stress reported significantly lesser amounts of maternal social support than mothers with low level of parenting stress. Mothers with more social support had lower parenting stress. It seems that maternal social support is an important buffer in coping with the stress of transition to parenthood. Findings of this study strongly suggest that the ease of parenting at the transition to parenthood is in part determined by the availability of social supports both inside and outside of the family unit. Results of this study correspond to results of Power 8 Parke (1984) and McGuire 8 Gottlieb (1979). In both of the studies, social support has been identified as an important factor relating to maternal stress levels. It is important to emphasize that the instrument of Maternal Social Support Index (MSSI) was designed to measure the maternal social support network in general. The M881 is a measurement of the extent of the individual mother's social network with very little evaluation on the quality of 135 the network. It is felt that a global measurement of social network provides a weak indication of the kinds of experience of the social supports. Another problem with the MSSI is its inability to register changes over time in the nature of support that is needed by mothers throughout the period of transition to parenthood. As was pointed out by Power and Parke (1984), social support at the transition to parenthood is very unique in nature. The fact is various kinds of support are required and the need for a supportive network changes throughout the transitional period. In order to understand the nature and variety of social supports that are important for mothers during the period of transition to parenthood, longitudinal studies are needed. More attention is also needed to examine how social support impacts fathers' adjustment to parenthood. Very little is known about how social supports help fathers move into the parenting role. Moreover, the changing needs for social support during this period of transition are central to the task of measurement for the purpose of building family strength and imparting resources early in the family system. Multiple regression was used in the last section of analysis to find out the relationship between the resource variables and the outcome variable. When mothers' responses were considered, among various resource variables, maternal social support was the most significant predictor of maternal parenting stress. Interestingly, when both mothers' and fathers' responses were taken into 136 consideration in predicting maternal parenting stress, the most significant factors in predicting maternal parenting stress were fathers' responses to marital relationship followed by mothers' responses to marital relationship. When the same procedure was performed for the fathers, it was maternal social support that was the most significant factor in predicting paternal parenting stress. In other words, marital relationship played a central role in predicting mothers' perception of parenting stress. For fathers, on the other hand, the perception of parenting stress was affected mostly by the amount of maternal social support reported by mothers. These findings are not in total agreement with findings from previous research. In a study done by Wandersman et a1. (1980), the quality of marital relationship was extremely important to the men's adjustment to parenthood. In the same study, mothers' sense of well-being was found to be less strongly related to the marital relationship than it was for fathers. Moreover, the current study did not sustain the viewpoint that social support, especially support from parents and in-laws, could be perceived as a source of tension sometimes by the new parents. Interferences from in-laws was identified as one of the most stressful events associated with the onset of parenting (Alpert et al., 1983). Maternal social support, however, in the present study was found to be especially helpful for fathers in alleviating parenting stress. The instrument used in the study was a global measurement of 137 maternal social support and was not designed to locate the specific source or type of social support perceived by mothers. Social support, in general, perhaps was beneficial to both parents in the present study. Maternal parenting stress was strongly predicted by paternal and maternal marital adjustment in the current study. This can be explained by the fact that the marital relationship can be viewed as the first order social support received by the mothers. Marital adjustment can serve as a direct index of an individual's perception of marital happiness. It is reasonable to believe that perceived marital happiness on the mothers' part can serve as a strong indication of social support received from the spouse. It is also reasonable to speculate that fathers who scored high on marital adjustment will provide strong emotional support to mothers. Support from the husband, in turn, facilitates the wife's adaptation to parenthood during all phases of this transition. This is consistent with findings of Stemp, Turner, and Noh (1986) and Power and Parke (1984) that marital relationship is strongly related to psychological well-being in the postpartum period for mothers. Of special interest was the effect of the marital relationship on paternal parenting stress. It was found to be a rather weak predictor among all the resource variables in relationship to paternal parenting stress. The strongest predicator of paternal parenting stress found in this study was the maternal social support. This finding is contrary 138 to the previous research by Goth-Owens et a1. (1982), and Wandersman (1980). In both studies it was found that the most important predictor of overall paternal adjustment to the parenting role was the quality of marital relationship. However, one may argue that in both of these studies, the researchers were looking at only one aspect of social support in relation to the period of transition to parenthood, i.e., marital relationship. It is the belief of the present investigator that cross-domain combinations, i.e., examining the effects of various factors simultaneously functioned as better predictors than measures taken from single domains (Herming, 1986). Moreover, it is reasonable to believe that the perceived adequacy of maternal social support will decrease parenting demands on fathers which, in turn, reduces paternal parenting stress. Reseanch Qneshien 2 Does gender have an effect on the experience of transition to parenthood in terms of the relationship between the resource variables and the outcome variable for mothers and fathers? In this section, major findings will be presented by each of the variables followed by individual discussion of these findings. he;ipel_edjnehnenh. Results of ANOVA revealed that mothers and fathers were very similar in their responses to the overall Dyadic Adjustment Scale. When a closer examination of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale was taken, a 139 nonsignificant trend showed mothers scored slightly higher in the Affection and Consensus subscales and fathers scored slightly higher in the subscales of Cohesion and Satisfaction. The lack of gender differences found in marital adjustment could be the result of a relatively homogeneous sample. Respondents were well-educated and members of intact families. The majority of them were affiliated with the university in different capacities. Individuals may have been familiar with different research techniques, therefore, tended to give socially acceptable answers to the self-report questionnaires. All of this may have influenced the outcome of the comparisons. Comparisons of overall mean scores of mothers and of fathers do not reflect the level of marital adjustment perceived by one spouse in the family which may affect the other spouse's perception on this variable. In order to alleviate this possible problem, mother's responses were matched with father's responses within each family. Results of the paired t-test showed that mothers' overall marital adjustment was slightly higher than that of fathers. Mothers' scores on the subscales were significantly more agreeable and more affectionate than their spouses. One may conclude that within families, there exists a disparity in the husband's and the wife's perception of marital adjustment during the transition to parenthood with mothers scoring slightly higher than fathers. This finding is in 140 line with that of Spanier (1973) and Waldron and Routh (1981). By using the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale, both studies suggest that wives might perceive their marriages as being happier than their husbands after the birth of their first child. The current data also indicated that mothers were more affectionate than their husbands. This supports one previous study (Ryder, 1973). By using a marriage dissatisfaction scale, Ryder found that in the first year or two after having the first child, wives were more likely to feel that their husbands were less attentive and affectionate toward them. It should be noted that marital relationship is a multidimensional phenomenon which is comprised of behaviors, feelings, attitudes, and interactions. Although the Dyadic Adjustment Scale is widely used in assessing marital relationships, it is restrictive in its measurement to distinguish different dimensions of marital relationships. