Intergenerational relations, circumstances, and changes in mothers' marital quality during two years following childbirth.

In this study, the researchers examined, from an attachment theory perspective, changes in mothers' (n = 707) perception of the marital relationship over the course of the two years following childbirth. We found a decline in perceived quality of mothers' marital relationship over time, as well as several significant associations between birth circumstances (assisted reproductive technology, first/non-first baby), insecure attachment, and certain forms of support from the grandmothers on the one hand, and marital quality immediately after childbirth and over time on the other. Some forms of support served as partial mediators between attachment orientation and marital quality. We believe that the current findings can assist in designing interventions aimed at improving the spousal relationship after childbirth and decreasing potential stressors for both parents and newborns.

Well-Being and Personal Growth in Mothers of Full-Term and Pre-Term Singletons and Twins.

The present study examined well-being and personal growth in mothers (n = 414) 1 year after childbirth. We examined the contribution of the event characteristics (birth of singletons or twins, full- or pre-term babies, first or non-first child, spontaneous pregnancy or fertility treatments and infant temperament), internal resources (attachment anxiety and avoidance) and external resources (marital quality and maternal grandmother's support). Regressions indicated that having a first child, child's easier temperament, lower attachment anxiety and avoidance, grandmother's emotional support and some aspects of the spousal relationships contributed to well-being. Personal growth was found to be related to the birth of a pre-term baby or babies, positively associated with maternal grandmother's support, and the marital quality of parenthood, and negatively with mothers' education. Beyond the findings that well-being and personal growth are related to the availability of certain resources, the current study demonstrates that the two outcomes are separate phenomena that reveal different patterns of associations with other variables. Several explanations for the findings are proposed, and practical implications are discussed.

Well-being and distress in mothers of two-year-old singletons and twins.

The present study investigated well-being and distress in 274 Israeli mothers of two-year-olds. Of these, 127 were mothers of singletons and 147 mothers of twins. The study examined the contribution to the explanation of well-being and distress of a range of variables relating to the mother, including sociodemographic characteristics, internal resources (attachment style, self-differentiation, and maternal self-efficacy), and external resources (marital quality and grandmothers' support). The findings showed that being a mother of a singleton or twins did not contribute to the explanation of variance in well-being or distress. Marital quality provided the strongest explained variance for both well-being and distress. Mother's health, attachment anxiety and self-differentiation also explained significant amounts of the variance. Several differences were found in the contribution of certain other variables, such as maternal grandmother's support, which contributed only to well-being. The results indicated the lesser role of sociodemographic variables, as opposed to the centrality of personality traits and marital quality, in the relationships with well-being and distress. Practical implications are discussed.

Does the transition to parenthood influence driving?

Most parents remember the first time they drove with a newborn child in the car. Feeling the need to protect the infant, they avoided sharp turns and drove more slowly and carefully than normal. But how long do these behaviors persist? Do parents ultimately revert to their previous driving patterns, or does some of the early protectiveness and caution continue to characterize their driving as their infant grows into a toddler and preschooler? In an attempt to answer these questions, two studies were conducted on parents of young children: a qualitative study consisting of personal interviews (16 parents); and a quantitative study in the form of a national telephone survey (165 parents). The results show that the most dominant reported effect of the transition to parenthood on driving is increased apprehension of traffic crashes and a stronger sense of responsibility. However, these changes were found to influence the reported actual driving behavior of only a portion of the parents. Possible explanations of the findings are discussed.

Self-consciousness and death cognitions from a terror management perspective.

Two studies explored the connection between self-consciousness and death cognitions. In Study 1 (n = 56), a positive association was found between accessibility of death-related thoughts and the ruminative dimension of self-consciousness. In Study 2 (n = 212), a mortality salience induction led to higher validation of cultural worldviews (a more severe perception of social transgressions) than a control group, but only among individuals with lower self-consciousness, whereas participants characterized by higher self-consciousness did not make increased use of this cultural anxiety buffer. Rather, their naturally heightened death awareness led them to react to social transgressors in a neutral condition in the way usually found only after a mortality salience induction. Gender could not alternatively account for these findings. The results are explained in terms of terror management theory. It is suggested that a high level of self-consciousness may serve as an internal death reminder, leading to greater cultural worldview validation on a regular basis.