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Commitment across the Transition to Parenthood among Married and Cohabiting Couples
Claire M Kamp Dush1, Galena K Rhoades2, Sara E Sandberg-Thoma1
1The Ohio State University.
Couple & Family Psychology
|December 16, 2014
Summary
Parenthood transition impacts commitment differently based on marital status. Cohabiting fathers show greater declines in dedication and confidence compared to married fathers.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Relationship functioning often declines during the transition to parenthood.
- Commitment is hypothesized to increase during this life stage, creating a research gap.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine changes in interpersonal and constraint commitment across the transition to parenthood.
- To compare these changes based on marital status: cohabitation, marriage after cohabitation, and direct marriage.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the New Parents Project, a community sample.
- Included 173 married and cohabiting couples.
- Employed difference-in-difference estimates to analyze changes in commitment.
Main Results:
- Cohabiting fathers experienced greater decreases in personal dedication and relationship confidence compared to married fathers.
- Cohabiting fathers showed a larger increase in felt constraint than married fathers.
- No significant differences in commitment changes were observed between cohabiting and married mothers.
Conclusions:
- Marital status influences how commitment changes during the transition to parenthood, particularly for fathers.
- Further research is needed on commitment changes in unmarried couples during this transition.
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