Development of Negative Emotionality in Mothers Across 18 Years: Does Relationship Breakup Matter?

Negative emotionality (NE) tends to decrease with age. However, we lack information about how divorce and other social role experiences predict long-term development of NE in women after the transition to parenthood.

The current study used data from an 18-year longitudinal study with eight data collection waves, including 823 mothers living with their child's father at baseline. Mixed models and Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models were run.

NE decreased over the 18-year study period. The decline was steeper among mothers who were no longer in the relationship with the child's father at the end of the study period compared to mothers who stayed in that relationship. Mothers who broke up from a relationship with relatively high problem levels showed the steepest decline. Having four or more children living in the household was associated with less decrease in NE, probably due to initial low NE levels. Not living with a partner predicted temporarily elevated NE levels among mothers.

Decrease in NE among mothers is not entirely dependent on particular social role experiences or transitions. However, some experiences moderate the magnitude of this decrease, suggesting interrelatedness between decline in NE and social roles among mothers.