Paternal and maternal rejection and Chinese children's internalizing and externalizing problems across the transition to siblinghood: A developmental cascade model of family influence.

This longitudinal study examined the reciprocal associations between paternal and maternal rejection and firstborn children's (Mage  = 49.9 months; 55% boys) behavior problems across the transition to siblinghood in a sample of 120 families recruited from 2016 to 2018 from Shanghai, China. Parental rejection and behavior problems were assessed before (prenatal) and 1, 6, and 12 months after the birth of a baby sibling. Random intercept cross-lagged panel models revealed positive relations between internalizing problems and both maternal and paternal rejection, and between externalizing problems and paternal rejection at the between-person level (rs = .32-.37), but only cross-lagged effects from children's internalizing and externalizing problems to maternal rejection at the within-person level (ßs = .30-.54).

Changes in children's attachment security to mother and father after the birth of a sibling: Risk and resilience in the family.

Changes in children's attachment security to mother and father were examined for 230 firstborn children (M = 31.17 months), their mothers and fathers participating in a longitudinal investigation starting in the last trimester of the mothers' pregnancy and 1, 4, 8, and 12 months after the birth of an infant sibling. Both parents completed the Attachment Q-set at prenatal, 4, and 12 months. Growth mixture models revealed four latent classes in which children's attachments were (a) both secure with a modest decline to both parents (68.3%); (b) more secure with father than mother with a steep decline for both (12.6%); (c) both insecure with no change (10%); and (d) more secure with mother than father with a modest increase for both (9.1%). Multi-group latent growth curve analyses revealed that parenting and coparenting differed across families. Children had lower externalizing behavior problems in families with two secure attachments than in families with one secure attachment, either to mother or to father, who, in turn, had fewer problems than children with two insecure attachments. Findings underscore the strengths of a family systems framework to understand attachment relationships with multiple caregivers and the family risks and protective factors that covary with children's behavioral adjustment after the birth of a sibling.

Will I love my second baby as much as my first? Prevalence and psychosocial correlates of maternal-fetal relationship anxiety for second-time mothers.

Most mothers have more than one child. Second-time mothers may worry about whether they will love the second baby as much as their first child. The current study examined mothers' maternal-fetal relationship anxiety (MFRA) to their second baby, the prediction of mother-infant bonding (MIB) and infant-mother attachment security post-partum, and the psychosocial correlates of mothers' MFRA during pregnancy. Mothers (N = 241, 85.9% White, 5.4% Black, 2.9% Asian/American, 3.7% Latina) and their second-born infants (55% boys) living in the Midwestern United States participated in a longitudinal investigation starting in the last trimester of pregnancy, and 1, 4, 8, and 12 months postpartum. Most women reported little to no anxiety about forming an attachment to their second baby (89.1%). MFRA predicted less maternal warmth toward the baby at 1, 4, and 8 months postpartum, but did not predict security of the infant-mother attachment at 12 months. Prenatal MFRA was also related to maternal depressive symptoms, an insecure attachment with the first child, more marital distress, and more adult attachment avoidance and ambivalence prenatally. Mothers worrying about loving a second baby as much as their first child may be experiencing other psychosocial risks that have repercussions for the developing mother-infant relationship.

La mayoría de las madres tiene más de un niño. Las que son madres por segunda vez se preocupan de si ellas amarán al segundo bebé tanto como al primer niño. El presente estudio examinó la ansiedad de la relación materno-fetal (MFRA) con su segundo bebé, la predicción del apego madre-infante y la seguridad de la afectividad madre-infante posterior al parto, así como las correlaciones sicosociales de la MFRA de las madres durante el embarazo. Las madres (N = 241, 85.9% blancas, 5.4% negras, 2.9 asiático-americanas, 3.7% latinas) y sus segundos infantes (55% varones), quienes vivían en el medio-oeste de los Estados Unidos, participaron en una investigación longitudinal comenzando en el último trimestre del embarazo, y a 1, 4, 8 y 12 meses después del parto. La mayoría de las mujeres reportó entre poca y ninguna ansiedad acerca de formar una relación afectiva con su segundo bebé (89.1%). La MFRA predijo menos calidez materna hacia el bebé a 1, 4 y 8 meses después del parto, pero no predijo la seguridad de la afectividad madre-infante a los 12 meses. La MFRA prenatal también se relacionó con los síntomas depresivos maternos, una afectividad insegura con el primer niño, más angustia marital, así como un mayor sentido adulto de ambivalencia y de evitar la afectividad prenatalmente. Las madres que se preocupan acerca de querer a su segundo bebé tanto como a su primer niño pudieran experimentar otros riesgos sicológicos y tener repercusiones para el desarrollo de la relación madre-infante.

