Frosch C A, Mangelsdorf S C, McHale J L
Center for Developmental Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27599-8115, USA.
Dev Psychol. 1998 Nov;34(6):1438-49. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.34.6.1438.
The birth of a baby may adversely affect spouses' adaptation, as indexed by self-reported marital satisfaction and psychological well-being. However, less is known about the interpersonal dynamics of marital behavior during the months after a child is born. This research examined correlates of marital behavior in 2 contexts for 104 couples with 6-month-old infants. Spouses completed measures of their relationship history, personality, self-esteem, and marital adjustment and were videotaped in their homes during couple discussion and family play. Spouses reporting greater marital adjustment exhibited more positive and less negative engagement during couple discussion and greater harmony during family play. Older spouses, however, displayed less positive engagement during couple discussion than younger spouses. During family play, greater hostility was observed when wives reported less positive relationship histories and greater negative affectivity. These findings suggest that marital behavior after the birth of a baby is multiply determined and that its correlates vary across contexts.
婴儿的出生可能会对配偶的适应产生不利影响，自我报告的婚姻满意度和心理健康状况可作为指标。然而，对于孩子出生后几个月内婚姻行为的人际动态，我们了解得较少。本研究考察了104对有6个月大婴儿的夫妻在两种情境下婚姻行为的相关因素。配偶们完成了关于他们的关系史、个性、自尊和婚姻调适的测量，并在夫妻讨论和家庭游戏期间在家中被录像。报告婚姻调适程度较高的配偶在夫妻讨论中表现出更多积极和更少消极的互动，在家庭游戏中表现出更大的和谐。然而，年龄较大的配偶在夫妻讨论中表现出的积极互动比年轻配偶少。在家庭游戏中，当妻子报告关系史不太积极且消极情感较多时，观察到更多的敌意。这些发现表明，婴儿出生后的婚姻行为是由多种因素决定的，其相关因素在不同情境下有所不同。
