The impact of the quality of marital adaptation on prenatal maternal representations and postnatal satisfaction with social support.
Item
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Title
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The impact of the quality of marital adaptation on prenatal maternal representations and postnatal satisfaction with social support.
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Identifier
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AAI3008873
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identifier
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3008873
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Creator
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Sitrin, Allison Gayle.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Diana Diamond
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Date
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2001
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Clinical
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Abstract
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This study investigated the relationship between specific intrapsychic processes and interpersonal relationships involved in the transition to motherhood. Specifically, it looks at how the quality of marital adaptation shapes prenatal maternal representations. This study further explores how prenatal maternal representations are related to postnatal satisfaction with social support.;The subjects were 37 primaparous, married, middle-class women between the ages of 24 and 39. All subjects were administered the Pregnancy Interview (Slade, Grunebaum, Huganir & Reeves, 1986) and completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976) during their third trimester of pregnancy. Each subject was then administered the Social Support Scale (Crockenberg, 1981) at 14-months postpartum.;The results highlight that prebirth marital adaptation has a lot to do with the experience of a woman's first pregnancy. First, a pregnant woman in a strong marriage was significantly more likely to portray her fetus with loving, warm, and joyful feelings. Second, a woman in a strong marriage was significantly more likely to be able to imagine having a relationship with her fetus during pregnancy and future baby after the birth. Third, a woman who was able to imagine a relationship with her fetus and future baby tended to describe her fetus with significantly more loving, warm, and joyful feelings. Finally, in regard to the influence of prebirth marital adaptation, a pregnant woman in a strong marriage was significantly more likely to envision herself as a realistically confident caregiver as measured during the third trimester of pregnancy.;The influence of prebirth marital adaptation on women's transitions to motherhood extended beyond pregnancy. Women who were dissatisfied with the help that their husbands were providing or who did not mention their husbands as providing any help at 14-months postpartum reported significantly lower levels of marital adaptation during pregnancy. Furthermore, women who were dissatisfied with their husband's support reported fewer friends, family members, and professionals whose help was experienced as satisfying.;The results of the current study strongly suggest that it is the family system that the couple creates prebirth that impacts on the transition to parenthood. It is proposed that the issues that a husband brings to the marital relationship impact on his ability to act as an emotional container for his pregnant wife and to provide her with a background of emotional safety. As a woman's husband serves as her attachment figure in adulthood, an argument can be made that his ability to provide her with emotional and practical support is the most important factor impacting on the quality of her maternal representations.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
