Representations of Marriage and Expectations of Parenthood: Predictors of Supportive Coparenting for First-Time Parents

SYNOPSIS Objective. We examine how spouses' representations of marriage and expectations about first-time parenthood predict support of the other spouse's parenting in postpartum triadic family interactions. Design. Prenatally, spouses' representations of marriage were assessed based on the content and insightfulness of memories from their parents' marriage, and spouses also rated their expectations about parenthood. At 24 months postpartum, partners were each rated on support of their spouse's parenting. Results. In general, individuals' higher expectations that their personal well-being would improve following first-time parenthood predicted lower support of the partners' parenting. But this effect was modified by individuals' marital representations, indicating that potential disillusionment due to unrealistically high expectations may be mitigated by having the insight to learn from the negative marital relationships of one's parents. Conclusions. What partners bring to the transition to parenthood, i...