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale is especially limited in scope for it does not address the issue of sexual intimacy between husband and wife during this transitional period. As it was pointed out by various researchers (e.g., Hobbs 8 Cole, 1976; Wandersman, 1980; Wente 8 Crockenberg, 1976), the decrease of marital satisfaction in fathers, in part, was associated with the increasing difficulty to reestablish intimate contact with their wives and the decreased sexual responsiveness of the wives after the birth of the first child. The importance of sexual intimacy is severely 141 overlooked when using the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Furthermore, its generality in measurement based on subjective views of the respondents may influence respondents to be systematically biased toward reporting relatively rare or vivid events or toward giving ego enhancing responses (Belsky, Lang, 8 Rovine, 1985). This problem has caused difficulties in determining whether or not the written responses of the respondents are accurate reflections of the marital relationships. More refined measurements in evaluating marital relationship during this transition to parenthood is needed. harental child development knowledge. The results of the ANOVA showed a trend that mothers had more child development knowledge than fathers, but the difference was not statistically significant. When the responses of mothers and fathers were matched by a paired test, mothers scores were significantly higher than those of fathers. In previous studies, SES has been found to be an important factor in the relationship between parental child development knowledge and infant development (e.g., Parks 8 Smeriglio, 1986; Stevens, 1984). In most of these studies, middle class and upper class parents were found to reach the "ceiling effect" in the measurement of parental child development knowledge. However, in this study, such an effect was not found. Mothers in the current study reported higher scores on child development knowledge than did fathers, however, there was a considerable body of knowledge 142 that these parents did not possess. The finding of this study is congruent with the research done by Kliman and Vakelich (1985). They concluded that middle class parents did not differ from lower class parents in lacking child development knowledge. Pepenting stress. The analysis of this variable indicated that mothers reported higher levels of overall parenting stress than did fathers. The difference, however, was not significant. When examining the subscales of the PSI, significantly greater amount of maternal parenting stress was found in the parent domain of the PSI, especially in feeling restricted by the parenting role, lacking emotional and active support from the partner, and feeling less healthy. On the other hand, significantly greater levels of paternal parenting stress were found in the feelings of attachment and closeness to children. Similar findings were detected when mothers' and fathers' responses were matched within families. This finding is consistent with the findings reported by Hoffman and Manis (1978), Wilkie and Ames (1986), and Cowan and Cowan (1987, 1988). Although both men and women experience stress during the transition to parenthood, these authors reported that a woman's stress is generally greater. Much of the stress felt by mothers during first pregnancy was the result of the couple relationship. There is a gradual move away from a more egalitarian family role toward the more traditional gender role division. It is usually the mother who leaves 143 employment and has greater involvement in child care and household responsibilities. Father, on the other hand, is more concerned with the responsibilities of providing economically for the family and is less concerned with the responsibilities of direct child care. Father's involvement with child care and housework drops after the birth of the first child (Hoffman 8 Manis, 1978). The current findings clearly reflect the existence of this reality within the household after the birth of the first child. Parenting stress found in the present study was significantly related to gender and the division of labor and was not related to the characteristics of the child or other stressful events in life. The sense of loss of one's freedom and identity reported by mothers perhaps reflected the characteristics of this particular sample included in the study. Mothers in the current study can be described as older and highly educated. The majority of them chose to leave their employment and stayed home as full-time mothers. The major concern expressed by these mothers in terms of loss of freedom perhaps reflected the most striking reality of parenthood to them. heseareh Qneshien 3 Does FITL have an impact on participating families during the transition to parenthood? If it does, what is the effect of the FITL program in affecting the gender differences between mothers and fathers and who appears to 144 benefiting more from the FITL program, i.e., mothers or fathers, is the question of interest. hapital adjustment: Gender diffepences. After being in the FITL program, the posttest result of gender difference in marital adjustment showed that mothers and fathers were very similar in their responses. However, the nonsignificant trend illustrated that fathers scored slightly higher than mothers in the overall measurement of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (MTAJ) and three of the subscales (Cohesion, Satisfaction, and Affection) than did mothers. A similar trend was found in the paired t-test when mothers' and fathers' responses were matched. Several reasons could account for the lack of gender differences in the marital adjustment after the FITL experience. It has been well documented that over time, husband and wife make more similar appraisals of their marriage (Belsky, et al., 1985; Waldron 8 Routh, 1981). In previous studies, pretest results showed that mothers scored higher in the MTAJ than did the fathers, however, throughout the transitional period of parenthood, mothers experienced greater negative change in their perception of marital relationship. In the posttest, the mean scores of mothers and fathers decreased from the pretest and looked increasingly similar. This finding was partially supported in this study. Gender differences on marital adjustment from the pretest to the posttest disappeared. However, in the present study, unlike the pattern reported by Belsky et 145 al. (1985), both mothers and fathers showed an increment of the scores on MTAJ after the FITL experience. The increase in the marital relationship was more pronounced for fathers. In the pretest, mothers' scores on the Consensus and Affection subscales of the MTAJ were significantly higher than those of the fathers. In the posttest, mothers' scores had increased slightly while fathers' had increased tremendously. Therefore, more pronounced changes in the marital relationship were found in