La plupart des mères ont plus d'un seul enfant. Les mères pour la deuxième fois peuvent s'inquiéter si elles aimeront le second bébé autant que leur premier enfant. Cette étude a examiné l'anxiété de la relation maternelle-fœtale (abrégé MFRA selon l'anglais) des mères en lien à leur second bébé, la prédiction du lien mère-nourrisson et la sécurité de l'attachement nourrisson-mère postpartum ainsi que les corrélats psychosociaux de la MFRA des mères durant la grossesse. Les mères (N = 241, 85,9% blanches, 5,4% noires, 2,9% asiatiques américaines, 3,7% latinas) et leur deuxième bébé (55% de garçons) vivant dans le centre nord des Etats-Unis d'Amérique ont participé à une enquête longitudinale commençant le dernier trimestre de la grossesse et à 1, 4, 8 et 12 mois postpartum. La plupart des femmes ont fait état de presque aucune anxiété quant à la formation de l'attachement à leur second bébé (89,1%). La MFRA a prédit moins de chaleur maternelle envers le bébé à 1, 4, et 8 mois postpartum mais n'a pas prédit la sécurité de l'attachement bébé-mère à 12 mois. La MFRA prénatale était aussi liée aux symptômes dépressifs maternels, à un attachement insécure avec le premier enfant, à plus de détresse conjugale et à plus d'évitement et d'ambivalence de l'attachement adulte avant la naissance.

Growth in emotion understanding across early childhood: A cohort-sequential model of firstborn children across the transition to siblinghood.

Emotion understanding develops rapidly in early childhood. Firstborn children (N = 231, 55% girls/45% boys, 86% White, 5% Black, 3% Asian, 4% Latinx, Mage  = 29.92 months) were recruited into a longitudinal study from 2004 to 2008 in the United States and administered a series of tasks assessing eight components of young children's emotion understanding from ages 1 to 5. Cohort sequential analysis across three cohorts (1-, 2-, and 3-year-olds) demonstrated a progression of children's emotion understanding from basic emotion identification to an understanding of false-belief emotions, even after controlling for children's verbal ability. Emotion understanding scores were related to children's theory of mind and parent reports of empathy, but not emotional reactivity, providing evidence of both convergent and discriminant validity.

Amenders and Avoiders: an examination of guilt and shame for toddlers and their older siblings.

Guilt- and shame-prone responding were examined in a sample of 146, 18-month-old toddlers and their older siblings (M = 49.5 months, SD = 10.4) during mishap tasks which were used to differentiate both toddlers and their older siblings into Amenders (low avoidance) and Avoiders (high avoidance). Toddlers and older siblings classified as Amenders expressed more concern and were less distressed by the mishap than Avoiders. Children were divided into four groups: Amender-Amender (older sibling-toddler), Amender-Avoider, Avoider-Avoider, and Avoider-Amender to examine differences in sibling interaction and moral development. Older siblings in the Avoider-Avoider group were significantly more aggressive and less empathic toward toddlers than older siblings in the Avoider-Amender group. Toddlers in the Amender-Amender, Amender-Avoider, and Avoider-Amender groups showed significant gains in moral regulation from 18 to 24 months whereas toddlers in the Avoider-Avoider group did not. In contrast, while older siblings were generally high on moral regulation when toddlers were 18 months, this was not the case for older siblings in the Avoider-Avoider group, who had lower moral regulation scores that significantly increased over time. Findings are discussed with respect to the significance of sibling socialisation for toddlers' developing moral sensibility.

A systematic review of human paternal oxytocin: Insights into the methodology and what we know so far.

