Emotional trade-offs of becoming a parent: how social roles influence self-discrepancy effects.
Why do some people suffer from becoming a parent, whereas others do not? New parents' actual selves were related to their own hopes for themselves (ideal self) and to their spouse's sense of their responsibilities (ought self). Prebirth actual-ideal discrepancies predicted increased sadness or dejection after birth (especially for couples in longer marriages), whereas prebirth actual-ought discrepancies predicted decreased nervousness or agitation after birth (especially for mothers and couples with a less "easy" child). Becoming a parent introduces new demands that both interfere with attaining one's own hopes (increasing dejection in parents high in ideal [own] discrepancy) and shift attention to the new parenting role (decreasing agitation in parents high in ought [spouse] discrepancy).
Alexander
M J
MJ
Nathan Kline Institute of Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962.
Higgins
E T
ET
D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting; D013315:Stress, Psychological