the fathers. Consequently, the scores of mothers and fathers were very similar in the posttest. Due to the small sample size included in the posttest, caution should be exercised in interpreting these findings. r de o ° diffeneneee. Again, no significant gender difference was detected between mothers and fathers in between groups and within family analyses in the posttest. As was found in the pretest, the nonsignificant trend showed that mothers reported greater amount of child development knowledge in the posttest than fathers. Small sample size in the posttest could be the main factor in contributing to the lack of gender difference in the amount of child development knowledge found in the current study after the FITL experience. r "n ' e ' s. The results revealed that there was no significant difference in parenting stress between mothers and fathers after the FITL 146 experience. In fact, mothers' and fathers' appraisals of the parenting stress in the posttest measured by the PSI were very similar. The significantly different levels of parenting stress found in the subscales of the PSI between mothers and fathers in the pretest did not appear in the posttest. One may argue that the small sample size included in the posttest could be a major factor in not being able to find gender differences in this variable. However, by comparing the mean scores, one can see clearly that both groups were indeed very close in their responses. The lack of difference between mothers and fathers in the posttest might be a reflection of the characteristics of the sample included in the posttest analysis. The parents who returned the questionnaires in the posttest perhaps were self-selected and different from the rest of the sample who chose not to fill out and return the questionnaires the second time. These parents may take the FITL experience more seriously and may have been more willing to make a strong commitment to the program than other parents. They may also represent the ones that had less difficulties with the transition to parenthood. This may in part account for the likelihood that these parents would respond similarly, thus diminishing the gender differences in the posttest. d' ° 8 v . In the posttest mothers showed higher mean scores on the overall Dyadic Adjustment Scale (MTAJ) and all the subscales of the MTAJ than in the pretest. However, none of the differences 147 reached statistical significance. A similar trend was found for the fathers. In addition, two significant increases of mean scores were detected in the posttest for the fathers, i.e., the overall MTAJ and the subscale of Consensus. When the mean scores of mothers and fathers were averaged to form the couple variable, again, significant increases of the overall MTAJ and the Consensus subscale of the MTAJ were found. The results suggested that after the FITL experience, martial relationship has been solidified between husbands and wives. More specifically, the overall degree of happiness of marriage and the extent of agreeability have increased significantly in the posttest. This change was most pronounced for the couples and for fathers. It is clear that by attending the FITL program together, although the FITL program did not address marital concerns directly, a sense of bonding and couple identity were developed. This perhaps was more important for the fathers. The FITL program provided an opportunity for fathers to share an experience and to develop a common goal with their spouses in this process of becoming parents. It also gave them a greater sense of participation in their children's development, which, in turn, might relate to their evaluation of the marital relationship. e o i o t° t s vs. os es . Maternal social support increased significantly for mothers after participating in the FITL program. It appeared that the FITL program was clearly a positive experience for 148 mothers in serving as a source of information and cognitive support. Further, the FITL program also provided opportunities for couples to feel a sense of social support and to share common parenting concerns with other couples who were experiencing and coping with similar aspects of transition. hapental child development hnowledge: Ppetest vs. posttesh. A nonsignificant trend showed that a greater amount of child development knowledge was reported after the FITL experience by mothers, by fathers, and by couples. The finding also suggested that the increase in the amount of child development knowledge was more pronounced in the mothers. On the average, mothers' posttest scores on the Parental Knowledge of Child Development (PKD) increased by 12.7% from that of the pretest scores whereas fathers' scores on the PKD increased by 6%. Apparently, mothers gained more knowledge of child development than did fathers by attending the FITL program. SS“ vs os s . Results in the posttest indicated a decrease in overall parenting stress levels reported by mothers, fathers, and couples. This decrease of the overall parenting stress levels was more pronounced for mothers. Mothers reported a decrease of 11.8 points in the overall levels of parenting stress whereas fathers reported a decrease of 6.8 points after the FITL experience. Although the comparisons of the overall scores on the PSI did not reach statistical significance, this 149 reduction of parenting stress in general represented an impact of the FITL program on the participating parents. Significant reduction of parenting stress levels was found in the examination of the subscales of the PSI. For the mothers, this impact of reducing stress was felt significantly in the area of feeling a loss of freedom and identity imposed on them by the parental role. For the fathers, a significantly greater sense of parenting competence was reported in the posttest. There is evidence that participating in the FITL program functioned as a support system for the mothers. Whereas for the fathers, the FITL experience provided an opportunity to learn new parenting skills and knowledge. The impact of participating as a couple in the FITL program was most pronounced in the area of parenting competence. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that a tremendous reduction of parenting stress in the posttest, close to levels of statistical significance, was detected in two of the subscales on the Parenting Stress Index (PSI). These two subscales were: relationship with spouse and the perception of health status. For the couples, the participation in the FITL program represented a learning experience in interacting with children as well as provided them with an opportunity to improve their marital relationship. The couples' perception of their health status also improved after attending the FITL program perhaps was the result of the general reduction of parenting stress. In general, 150 parenting stress levels were reduced to a greater extent for mothers and for couples than for the fathers. The small sample size of fathers' posttest data could perhaps account for the lack of differences in comparison of pretest scores and posttest scores. es c uestio Does the conceptual model (Figure 1) fit the data? Mothers. The inverse effect of marital adjustment on maternal parenting stress was strongly supported. Higher scores on marital adjustment indicated lower levels of parenting stress reported by mothers in the posttest. Marital adjustment was the strongest predictor of maternal parenting stress after enrolling in the FITL program. This finding confirmed many other research results about the association between marital relationship and psychological distress during the transition to parenthood (Belsky et al., 1983; Belsky et al., 1985; Cowan 8 Cowan, 1987, 1988; Goth-Owens et al., 1982; Stemp et al., 1986). The direct effect of child development knowledge on maternal parenting stress was found to be very weak. This lack of effect may be due to the existence of a gap between parental child development knowledge and its application in the daily parenting situations. Mothers may have a considerable amount of child development book knowledge, however, this knowledge perhaps has very little to do in combating parenting stress for mothers. The finding of no significant effect of