With the consolidation of fathers' engagement in caregiving, understanding the neuroendocrine and hormonal mechanisms underlying fatherhood becomes a relevant topic. Oxytocin (OT) has been linked with maternal bonding and caregiving, but less is known about the role of OT in human fatherhood and paternal caregiving. A systematic review of methods and findings of previous OT research in human fathers was carried. The literature search on PubMed and Scopus yielded 133 records. Twenty-four studies were included and analyzed. Significant variability emerged in OT methodology, including laboratory tasks, assessment methods, and outcome measures. Fathers' OT levels appear to increase after childbirth. OT was significantly correlated with less hostility and with the quality of paternal physical stimulation in play interactions, but not with paternal sensitivity. Fathers' and children's OT levels were significantly correlated in a limited subset of studies, intriguingly suggesting that cross-generational OT regulation may occur during the early years of life. This study highlights relevant issues and limitations of peripheral OT assessment in human subjects, especially in fathers. Although the study of paternal neuroendocrinology appears promising, coping with these issues requires dedicated efforts and methodological suggestions are provided to guide future advances in this field.

Adrenocortical interdependence in father-infant and mother-infant dyads: Attunement or something more?

Father-infant and mother-infant (one-year-olds) adrenocortical attunement was explored during the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) among 125 father-infant and 141 mother-infant dyads. Cortisol was assessed at baseline (T1), 20 (T2), and 40 minutes (T3) after the first parent-infant separation. Initial correlations indicated significant associations between father-infant and mother-infant cortisol at each time. Cortisol interdependence was further explored using Actor-Partner Interdependence Models. There was no evidence supporting cortisol interdependence based on within-time residual correlations between parent-infant cortisol, once stability and cross-lagged paths were controlled. Infant cortisol at T2 predicted T3 cortisol for fathers and mothers resulting in a series of follow-up exploratory analyses to examine mediating processes which revealed that infant distress during the SSP predicted infant T2 cortisol, which, in turn, predicted infant negativity during the 15-min mother-infant teaching task that followed the SSP. Among father-infant dyads, infant T2 cortisol predicted infant negativity during father-infant interaction, with infants expressing more negativity having less sensitive fathers. Findings provide little support of parent-infant adrenocortical attunement across either father-infant or mother-infant dyads during the SSP, but preliminary evidence indicates infant distress as a potential mediator. Future research may want to focus on affective and behavioral processes that underlie the concept of parent-infant adrenocortical attunement.

Configurations of mother-child and father-child attachment as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems: An individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis.

An unsettled question in attachment theory and research is the extent to which children's attachment patterns with mothers and fathers jointly predict developmental outcomes. In this study, we used individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to assess whether early attachment networks with mothers and fathers are associated with children's internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems. Following a pre-registered protocol, data from 9 studies and 1,097 children (mean age: 28.67 months) with attachment classifications to both mothers and fathers were included in analyses. We used a linear mixed effects analysis to assess differences in children's internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems as assessed via the average of both maternal and paternal reports based on whether children had two, one, or no insecure (or disorganized) attachments. Results indicated that children with an insecure attachment relationship with one or both parents were at higher risk for elevated internalizing behavioral problems compared with children who were securely attached to both parents. Children whose attachment relationships with both parents were classified as disorganized had more externalizing behavioral problems compared to children with either one or no disorganized attachment relationship with their parents. Across attachment classification networks and behavioral problems, findings suggest (a) an increased vulnerability to behavioral problems when children have insecure or disorganized attachment to both parents, and (b) that mother-child and father-child attachment relationships may not differ in the roles they play in children's development of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems.

Widening the lens on family processes and the development of parent-child attachment relationships.

This commentary addresses the research conducted by McConnachie et al. (this issue) on attachment in gay father families, lesbian mother families, and heterosexual parent families. Strengths of the research included the inclusion of different family constellations, the focus on between-family and within-family differences, the longitudinal research design, and the age-appropriate assessment of attachment. Some limitations noted included the lack of control for age at adoption in analyses, the lack of information on parenting processes and parental mental health in the formation of attachment, and questions about information obtained from parent reports of children's prior caregiving histories.

What are the Marital Problems of Happy Couples? A Multimethod, Two-Sample Investigation.

