Promoting healthy beginnings: a randomized controlled trial of a preventive intervention to preserve marital quality during the transition to parenthood.
Couples expecting their first child were randomly assigned to intervention (n=28) and comparison groups (n=38) to assess the efficacy of a couples intervention and examine marital satisfaction trajectories across the transition to parenthood. The primarily European American sample (M age=30 years) completed assessments of marital satisfaction at 5 points from the final trimester of pregnancy to 66 months postpartum. Growth curve analyses indicated a normative linear decline in marital satisfaction. Intervention participants experienced significantly less decline than comparison participants, providing support for the efficacy of the intervention. Comparable childless couples (n=13) did not show a decline in marital satisfaction. The results suggest that early family transitions that strain couple relationships provide critical opportunities for preventive interventions to strengthen marriage.
Schulz
Marc S
MS
Department of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, USA. mschulz@brynmawr.edu
Cowan
Carolyn Pape
CP
Cowan
Philip A
PA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008388:Marital Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications