Developing a parental identity, expectations about parenthood and descriptions of self as parent

Abstract

The purpose of the two studies described in this thesis was to investigate and develop the notion of a parental identity. During the transition to parenthood, one's identity as a parent is rapidly developing. The initial nature of this identity may be manifested in the kinds of expectations one has about what parenthood may be like. Thus, in study one, the relationship between individuals' prenatal expectations about parenthood and their postnatal experiences was examined. During their third trimester of pregnancy, 73 primiparous couples were interviewed and asked open-ended questions regarding their expectations about becoming parents. A content analysis of their prenatal responses was conducted to examine the nature and style of their expectations. Cluster analysis of women's expectations identified three clusters labelled Prepared, Fearful, and Complacent. Six- and 18-month postnatal comparisons of these clusters indicated that women in the Prepared cluster had significantly lower levels of stress and higher levels of self-esteem that women in both the Fearful and Complacent clusters. Cluster analysis of men's expectations replicated these three clusters and generated a fourth style of conceptualizing parenthood that was labelled Mixed. Postnatal comparisons indicated that men in the Prepared cluster had significantly lower levels of stress than did men in the Complacent cluster. In addition, there was a marginally significant effect of depression with men in the Prepared cluster scoring lower than men in the Complacent cluster. Gender differences were apparent in two distinct areas: the specific content of their thoughts and the time orientation of their thoughts. Women, more often then men, expressed concern regarding their ability to parent effectively, the lack of sleep they expected to get, and the labour/delivery process. Women were more likely to speak of their unborn child in terms of it being an infant. Men talked more often about playing with and teaching their child and spoke about their unborn child in terms of it being a child or an adolescent. Results are discussed in terms of the content of expectations about parenthood, gender differences in expectations, and their relationship between individuals' prenatal expectations and their postnatal experiences of parenthood. Results are also interpreted in terms of their contribution to the early development of one's identity as a parent.

Based on the results of study one, study two was designed to further investigate and understand the notion of a more mature stage of parental identity in women. Using the same qualitative methodology as in study one, mothers of children aged three to eight were asked open-ended questions regarding descriptions of themselves as parents, how they felt and thought about being parents, and what they believed was their role as parents. Cluster analysis of their responses resulted in three distinct clusters of women labelled Stressed, Teaching, and Nurturant. Analysis comparing the clusters across a variety of behavioural components of parenting indicated that individuals in the Stressed cluster perceived there to be more parenting stress in their lives than individuals described as Nurturant, and they also reported having more difficulty dealing with the demands of their children than individuals in the Teaching cluster. Results are discussed in terms of the development of parental identity and the relationship between parental identity and parenting behaviour.