How couples handle marital conflict may depend on what issues they are facing, as some issues may be more difficult to resolve than others. What is unclear, however, is what issues happy couples face and how these issues may be different for couples depending on their developmental stage. To explore this possibility, the current study used both self-reports and observations drawn from two separate samples of happily married couples-one early in middle adulthood (N = 57 couples; average marital duration = 9 years) and one in older adulthood (N = 64 couples; average marital duration = 42 years). Results indicated that all issues were relatively minor, but early middle-aged couples reported more significant problems than did older couples. As to determining the most salient topic for happy couples, it depended on the spouses' gender, developmental stage, and how salience was assessed (i.e., highest rated issue vs. most discussed issue). Only moderate links were found between what happy couples said was their most serious concern and what they actually tried to resolve during observations of marital problem-solving, but there were differences in how spouses behaved based on the proportion of their time discussing certain topics. Findings suggest that more attention should be devoted to understanding what marital issues happy couples discuss and why, as doing so may reveal how couples maintain their marital happiness.

Las maneras en las que las parejas manejan el conflicto conyugal puede depender de qué problemas enfrentan, ya que algunos problemas pueden ser más difíciles de resolver que otros. Sin embargo, lo que no está claro es qué problemas enfrentan las parejas felices y cómo estos pueden ser diferentes para las parejas según su etapa de desarrollo. Para analizar esta posibilidad, el presente estudio utilizó autoinformes y observaciones tomados de dos muestras distintas de parejas felizmente casadas: una a principios de la mediana edad (N = 57 parejas; duración conyugal promedio = 9 años) y una en la tercera edad (N = 64 parejas; duración conyugal promedio = 42 años). Los resultados indicaron que todos los problemas fueron relativamente menores, pero las parejas de principios de la mediana edad informaron problemas más importantes que las parejas mayores. En cuanto a la determinación del problema más prominente para las parejas felices, dependió del género de los cónyuges, la etapa de desarrollo y cómo se evaluó la prominencia (p. ej.: el problema más puntuado frente al problema más debatido). Solo se hallaron vínculos moderados entre lo que las parejas felices declararon como su mayor preocupación y lo que en realidad intentaron resolver durante las observaciones de la resolución de problemas conyugales, pero hubo diferencias en las maneras en las que los cónyuges se comportaron según la proporción de su tiempo debatiendo ciertos temas. Los resultados sugieren que debería dedicarse más atención a comprender qué problemas conyugales debaten las parejas felices y por qué, ya que hacerlo puede revelar cómo las parejas mantienen su felicidad conyugal.

Adult attachment and testosterone reactivity: Fathers' avoidance predicts changes in testosterone during the strange situation procedure.

We assessed parents' testosterone reactivity to the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP), a moderately stressful parent-infant interaction task that pulls for parental nurturance and caregiving behavior. Parents (146 mothers, 154 fathers) interacted with their 1-year-old infants, and saliva samples were obtained pre- and post-task to assess changes in testosterone. We examined whether testosterone reactivity differed between mothers and fathers, the extent to which parents' characteristic approaches to closeness (i.e., adult attachment orientation) contributed to testosterone changes, and whether any influences of adult attachment orientation were independent of more general personality characteristics (i.e., the Big Five personality dimensions). Results revealed that mothers and fathers showed comparable declines in testosterone during the SSP, and that these declines were attenuated among fathers with a more avoidant attachment orientation (i.e., those less comfortable with closeness). Associations between fathers' avoidance and testosterone reactivity were statistically independent of broader personality traits. Our findings provide some of the first evidence for short-term changes in both mothers' and fathers' testosterone in contexts that pull for nurturance. Moreover, these findings demonstrate that individual differences in adult attachment may play an important role in understanding such changes. We discuss possible explanations for gender differences in associations between adult attachment and parents' testosterone reactivity, and the extent to which testosterone reactivity might be sensitive to changes in context for mothers versus fathers.

An examination of father vulnerability and coercive family process after the birth of a sibling: A spillover cascade model.

Fathers are a crucial source of support for children following the birth of an infant sibling. This study examined whether fathers were more vulnerable to the effects of interparental conflict than mothers, and whether there was a subsequent spillover cascade from interparental conflict to children's externalizing behavior problems. We followed 241 families after the birth of a second child. Mothers and fathers reported on interparental conflict and parental efficacy at 1 and 4 months postpartum and punitive discipline and firstborn children's externalizing behavior problems across a longitudinal investigation (prenatal and 4, 8, and 12 months postpartum). For both mothers and fathers, interparental conflict prenatally predicted decreased parental efficacy following the birth. Fathers' lower parental efficacy was significantly associated with increased punitive discipline toward the older sibling at 4 months, whereas mothers' lower parental efficacy was not. Coercive family processes were present between mothers' and fathers' punitive discipline and older siblings' externalizing behavior problems. Results were inconsistent with the father vulnerability hypothesis in that both mothers and fathers were vulnerable to interparental conflict, which in turn spilled over to create coercive family processes that exacerbated children's externalizing behavior problems in the year following the birth of a second child.