child development knowledge on marital adjustment 151 could be related to the instrument itself in measuring one's knowledge of child development. Parent's awareness of children's major developmental milestones is important, however, as an evaluation of parent's knowledge on caregiving practices it is questionable. Perhaps a more suitable approach to measure child development is the type of knowledge related to the daily parenting tasks and situations. A direct, inverse effect of maternal social support on parenting stress was found to be insignificant. The absolute low levels of maternal parenting stress found associated with post FITL experience may account for the lack of direct relationship between maternal social support and maternal parenting stress. Maternal social support appeared to be more effective in combating parenting stress when stress level was high as was found in the pretest. In the pretest, maternal social support was found to be one of the most significant factors in predicting maternal parenting stress. This line of reasoning was supported by findings from McGuire and Gottlieb (1979). Although the direct impact of maternal social support on marital adjustment was found to be insignificant, one can not ignore the importance of this relationship. The fact that maternal social support increased significantly after the FITL experience leads to the conclusion that the FITL program was successful in encouraging and providing opportunities for parents to make greater use of the formal 152 and informal supportive resources available in the social network. Furthermore, an important source of support is one's relationship with a spouse. As stated previously, an increase of marital adjustment scores was associated with a decrease of parenting stress. Therefore, it can be concluded that maternal social support has an inverse, indirect effect on parenting stress through marital adjustment among mothers. This weak association between parenting stress and social network is in agreement with the results of Stemp et al. (1986) and is in contrast with the findings of Brown, Bhrolchain, and Harris (1975). The inconsistency found between the results of this study and that of Brown et al. pointed out an important methodological problem in measuring and conceptualizing the social support variable. As stated by Stemp et al. social support as a variable has been defined and measured in a manner largely idiosyncratic to each study. This confusion has resulted in an inability to summarize the relationship between social support and transition to parenthood in a straightforward manner. The need for a clear conceptualization of the role social support plays in modifying the experience of transition to parenthood is apparent. Based on the above mentioned findings, the trimmed conceptual model with the elimination of the relationship between parental knowledge of child development and maternal parenting stress described the current data well. 153 Fathers. The inverse, direct impact of parental child development knowledge on paternal parenting stress was nonsignificant. However, it is interesting to note that between the two resource variables, child development knowledge had the stronger effect on paternal parenting stress in the posttest. As pointed out previously, fathers' scores on Parental Knowledge of Child Development (PKD) increased 6% after the FITL experience. This modest but important increase of parenting knowledge and its direct, inverse impact on parenting stress for fathers deserve some attention. The role of parenting knowledge in the transition to parenthood represents an under studied area. In addition, previous studies of the relationships between child development knowledge and parenting only included mothers with the assumption that parenting primarily involved mothers. This study has demonstrated the usefulness of applying a family ecological framework to study the transition to parenthood as a family process. The knowledge gained from participating in the FITL program was beneficial to fathers for it increased their knowledge of child development. The FITL experience, therefore, represents an important source of informational support for the fathers during the transitional period. An impact of child development knowledge on marital adjustment was not found for the fathers. As stated previously, the measurement of child development knowledge adopted by the current study could account for the lack of 154 relationship between child development knowledge and marital adjustment for fathers. The relationship between child development knowledge and marital adjustment, therefore, was dropped from the model. The direct, inverse impact of marital adjustment on paternal parenting stress was very weak. This finding is inconsistent with previous findings (Wandersman et al., 1980). Wandersman et al. (1980) found that relationship with one's spouse played an important role in determining the effectiveness of a parenting group for participating fathers and their overall adjustment to parenthood. The small sample of fathers included in the posttest in the present study could explain the lack of significant relationships found in this part of the study. Current data from the study provided evidence to modify the original conceptual model. The trimmed conceptual model more adequately fits what was found. Conclusion The results which were presented previously document the observation that transition to parenthood generated a significant amount of disequilibrium for each individual and couple. The period of transition to parenthood represents a time of physical and psychological vulnerability and uncertainty. As has been clearly indicated in the present study, parents with high levels of parenting stress were 155 more vulnerable to personal or marital distress than parents with low levels of parenting stress. Mothers were more vulnerable to parenting stress than their spouses which reflected in the most significant gender differences found in the pretest of the current study. Even though mothers reported higher levels of parenting stress before the FITL experience, they seemed to be happier in their marital relationships at the same time. However, marital adjustment turned out to be one of the most important dimensions in predicting maternal parenting stress. Fathers, on the other hand, were not free from parenting stress and were suffering from having difficulties to establish emotional closeness with their children as indicated in the results of the pretest. Maternal social support was the most important factor in predicting paternal parenting stress. An ongoing group experience provided by the FITL program seemed to give couples opportunities to grow and change together. By using the ecological framework, the FITL program provided information, guidance, opportunities for informal networking, and models for interaction with children by focusing on individual, dyad, and triad levels. Most of all, it furnished occasions for couples to integrate their thoughts and feelings by sharing similar experiences with other couples. One of the most obvious effects of the FITL program found in the current study was the decrease of gender differences among the respondents. Fathers showed a great 156 deal of increase in marital adjustment scores and a modest growth in the amount of child development knowledge in the posttest. Mothers, on the other hand, reported a tremendous gain in maternal social support and moderate increase in child development knowledge. Parenting stress was greatly reduced for all parents, but was more pronounced for the mothers. The effectiveness of the FITL program was clearly demonstrated and both mothers and fathers have benefited from this experience. The current study also supports the viewpoint that mothers and fathers experience differently the personal and marital changes accompanying parenthood. However, it is also very important to examine the combined experiences of mother and father as a family experience, since the transition to parenthood provides an opportunity for the couples to work together as a team. In the evaluation of the conceptual model, the major findings of this investigation provided strong evidence