Couples' co-construction of the story of their child's birth: Associations with marital adaptation.

David Oppenheim, Frederick S. Wamboldt, Leslie A. Gavin, Andrew G. Renouf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Investigated the associations between 49 couples' narratives about the birth of their child and their marital satisfaction and individual psychological well-being at the time the narrative was constructed as well as 1 and 2 yrs later. Both parents separately completed the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Brief Symptom Inventory during the 1st laboratory visit, when the birth narratives were told, as well as during the 2nd and 3rd laboratory visits. Results show that the emotional coherence of couples' narratives was associated with their marital satisfaction at the time the narrative was constructed as well as 1 and 2 yrs later, and similar results were found regarding the emotional expressiveness of the narratives. These associations remained significant when the individual psychological distress of marital partners was held constant and suggest that co-constructed marital narratives are important windows into marital relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-21
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of Narrative & Life History
Volume6
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1996

Keywords

  • Marital Relations
  • Marital Satisfaction
  • Narratives
  • Parents
  • Well Being
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Parental Attitudes

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