title: New Parents' Facebook Use at the Transition to Parenthood.
abstract: New parents' Facebook use was examined from a social capital perspective. Surveys regarding Facebook use and parenting satisfaction, parenting self-efficacy, and parenting stress were completed by 154 mothers and 150 fathers as part of a larger study of dual-earner, Mid-western U.S. couples making the transition to parenthood. Results indicated that mothers used Facebook more than fathers, and that mothers perceived an increase in use over the transition. When more of mothers' Facebook friends were family members or relatives, and when fathers reported connecting with more of their Facebook friends outside of Facebook, they reported better parental adjustment. For mothers, however, more frequent visits to Facebook accounts and more frequent content management were each associated with higher levels of parenting stress.
authors.affiliation: Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University, 135 Campbell Hall, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210.
authors.forename: Mitchell K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Bartholomew
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Schoppe-Sullivan
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Glassman
authors.forename: Claire M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kamp Dush
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sullivan
keywords: Facebook; social capital; social networking; transition to parenthood