for the importance of studying the transition to parenthood by using the family ecological approach along with a family stress model. The current model demonstrates that what occurs in parenting is related to individual factors as well as marital relationships. More specifically, parenting stress accompanying the transition to parenthood can be evaluated as an outcome of the functioning of various resource variables in the individual, dyad, and social levels. From the family stress model, perception of parenting stress was assessed by the extent to which demands 157 were met by the available resources, i.e., maternal social support, marital adjustment, and parental child development knowledge. It is evident in the posttest that marital adjustment strongly affects maternal parenting stress. Maternal social support also was an important dimension which directly impacted on maternal parenting stress and also indirectly affected maternal parenting stress through the mediation of marital relationship. Child development knowledge had a very weak effect on maternal parenting stress. Child development knowledge, however, was the strongest predictor of paternal parenting stress in the posttest. Findings of this study seemed to suggest that the FITL experience provided different support systems in the context of affecting parenting stress for mothers and fathers. For mothers, the FITL experience was an important source of social support. For fathers, the FITL experience served as a major source of cognitive growth. Being in the program together also provided an opportunity to impact on the marital relationship in a positive way. It demonstrated the fact that fathers needed information on parenting beyond the level of knowledge they had before enrollment the FITL program. The current research clearly illustrated that mutual participation in the FITL program served as a positive experience for the families. 158 Implications W211 The purpose of this study was exploratory in nature. Its primary purpose was to identify various dimensions in mothers' and fathers' roles and family systems that related to the successful transition to parenthood. The current conceptual model demonstrates the importance of considering the family ecosystem framework in the study of the transition to parenthood period. Specifically, the current study viewed parenting stress as the interaction between the organism (individual, couple) and the environment (social support network, FITL program) at the onset of parenthood. Future research needs to continue the work in developing a holistic model to further identify other significant factors in relation to the process of the transition to parenthood. In addition, the period of the transition to parenthood needs to be conceptualized as a "process" rather than as a status or condition (LaRossa 8 LaRossa, 1981). LaRossa and LaRossa indicated that: a better approach would be to view the transition to parenthood as a dynamic process of becoming rather than a static state of being. Such an approach would encourage studies of second- (or third-, fourth-, etc.) time parenthood which collectively would form an overall picture of the process of becoming a parent and an overall picture of the process of becoming a larger family system. (p.26) 159 Therefore, a longitudinal study is essential in identifying this process. Further, qualitative research is extremely valuable in addition to the quantitative research in the development of the ecological theory. In-depth interviews may be useful in identifying some of the concepts and causes of the difficulties that parents are experiencing in association with the transition to parenthood. An appropriate comparison group, ideally a randomly assigned control group, should be included in the future study. When random assignment is not possible, strategies other than the use of a nonintervention control group will be important to consider. Examination of the effect of the FITL program on a large and more heterogeneous sample is strongly recommended. Sample populations with different socioeconomic status and ethnicity may give further evidences to clarify the process of transition to parenthood. The inclusion of these different groups will have an impact on the generalizability of the research and the predicted outcomes. Data collected on participants in the FITL program are mainly from middle class and upper middle class sample and provide only limited information about the important relationships during this period of transition to parenthood. The inclusion of a more heterogenous sample in the study of the transition to parenthood warrants some considerations. The issue of suitability of current measures needs to be addressed. Most of the measurements available were q 160 normed by using only white samples. Extra caution needs to be exercised in applying the same measurements to racially and culturally different groups of parents. Furthermore, the important dimensions salient to these groups during the transition to parenthood may be very different from the white middle-class couples. For example, marital relationship was identified as the most crucial factor in the couple's adjustment to new parenthood in the majority culture. In cultures where extended family living arrangement is common, marital relationship may be less important in the adjustment of parenting roles than the support provided by other family members. In the future research, much initial work will have to be done to determine the validity of the frequently used measures for other ethnic groups. The unique cultural aspects that are associated the transition to parenthood of different cultural groups need to be identified. (Goldberg 8 Michaels, 1988) The need for long-term follow-up in order to understand the full impact of the FITL experience on the participating mothers and fathers is highly recommended. Inclusion of time as a dimension is important in evaluating program goals, especially when the program, such as the FITL program, is preventive in nature. Finally, the continuation of the effort to develop more concise evaluation tools is urgently needed. It is extremely important to have more reliable and efficient 161 assessments of the different dimensions that are associated with the transition to parenthood. The conceptualization and operationalization of the various variables such as marital adjustment, social support, parental child development knowledge need to be clarified further in future studies. As far as the present researcher can determine, the emphasis of most of the standardized instruments is on examining individual attitudes towards various variables. As suggested by LaRossa and LaRossa (1981), perhaps patterns of interaction between attitudes and behaviors are appropriate in the study of the transition to parenthood. l' t s The ecological approach was utilized in this research to explore the effects of the Family Infant Toddler Learning program on the participating families. In addition, the study was designed to explore parenting stress accompanying the transition to parenthood as an outcome of the interaction between the individual and the various resource variables of the environment. The variables included in the research provided a model for understanding the dynamic and complicated process of adaptation that individuals and families had to make in coping with parenting stress. Based on this research, the conceptualization of parenting stress was related to multiple indicators which encompass several interrelated factors embedded in the individual's ecosystem. The findings of this study strongly suggest that a family interacts with various components in 162 the environment in order to exchange resources for needed adaptation during the transition to parenthood. The concept of interdependence and interrelatedness between husband and wife was especially evident in the current study. A husband's responses to the various variables were associated with those of his spouse and vice versa. Family adaptation, therefore, involves individual members, the family as a whole, as well as the interactions with each other. The fact that the FITL program involved both husband and wife as well as their young child best illustrates the point that family is an integrated system of relationships. Strengthening each component in the family system is extremely important in the adaptation and transition to parenthood. A change in one component will have an effect on others. Transition to parenthood not only affects the parent-child domain but also affects other relationship systems, such as marital relationship, and relationship between family members and relatives and friends in the broader context. The ecological model provides an essential framework to the understanding of family adaptation when a new member is added to the system. Furthermore, it provides a guideline in the development of intervention programs. I J' !' E E I' The findings of the present study were useful in describing the individuals and families participating in the study. The results provide valuable information to new 163 parents and parenting program developers. Knowledge of the positive and negative personal and marital changes associated with parenthood and the effect of the FITL experience seem particularly relevant to educators in providing realistic parenthood education to new parents. It is important to help parents to recognize the potential negative and difficult changes as well as the positive experiences that accompany the transition to parenthood. New parents also need to learn about the possible gender differences in perception of these changes in order to help themselves and their spouses to learn about these differences and to empathize with each other in coping with these changes in constructive ways. The present study also points out that transition to parenthood is a couple experience and that couples are working together as a team. This can be emphasized and developed during the process of transition. The fact that the FITL experience had a positive impact on the marital relationship of participants further highlights the importance of having couples participate together. Fathers' participation in the parenting program perhaps can not eliminate all the tension and uncertainty that may exist. However, participation in such program may help facilitate fathers' adjustment to fatherhood by providing realistic expectations about infant, about the role fathers play in the new triad, and the changing nature of marital relationship. It was illustrated by the findings of the 164 present study that after the FITL experience, the participating fathers gained competence in their parenting skills, marital adjustment, as well as their knowledge in child development, which, in turn, contributed to the mothers' sense of support and happiness in marriage and helped to combat parenting stress. The results of the current research illuminate the potential effectiveness and the need for parent education programs for all families even those without previous identified risks. This type of program should be available to a majority of families. More funding for programs of this nature is needed since without help from business and government support, couples have to make this difficult transition on their own. Without the necessary support, new parents are very vulnerable to strain and stress during the transition period to parenthood. The FITL program can serve as a model and as an integral part of many community settings, such as day care centers, schools, libraries, community centers, churches, and hospitals. The FITL program is valuable in training educators and early childhood professionals due to its philosophy and holistic approach. The findings of this study perhaps are useful for counselors and family therapists in understanding the dynamics of various relationship systems and the vulnerability of these systems during the period of transition to parenthood. This is a time when support is 165 extremely important and assistance to enhance the marital bond is needed. Furthermore, techniques to facilitate marital communication and to reduce parenting stress are welcomed. Finally, professionals need to help families to identify and evaluate the individual and environmental resources available to them in alleviating stress that is associated with parenthood. APPENDICES APPENDIX A MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Of HUMAN ECOLOGY EAST LANSING ° MICHIGAN 0 46824-1030 DEPARTMENT Of FAMILY AND CHILD F.C()I.0(;\' Dear Parents: Enclosed are two separate packets of questionnaires. Each packet contains the following measurements: Parent Profile Dyadic Adjustment Scale Parenting Stress Index Parental Knowledge of Development Maternal Social Support Index As part of the Family Infant Toddler Learning Program, we are looking for various factors that associate with parenting. We are interested in comparing the initial responses made by you and your spouse in various situations related to parenthood. It is important for you and your spouse to fill out the questionnaires separately. There are separate packets that are marked with "mother” and "father” for each of you to respond to individually. Since we are only interested in your initial responses, discussion or consulting with any other information source is not advised. There are no right or wrong answers to these materials and you are requested to respond to your own feelings or perceptions to each question. Your responses and the information obtained from the questionnaires will remain in strict confidence and be used for information purposes only. We appreciate your participation in the program. Thank you for your cooperation in taking time to complete these questionnaires. Sincerely, 3.04.5... (5.1.1.2....) Elaine Williams, Coordinator Family/Infant-Toddlcr Learning Program ‘I \I ' H a. .‘Llhnnuhn ‘1 (one Equal I Ipfnrhuuh launch..- 166 APPENDIX B PLEASE NOTE Copyrighted materials in this document have not been filmed at the request of the author. They are available for consultation, however, in the author’s university library. Appendix B pagesiB7-169 Appendix 0 pages 170-171 Appendix 0 pages 172-173 Appendix E pages 174-179 University Microfilms International 6mg IIIITE SPECIAL FILMIHG INSTIIIIETIIIHS SEE lIl’lTll SHEET DYADIC ADJUSTMENT SCALE Most persons have disagreements in their relationships. Please indicate below the approximate extent of agreement or disagreement between you and your partner for each item on the following list. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Almost Occa- Always Always sionally Agree Agree Disagree Handling family (Place a Checkmarks/to indicate your answer. Disagree Disagree finances Matters of recreation Religious matters Demonstrations of affection Friends Sex relations Conventionality (correct or proper behavior) Philosophy of life Ways of dealing with parents or in-laws Aims, goals, and things believed important Amount of time spent together Making major decisions Household tasks Leisure time inter- ests and activities Career decisions 167 168 More All Most of often ' Occa- the time the time than not sionally Rarely Never 16. How often do you dis- cuss or have you con- ' sidered divorce. sep- aration, or terminat- ing your relationship? 17. How often do you or your mate leave the house after a fight? 18. In general, how often do you think that tthings between you and your partner are going well? 19. Do you confide in your mate? 20. Do you ever regret that you married? (or lived together) 21. How often do you and your partner quarrel? 22. How often do you and your mate "get on each others' nerves?" Almost Every Every Occa- Day Day sionally Rarely Never 23. Do you kiss your mate? Some of Very Few None of All of Most of Them of Them Them Them Them 24. Do you and your mate engage in outside interests together? often would you say the following events occur between you and your mate? How Less Than Once or‘ Once or Once a Twice a Twice a Once a More Never Month Month Week Day Often 25. Have a stimulating exchange of ideas 169 Less Than Once or Once or Once a Twice a Twice a Once a More chc£_ Month Month Week Day Often 26. .Laugh together 27. Calmly discuss something 28. Work together on a project These are some things about which couples sometimes agree and sometimes disagree. Indicate if either item below caused differences of opinions or were problems in your relationship during the past few weeks. (Check yes or no) Yes No 29. Being too tired for sex. 30. Not showing love. 31. The dots on the following line represent different degrees of happiness in your relationship. The middle point, ”happy", represents the degree of happiness of most relationships. -Please circle the dot which best describes the degree of happiness. all things considered. of your relationship. 