From partnership to parenthood: A review of marital change across the transition to parenthood
Abstract
The transition to parenthood is generally seen as one of the most challenging events in the early stages of marriage. But is it really that detrimental for marriage and do all couples go through the same changes? This article provides a state‐of‐the‐art review of research on marital change across the transition to parenthood. I first address to what extent the transition to parenthood affects the partner relationship. I then consider factors that explain why some couples fare better or worse than others across the transition to parenthood. Two factors that play a central role are (1) adaptive processes and (2) personal and situational characteristics. Finally, this article builds an evidence‐based case for an integrative model of the transition to parenthood.
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The arrival of children can prompt relationships to change considerably.
“Social. The arrival of children can prompt relationships to change considerably (e.g., divorce, losing/gaining friends, mending family ties) (27–31).”
From A critical need for the concept of matrescence in perinatal psychiatry (2024) · cites this paper as [30]
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A critical need for the concept of matrescence in perinatal psychiatry
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Examining changes in affection and “Feeling touched out” after the birth of a child
van Raalte, L. J., Burke, T. J., DeGroot, J. M., & Mellow, A. J. (2023) · Journal of Family Communication · doi:10.1080/15267431.2022.2142229 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kluwer, E. S.
- Affiliations
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Kluwer, Esther S.
- ORCID
- Kluwer, Esther S.
- Venue
- Journal of Family Theory & Review
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2010-06
- Volume
- 2
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 105-125
- ISSN
- 1756-2570 (ISSN-L)
- 1756-2589
- OpenAlex
- W1995287900
- Cited by
- 195
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 15.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Family Theory & Review (publishedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Marriage and Family Dynamics
- Keywords
- transition to parenthood, marital change, couple relationships, early marriage, adaptive processes, integrative model
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