Prenatal Expectations and Marital Satisfaction Over the Transitionto ParenthoodErika Lawrence and Kimberly NylenUniversity of IowaRebecca J. CobbSimon Fraser UniversityAssociations among prenatal expectations, the extent to which expectations were confirmedor disconfirmed, and trajectories of marital satisfaction over the transition to parenthood wereassessed 7–11 times in a sample of newlywed couples. Piecewise growth curve analyses wereconducted to examine levels of marital satisfaction at the beginning of marriage and rates ofchange over 2 periods: from the beginning of marriage through the 3rd trimester of pregnancyand from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy through 18 months postpartum. Postpartum maritaldecline was greater than decline from marriage through pregnancy. Spouses who were moresatisfied at the beginning of marriage reported higher expectations. There was markedvariability in the extent to which prenatal expectations were confirmed; some expectationswere unfulfilled, others were met, and still others were surpassed. Associations between theextent to which expectations were confirmed and rates of change in marital decline differedas a function of the specific type of expectation. Implications for understanding vulnerabilityand resiliency in couples negotiating the transition to parenthood are discussed.Keywords: transition to parenthood, expectations, marital satisfaction, couples, growthcurve analysesMillions of couples undergo the transition to parenthoodeach year (U.S. Census, 2002), and couples expecting thebirth of their first child typically anticipate this event withenthusiasm and excitement (e.g., Feldman & Nash, 1984).The experience of parenthood, however, is often quite dif-ferent from what couples expect (e.g., Belsky, Ward, &Rovine, 1986), and the impact of the transition to parent-hood on marital satisfaction remains unclear. Social cogni-tion theorists suggest that prenatal expectations and thedegree to which those expectations are confirmed ordisconfirmed—defined in the present study as the extent towhich prenatal expectations are met, violated, orsurpassed—likely play important roles in predicting maritaldecline. Expectations allow people to believe that they canunderstand, predict, and control events in their lives andpreclude trial-and-error learning in encounters with newpeople and situations. The development and application ofexpectations is adaptive: It allows efficient and effectiveinterpersonal interactions. However, when expectations arebased on faulty data or are applied illogically, they can leadto individual or interpersonal difficulties. Further, people’sexpectations tend to have a positive bias such that individ-uals generally rate their lives as moderately positive (e.g.,Sears, 1983), remember and judge positive material moreeasily (Hampson & Dawson, 1985), and tend to makepositively biased judgments. With respect to the transitionto parenthood, this suggests that individuals generally willhave positive expectations about their own ability to navi-gate this transition.In addition, there is evidence that violations of prenatalexpectations are associated with lower levels of maritalsatisfaction (e.g., Belsky, 1985). However, little is knownabout the specific nature of the links among prenatal expec-tations, the extent to which those expectations are con-firmed, and rates of change in marital satisfaction across thetransition to parenthood. Are levels of prepregnancy satis-faction associated with prenatal expectations or the extent towhich expectations are met? And if the violation of expec-tations is associated with marital decline, does it necessarilyfollow that marital satisfaction increases or remains stablewhen expectations are met or surpassed? In this study, weexamined associations among expectations, the extent towhich those expectations were confirmed or disconfirmed,and trajectories of marital satisfaction over the transition toparenthood.There is consistent evidence that the transition to parent-hood has at least a temporary impact on marital satisfactionErika Lawrence and Kimberly Nylen, Department of Psychol-ogy, University of Iowa; Rebecca J. Cobb, Department of Psy-chology, Simon Fraser University.Collection and analysis of these data were supported by re-search grants awarded to Erika Lawrence from the National Insti-tute of Mental Health, the University of Iowa, and the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention and by a research grant awarded toThomas N. Bradbury from the National Institute of Mental Health.We thank Matthew D. Johnson, Joanne Davila, Kieran Sullivan,Ronald D. Rogge, Catherine L. Cohan, Benjamin R. Karney, andThomas N. Bradbury, who helped with data collection, and GideonZamba, who assisted with data analysis.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressedto Erika Lawrence, Department of Psychology, University ofIowa, 11 Seashore Hall East, Iowa City, IA 52242-1407. E-mail:erika-lawrence@uiowa.eduJournal of Family Psychology Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association2007, Vol. 21, No. 2, 155–164 0893-3200/07/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0893-3200.21.2.155155