4 A A A A A A Extremely Fairly A Little happy Very Extremely Perfect Unhappy Unhappy Unhappy Happy Happy 32. Which of the following statements best describes how you feel about the future of your relationship? I want desperately for my relationship to succeed, and would go to almost any length to see that it does. I want very much for my relationship to succeed, and will do all I can to see that it does. I want very much for my relationship to succeed, and will do my fair share to see that it does. It would be nice if my relationship succeeded, but I can't do much more than I am doing now to help it succeed. It would be nice if it succeeded, but I refuse to do any more|thsn I am doing now to keep the relationship going. My relationship can never succeed, and there is no more that I can do to keep the relationship going. APPENDIX C Date Completed: —— mmmm, SOCIAL SUPPORT iNDEX (MSSlP flease share with us the things you do in your home as a mother by answering the questions below. Check the answer you feel is true for you. 1 Generally Someone Generally Someone Else Else and No One 00 it Does it i Do lt Score I. Who fixes meals? i. J: 2. Who does the grocery shopping? 1 J: i 3. Who lets your children know what is right or wrong? _ _ __ 1.} J 4. Who fixes things around the house or apartment? _._ __ {J 5. Who does the inside cleaning? 1-4: I 6. Who works outside around the house or apartment? {”3 C 7. Who pays the bills? i“ Y 8. Who takes your child to the doctor if he/she is sick? __ Lj I 9. Who sees to it that your children . go to bed? __ __ 1-; ' ' I to. Who takes care of car problems . on short notice (if appropriate)? No Car __ — 1...; ll. if no car. can you get one in a few . . hours if needed? Yes No C t...’ For the remainder of the questionnaire. please CIRCLE the answer that is true for you. l2. How many relatives do you see once a week or more often? 1...: 0 l 2 J 4 S 6 7 8 9 10 or more [7 l3. Would you like to see relatives: 1.3" More often Less often It's about right 6 l4. How many people can you count on in times of need? 0 l 2 J 4 5 6 7 8 9 l0 or more - it 170 171 Please ClRCLE the answer that is true for you. 15. How many people would be able to take care of your children for several hours if needed: 0 'l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 or more /- 153. How many of these people are from your neighborhood? None Some Most All 16. Do you have a boyfriend or husband? Yes No ( if YES. how happy are you in the way your boyfriend or husband lets you know what he l7. feels or thinks? Very Very “ Happy liappy Unhappy Unhappy i 18. Are there adults, not including your boyfriend or husband. with whom you have regular talks? i Yes No ‘~ / l9. if yes. think about the person you talk with the most. Are you happy with the talks that you have with this person? Very Very Happy Happy Unhappy Unhappy 20. How often do you attend meetings of the following groups? Attend Attend Attegg Less Than About Once More Than A. Religious (e.g. church) Don't Belong Once A A Month Once A Month ' Month Less Than About Once More Than 8. Educational (e.g. school. Don't Belong Once A A Month Once A parent groups) - Month Month Less Than About Once More Than C. Social (e.g. bowling groups. Don't Belong Once A A Month Once A scouting groups) Month MOMh Less Than More Than Don't Belong Once A About Once Once A D. Political (e.g. work for local candidate) Month A Month Month Less Than More Than E. Other: Don't Belong Once A About Once ONCE A ' " Month A Month Month Are you a member of any committee or do you have any other duties in any of your groUP57 Yes No TotalScore APPENDIX D PARENTAL KNOWLEDGE OF DEVELOPMENT Please indicate at what month/week you expect your child to attain the following skills. this task regularly, basis. Child Child Child Child Child Child Child Child Child Child pulls moves lifts walks smiles in response we mean be able to do By attain, once in a while rather than on a random, self up to standing position from place to place by creeping/crawling head while lying on stomach unassisted 3-5 steps to mother's/father's face speaks in phrases of 2-3 words rolls over unassisted eats strained food says first recognizable word sits up without support 172 173 Appropriate ago to begin Leaching self-toileting Child is able to eat iinger foods (2 or less accidents per day) Child masters sclf—toileting skill Child stands alcnnzzdithout support Revised 5/4/88 APPENDIX E lat-99$”:htnn —_ Pei-333:8 I7. l8. l9. 1 2 3 4 5 Smngly Agree Not Disagree Strongly Sure Disagree When my child wants mething, my child usually keeps trying to get it. My child is so active that it exhausts me. My child appears disorganized-and is easily distracted. Compared to most. my child has more difficulty concentrating and paying attention. My child will often stay occupied with a toy for more than l0 minutes. My child wanders away much more than I expected. My child is much more active than I expected. My child squirm: and kicks a great deal when being dressed or bathed. My child can be easily distracted from wanting something. My child rarely does things for me that make me feel good. Most times i feel that my child likes me and wants to be close to me. Sometimes I feel my child doesn’t like me and doesn't want to be close to me. My child smiles at me much less than l expected. When i do things for my child I get the feeling that my efforts are not appreciated very much. Which statement best describes your child? I. almost always likes to play with me. 2. sometimes likes to play with me. 4. usually doesn't like to play with me. 5. almost never likes to play with me. My child ales and fusses: . much less than I had expected. less than I expected. . about as much as I expected. much more than I expected. it seems almost constant. reus- My child seems to ay or fuss more often than most children. When playing. my child doesn't often giggle or laugh. My child generally wakes up in a bad mood. I feel that my child is very moody and easily upset. My child looks a little'differ'ent than t expected and it bothers me at times. In some areas my child seems to have forgotten past learning: and has gone back to doing things characteristic of younger children. 174 24. 26. 27. 28. 30. Bl. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 4|. 175 l 2 3 . 4 5 Strongly Agree Not Dtsagree Strongly Agree Sure Disagree My childdoesn'tseern tolarnasquidtlyasrnostchildren. My child doesn't seern to smile as mud! as most children. My child does a few things which bother me a great deal. My child is n0t able to do as much as I expected. My child does not like to be cuddled or touched very much. When my child me home from the hospital. l had doubtful feelings about my ability to handle being a parent. Being a parent is harder than l thought it would be. i feel capable and on top of things when I am caring for my child. Compared to the average child. my child has a great deal of difficulty in getting used to changes in schedules or changes around the house. My child reacts very strongly when something happens that my child doesn't like. Leaving my child with a babysitter is usually a problem. My child gets upset easily over the smallest thing. My child easily notices and overreacts to loud sounds and bright lights. My child’s sleeping or eating schedule was much harder to establish than I expected. My child usually avoids a new toy for a while before beginning to play with it. It takes a long time and it is very hard for my child to get used to new things. My child doesn't seem comfortable when meeting strangers. When upset. my child is: 1. easy to calm down. 2. harder to calm down than I expected. 4. very difficult to calm down. 5. nothing I do helps to calm my child. I have found that getting my child to do something or stop doing something ts: .much harder than I expected. . somewhat harder than l expected. . about as hard as I expected. somewhat easier than I expected. much easier than I expected. reun— 176 l 2 5 . 