Parenthood, Transition to

How Marriages Change

However commonplace the birth of a child, for the two parents involved, especially if married or cohabiting, the transition to parenthood is a major life event. As such, it requires both individuals to adapt to changes brought about by the responsibility of rearing a child. The challenges faced by men and women during the transition to parenthood are often different generally due to the distinctive changes that they experience in their family roles. It is typically these role changes that have implications for how marital/partner relationships will change.

Although typically viewed as a positive experience, the transition to parenthood can exert major strains on the couple relationship. Indeed, having a baby often creates new problems for a relationship and amplifies existing vulnerabilities. Parenthood thus has the potential to change both men's and women's feelings about themselves and their relationships as they assume the important role of nurturing a child from birth into adulthood.

Research that has followed marriages over time—from before to after the arrival of a first child—typically chronicles declines in overall marital quality and self-reported marital satisfaction. Although the average level of decline is not large, its consistency makes it noteworthy. The fact, however, that social scientists cannot run experiments in which they randomly assign some couples to the “have-a-baby” experimental group and others to a “no-baby” control group means that it is difficult to be certain that changes in marriage associated with having a first child are truly caused by the transition to parenthood. This situation is further complicated by the fact that, in general, marital quality declines over time in most households irrespective of whether they have a child. This situation suggests an alternative interpretation of the well-replicated observation that marital quality deteriorates somewhat following the arrival of the first child: This decline is not really a function of becoming parents, but merely of time taking its toll on the marital relationship. Perhaps the soundest conclusion in light of evidence showing that, in general, overall marital quality and satisfaction decline with time, irrespective of the arrival and rearing of children, is that the transition to parenthood accentuates and accelerates this process.

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