Maternal and paternal trajectories of depressive symptoms predict family risk and children's emotional and behavioral problems after the birth of a sibling.

The current study examined trajectories of maternal and paternal depression in the year following the birth of an infant sibling, and relations with family risk factors and firstborn children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. Latent class growth analysis was conducted on 231 families in a longitudinal investigation (prebirth and 1, 4, 8, and 12 months postbirth) and revealed four classes of families: both mother and father low in depressive symptoms (40.7%); mother high-father low (25.1%); father high-mother low (24.7%), and both mother and father high (9.5%). Families with both mothers and fathers high on depressive symptoms were higher on marital negativity, parenting stress, and children's internalizing and externalizing problems, and lower on marital positivity and parental efficacy than other classes. Children, parents, and marital relationships were more problematic in families with fathers higher on depressive symptoms than in families in which mothers were higher, indicating the significant role of paternal support for firstborn children undergoing the transition to siblinghood. Maternal and paternal depression covaried with an accumulation of family risks over time, no doubt increasing the likelihood of children's problematic adjustment after the birth of their infant sibling.

Chapter IV: In Search of the Father-Infant Activation Relationship: A Person-Centered Approach.

The current study explored whether fathers and mothers from 195 two-parent U.S. families engaged in a form of activation parenting (i.e., sensitivity, cognitive stimulation, and moderate intrusiveness) with their secondborn, 12-month-old infants during a 15-min challenging teaching task, and to determine if this type of interaction was more common among fathers. Mean comparisons showed that fathers were lower on sensitivity, positive regard, and stimulation of development, and were more detached than mothers. Latent Profile Analyses revealed similar supportive, disengaged, and activation parenting profiles for fathers and mothers, with more fathers in the activation class. Chi-square analyses found significant associations across mothers and fathers; most infants (30%) had activation fathers and mothers, with 26% having supportive mothers and activation fathers, and 11.4% having two supportive parents. Parenting profiles were unrelated to attachment security. Results need to be replicated with children of different ages, with families from different backgrounds, and beyond the challenging teaching paradigm.

Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Child Development.

Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children's development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father-child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies on parenting and children's development. The first aim of this monograph was to provide a brief update on the current state of research on fathering and to lay out a developmental ecological systems perspective as a conceptual framework for understanding the different spaces fathers inhabit in their children's lives. Because there is wide variability in fathers' roles, the ecological systems perspective situates fathers, mothers, children, and other caregivers within an evolving network of interrelated social relationships in which children and their parents change over time and space (e.g., residence). The second aim was to present examples of empirical studies conducted by members of the international working group that highlighted different methods, data collection, and statistical analyses used to capture the variability in father-child relationships. The monograph ends with a commentary that elaborates on the ecological systems framework with a discussion of the broader macrosystem and social-contextual influences that impinge on fathers and their children. The collection of articles contributes to research on father-child relationships by advancing theory and presenting varied methods and analysis strategies that assist in understanding the father-child relationship and its impact on child development.

Is one secure attachment enough? Infant cortisol reactivity and the security of infant-mother and infant-father attachments at the end of the first year.

Attachment security is theorized to shape stress reactivity, but extant work has failed to find consistent links between attachment security to mothers and infant cortisol reactivity. We examined family configurations of infant-mother and infant-father attachment security in relation to infant cortisol reactivity. One-year old infants (N = 180) participated in the Strange Situation with mothers and fathers in two counterbalanced lab visits, one month apart (12 and 13 months). Infants with secure attachments only to their fathers and not their mothers had higher cortisol levels than infants with a secure attachment to mother and also exhibited a blunted cortisol response (high at baseline and then a decrease after stress). Results suggest that a secure attachment to father may not be enough to reduce infant stress reactivity when the infant-mother attachment is insecure, and future research is needed to uncover the family dynamics that underlie different family configurations of attachment security.