4 5 Strongly Agree Not Disagree Strongly m Sure Disagree (2. mnkarefullyandootmtthenumberofthingswhichyottrdtllddoestbatbothenyou.l"or 45. 45. 47. 48. 49. 51. 52. 53. 55. 57. example: dawdles. refuses to listen. overactive. cries. interrupts. fights. whines. etc. Please fill in the number which, includes the number of things you counted l. . 2. 4-5 3. 6-7 4. 8-9 5. l0* When my child cries it usually lasts: I. less than 2 minutes. 2. 2-5 minutes. 5. 5-I0 minutes. 4. I0-I5 minutes. 5. more than l5 minutes. There are some things my child does that really bother me a lot. My child has had more health problems than I expected. As my child has grown older and become more independent. I find myself more worried that my child will get hurt or into trouble. My child turned out to be more of a problem than I had expected. My child seems to be much harder to care for than most. My child is always hanging on me. My child makes more demands on me than most children. I can't make decisions without help. I have had many more problems raising children than I expected. I enjoy being a parent. I feel that I am successful most of the time when I uy to get my child todoornotdo something. Since I brought my last child home from the hospital. I find that I am not able to takecareof this child as well as I thought I could. I need help. . I often have the feeling that I cannot handle things very well. When I think about myself as a parent I believe: . I can handle anything that happens. . I can handle most things pretty well. sometimes I have doubts. but find that I handle most things without any Problems .. I have some doubts about being able to handle things. . I don't think I handle things very well at all. 9'»— we 177 I 2 5 4 9 Strongly Am Not Disagree Strongly Sure Disagree 58. Ifeelthatlam: l. averygoodparent. 2. abetterthanaverageparenl. 5. anaverageparent. 4. apersonwhohassometroublebeingaparent. 5. notverygoodatbeingaparent. 59. What were the highest levels in school or college you and the child's father/mother have GI. 88.38.33.988 completed? Mother: . l-Oth grade . 9—l2th grade . Vocational or some college . College graduate . Graduate or professional school UUAu-N— Father: . lyath grade . 9-l2th grade . Vocational or some college . College graduate . Graduate or professional school Uranus»... How easy is it for you to understand what your dtiId wants or needs? . very easy. . my. . somewhat difficult. . it is very hard. I usually can't figure out what the problem is. It takes a long time for parents to develop close. warm feelings for their children. [as-bum— I expected to have closer and warmer feelings for my child than I do and this bothers me. Sometimes my child does things that bother me just to be man. When I was young. I never felt comfortable holding or taking care of children. My child knows I am his or her parent and wants me more than other people. The number of children that I have now is too many. Most of my life is spent doing things for my child. I find myself giving up more of my life to meet my children's needs than I ever expected. 1 feel trapped by my responsibilities as a parent. I often feel that my child's needs conuol my life. Since having this child I have been unable to do new and different things. 75. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 8f). 8 l . 82. 95. 95. 178 l 2 3 4 5 Strongly Agree Not Disagree Strongl A8!" 5“" Disagrety: Since having a drild I feel that I am almost never able to do things that I like to do. It is hard to find a place in our home where I can go to be by myself. When I think about the kind of parent I am. I often feel guilty or bad about myself. I am unhappy with the last purchase of clothing I made for myself. When my child misbehaves or fusses too much I feel responsible. as if I didn’tdosomething right. I feel everytime my child does something wrong it is really my fault. I often feel guilty about the way I feel towards my child. There are quite a few things that bother me about my life. I felt sadder and more depressed than I expected after leaving the hospital with my baby. I wind up feeling guilty when I get angry at my child and this bothers me. After my child had been home from the hospital for about a month. I noticed that I was feeling more sad and depressed than I had expected. Since having my child. my spouse (male/female friend) has not given me as mud! help and support as I expected. Having a child has caused more problems than I expected in my relationship with my spouse (male/female friend). Since having a child my spouse (or male/female friend) and I don't do as many things together. Since having my child. my spouse (or male/female friend) and I don't spend as mudr time together as a family as I had expected. Since having my last child. I have had less interest in sex. Having a child seems to have increased the number of problems we have with in-Iaws and relatives. Having children has been much more expensive than I had expected. I feel alone and without friends. When I go to a party I usually expect not to enjoy myself. I am not as interested in people as I used to be. I often have the feeling that other people my own age don't particularly like my cornpany. When I run into a problem taking care of my children I have a lot of people to whom I can talk to get help or advice. 97. 98. mo. IOI. 179 l 2 5 . 4 5 Strongly Agree Not Disagree Strongly Sure Disagree Since having children I have a lot fewer chances to see my friends and to make new friends. During the past six months I have been sicker than usual or have had more aches and pains than I normally do. Physically. I feel good most of the time. Having a child has caused changes in the way I sleep. I'don't enjoy things as I used to. Since I've had my child: I. I have been sick a great deal. 2. I haven't felt as good. 4. I haven't noticed any change in my health. 5. I have been healthier. STOP HERE —- unless asked to do items below During the last l2 months. have any of the following events occurred in your immediate family? Please check on the answer sheet any that have happened. l02. I05. “)4. NS. l06. l07. l08. l09. IIO. Ill. "2. I15. "4. IIS. ”6. "7. IIS. "9. IN. Divorce Marital reconciliation Marriage Separation Pregnancy Other relative moved into household Income increased substantially (20% or more) Went deeply into debt Moved to new location Promotion at work Income deceased substantially Alcohol or drug problem Death of close family friend Began new job Entered new school Trouble with superiors at work Trouble with teachers at school Legal problems Oath of immediate family member APPENDIX F DESCRIPTION OF THE PSI SUBSCALES I. Child Characteristics Domain: CDl refers to Adaptability/Plasticity which is Child Domain Subscale 1. CD2 refers to Acceptability of Child to Parent which is Child Domain Subscale 2. CD3 refers to Child Demandingness/Degree of Bother which is Child Domain Subscale 3. CD4 refers to Child Mood which is Child Domain Subscale 4. CDS refers to Child Distractibility/Hyperactivity which is Child Domain Subscale 5. CD6 refers to Child Reinforces Parent which is Child Domain Subscale 6. II. Parent Characteristics Domain: PD1 refers to Parent Depression, Unhappiness, Guilt which is Parent Domain Subscale 1. PD2 refers to Parent Attachment which is Parent Domain Subscale 2. PD3 refers to Restrictions Imposed by Parental Role which is Parent Domain Subscale 3. PD4 refers to Parent's Sense of Competence which is Parent Domain Subscale 4. PDS refers to Social Isolation which is Parent Domain Subscale 5. PD6 refers to Relationship with Spouse which is Parent Domain Subscale 6. PD7 refers to Parental Health which is Parent Domain Subscale 7. 180 BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Abernethy, V. D. (1973). Social network and response to the maternal role. International Journal of Sociology of thaVFamil , 3, 86-92. Abidin, R. P. (1986). Parenting stress index-manual. Virginia: Pediatric Psychology Press. Alpert, J. L., Richardson, M. S., & Fodaski, L. (1983). Onset of parenting and stressful events. 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