Cross-lagged Models of Marital Relationships and Intergenerational Conflicts during Transition to Parenthood: Effect of Patrilineal Coresidence.

The transition to parenthood is one of the most stressful intra- and interpersonal adjustment periods for new parents. Bidirectional associations among intergenerational relationships during the transition to parenthood have received limited attention, and the complexity of reciprocal relationships varies in accordance with living arrangements. The objectives of this study were to explore (1) the bidirectional associations between marital relationships and conflicts with in-laws during the transition to parenthood and (2) the moderation of patrilineal coresidence on the aforementioned relationships. A three-wave prospective longitudinal design was adopted for 359 married mothers. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale and Stryker Adjustment Checklist were used to assess marital relationships and conflicts with parents-in-law. Cross-lagged panel analysis was applied to examine reciprocal relationships, and multigroup analyses were employed to determine whether these relationships exhibited different patterns in accordance with the individuals' living arrangements. The two cross-lagged models revealed the presence of a bidirectional relationship between marital distress and conflicts with parents-in-law during the mid- to late pregnancy stages. Meanwhile, the multigroup analyses suggested that conflicts with parents-in-law triggered marital distress during pregnancy in the coresidence group, whereas conflicts with fathers-in-law could intensify marital distress during late pregnancy to the postpartum period in the noncoresidence group. These findings shed light on cross-lagged associations with intergenerational conflicts. Healthcare professionals need to ensure that intergenerational relationships are positive during the transition to parenthood. This study enriches our understanding of the effect of patrilineal coresidence and can guide the future development of interventions based on culturally specific multidimensional approaches.

La transición a la paternidad es uno de los periodos más estresantes de adaptación intrapersonal e interpersonal para padres primerizos. Las asociaciones bidireccionales entre las relaciones intergeneracionales durante la transición a la paternidad han recibido escasa atención, y la complejidad de las relaciones recíprocas varía de acuerdo con las condiciones de vida diaria. Los objetivos de este estudio fueron analizar (1) las asociaciones bidireccionales entre las relaciones conyugales y los conflictos con los familiares políticos durante la transición a la paternidad y (2) la moderación de la convivencia por línea paterna en las relaciones antes mencionadas. Se adoptó un diseño longitudinal prospectivo en tres etapas para 359 madres casadas. Se utilizaron la escala de ajuste diádico (Dyadic Adjustment Scale) y la lista de comprobación de ajuste de Stryker (Stryker Adjustment Checklist) para evaluar las relaciones conyugales y los conflictos con los suegros. Se aplicó el análisis de referencias cruzadas para analizar las relaciones recíprocas y se emplearon análisis multigrupo para determinar si estas relaciones demostraban diferentes patrones de acuerdo con las condiciones de vida diaria de las personas. Los dos modelos de referencias cruzadas revelaron la presencia de una relación bidireccional entre el distrés conyugal y los conflictos con los suegros durante las etapas intermedias y finales del embarazo. Mientras tanto, los análisis multrigrupo sugirieron que los conflictos con los suegros desencadenaron distrés conyugal durante el embarazo en el grupo de convivencia, mientras que los conflictos con los suegros podrían intensificar el distrés conyugal durante el final del embarazo y el periodo de posparto en el grupo no conviviente. Estos resultados echaron luz sobre las asociaciones de referencias cruzadas con los conflictos intergeneracionales. Los profesionales de la salud necesitan garantizar que las relaciones intergeneracionales sean positivas durante la transición a la paternidad. Este estudio enriquece nuestro conocimiento del efecto de la convivencia por línea paterna y puede guiar el futuro desarrollo de intervenciones basadas en enfoques multidimensionales culturalmente específicos.

Sociodemographic, obstetric characteristics, antenatal morbidities, and perinatal depressive symptoms: A three-wave prospective study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed (1) to investigate the pattern of perinatal depressive symptoms, and (2) to determine the relationships between sociodemographic characteristics, obstetric factors, antenatal morbidities, postnatal conditions, and perinatal depressive symptoms using a structural equation model (SEM). METHOD: A three-wave prospective longitudinal design was used for 361 women in their second trimester, third trimester, and at six weeks postpartum. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to assess the depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The intensity of depressive symptoms was the highest in the second trimester among the three waves. The SEM showed that unmarried status, unplanned pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and headache were significantly associated with EPDS in the first and second waves. The EPDS in the first wave was able to predict the EPDS in the second and third waves. The SEM has satisfactorily fit with the data (chi-square/degree of freedom = 1.42, incremental fit index = 0.91, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.90, comparative fit index = 0.91, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the significance of monitoring depressive symptoms in the second trimester. Findings from this study could be useful in the design of effective intervention among women with unmarried status, unplanned pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and headache in order to reduce risk of perinatal depressive symptoms.