Gender role beliefs, work-family conflict, and father involvement after the birth of a second child.

A major task for parents during the transition to second-time parenthood is to help their firstborn adjust to their new roles as siblings. Increased father involvement has been theorized to be protective for firstborn adjustment. Fathers, however, are under increasing pressure to balance both work and family responsibilities. Here we evaluate fathers' relative involvement in two-child families as a function of family structure, gender role beliefs, and work-family conflict in 222 dual- and single-earner families from the Midwestern region of the United States after the birth of a second child. Couples reported on father involvement with firstborns and infants when the infants were 1, 4, 8, and 12 months old. On average, fathers increased their involvement with infants but decreased their involvement with firstborns. Dual-earner fathers were more involved with their children than single-earner fathers. Although mean levels of father involvement were different between dual- and single-earners, multi-group parallel process trajectory latent growth curve models revealed more similarities than differences between dual- and single-earners in processes guiding father involvement. Both dual- and single-earner fathers engaged in juggling childcare between children and both dual- and single-earner fathers' involvement with infants was constrained by work-family conflict. Gender role beliefs predicted child care involvement for dual-earner, but not single-earner fathers: more egalitarian gender roles predicted greater involvement with the firstborn immediately after the birth of the second child. Results underscore the need for greater workplace support for fathers' caregiving roles after the birth of an infant.

Aggression, Sibling Antagonism, and Theory of Mind During the First Year of Siblinghood: A Developmental Cascade Model.

A developmental cascade model was tested to examine longitudinal associations among firstborn children's aggression, theory of mind (ToM), and antagonism toward their younger sibling during the 1st year of siblinghood. Aggression and ToM were assessed before the birth of a sibling and 4 and 12 months after the birth, and antagonism was examined at 4 and 12 months in a sample of 208 firstborn children (initial Mage  = 30 months, 56% girls) from primarily European American, middle-class families. Firstborns' aggression consistently predicted high sibling antagonism both directly and through poorer ToM. Results highlight the importance of examining longitudinal influences across behavioral, social-cognitive, and relational factors that are closely intertwined even from the early years of life.

Individual variation in fathers' testosterone reactivity to infant distress predicts parenting behaviors with their 1-year-old infants.

Positive father involvement is associated with positive child outcomes. There is great variation in fathers' involvement and fathering behaviors, and men's testosterone (T) has been proposed as a potential biological contributor to paternal involvement. Previous studies investigating testosterone changes in response to father-infant interactions or exposure to infant cues were unclear as to whether individual variation in T is predictive of fathering behavior. We show that individual variation in fathers' T reactivity to their infants during a challenging laboratory paradigm (Strange Situation) uniquely predicted fathers' positive parenting behaviors during a subsequent father-infant interaction, in addition to other psychosocial determinants of paternal involvement, such as dispositional empathy and marital quality. The findings have implications for understanding fathering behaviors and how fathers can contribute to their children's socioemotional development.

Are women's parenting-specific beliefs associated with depressive symptoms in the perinatal period? Development of the rigidity of maternal beliefs scale.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal depression negatively impacts women, parenting, and children's development. However, not much is known about maternal specific beliefs that may be associated with perinatal depression. We created a new measure that examined the rigidity of perinatal women's beliefs in three major domains suggested to be closely related to mood and behavior: anticipated maternal self-efficacy, perceptions of child vulnerability, and perceptions of societal expectations of mothers (PSEM). METHODS: A 26-item measure (the Rigidity of Maternal Beliefs Scale, RMBS) was developed and completed by women at two time points, pregnancy (n = 134) and postpartum (n = 113), along with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) examined the factor structure of the RMBS and validity and reliability were also tested. RESULTS: The EFA suggested that a four-factor solution was most interpretable, with few items cross-loading, and there were common themes that unified the items in each factor, resulting in a 24-item final measure. Cronbach's alpha confirmed the internal consistency, whereas bivariate correlations revealed the measure had good test-retest reliability, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. Regression analyses established predictive validity of the RMBS for postpartum depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The RMBS may be useful with clinical populations to identify maladaptive or rigid thoughts that could be a focus of intervention. This tool may also be used to guide conversation about motherhood expectations within any context where pregnant women present (e.g., prenatal care, social services), as well as potentially identifying women who are at risk for postpartum depression in clinical contexts.