Emotional trade-offs of becoming a parent
How social roles influence self-discrepancy effects
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6205630 |
|---|---|
| Authors | M Alexander (0000-0002-8135-3435, Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, corresponding author), Mary Jane Alexander (0000-0003-1174-7970), E Tory Higgins (0000-0003-4157-8207) |
| Year | 1993 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1259-1269 |
| Publication date | 1993-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037//0022-3514.65.6.1259 |
| PMID | 8295122 |
| OpenAlex | W2015020578 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 32 |
| References cited | 11 |
Why do some people suffer from becoming a parent, whereas others do not? New parents' actual selves were related to their own hopes for themselves (ideal self) and to their spouse's sense of their responsibilities (ought self). Prebirth actual-ideal discrepancies predicted increased sadness or dejection after birth (especially for couples in longer marriages), whereas prebirth actual-ought discrepancies predicted decreased nervousness or agitation after birth (especially for mothers and couples with a less "easy" child). Becoming a parent introduces new demands that both interfere with attaining one's own hopes (increasing dejection in parents high in ideal [own] discrepancy) and shift attention to the new parenting role (decreasing agitation in parents high in ought [spouse] discrepancy).
Anger · Developmental psychology · Ideal (ethics · Sadness · Social approval · Sociology · Spouse · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges
Even Supermoms Get the Blues
A cognitive-affective system theory of personality
Maternal Guilt and Shame
Parenting stress and child adjustment
The relational self
Transitions in Partnership and Parental Status, Gender, and Political and Civic Participation
Evoking Shame and Guilt
Self, social identity and psychological well-being
How Exposure to Online Parenting Content Relates to Mothers’ Self-Discrepancy and Postpartum Mental Health
The Relation Between Role Constructions and Adjustment Among Stepfathers
Self-structure and well-being in life transitions
Free‐Response Self‐Discrepancies Across, Among, and Within FFM Personality Dimensions
Relationships and the self‐concept
Quality of the intimate and sexual relationship in first‐time parents six months after delivery
Explaining the curvilinear relationship between age at first birth and depression among women
Extending Identity Theory to Predict Differential Forms and Degrees of Psychological Distress
Conformity to sex-typed norms, affect, and the self-concept
Possible Selves
Childbearing and Women's Mental Health
Postpartum Role Satisfaction in Couples
Sex role self-concept and sex role attitudes
Postpartum adjustment in first-time mothers
Pregnancy problems, postpartum depression, and early mother–infant interactions
Social network relationships as sources of maternal support and well-being
Social Class and Mental Illness
Changes in the marital relationship after the first baby is born
Changes in the marital relationship during the transition to first time motherhood
Information-seeking and maternal self-definition during the transition to motherhood
Automaticity of chronically accessible constructs in person × situation effects on person perception
Measuring Dyadic Adjustment
| Unique citing works | 20 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,03 |
| Citation span | 1995 - 2023 (29) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 31 |