The impact of stress on fluctuations in relational humility as couples transition to parenthood

The transition to parenthood involves a variety of stressors that can influence how partners perceive each other's character. When partners view each other as humble, this tends to increase commitment and relationship quality. In the present study, we expected that greater stress over the trans...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality and individual differences 2016-10, Vol.101, p.276-281
Main Authors: Nonterah, Camilla W., Garthe, Rachel C., Reid, Chelsea A., Worthington, Everett L., Davis, Don E., Hook, Joshua N., Van Tongeren, Daryl R., Griffin, Brandon J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Couples
Parenthood
Personality development
Relational humility
Stress
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Summary:The transition to parenthood involves a variety of stressors that can influence how partners perceive each other's character. When partners view each other as humble, this tends to increase commitment and relationship quality. In the present study, we expected that greater stress over the transition to parenthood would reduce relational humility. Participants consisted of heterosexual married couples (N=69 couples; N=138 individuals) followed from three months prior to childbirth until 21months after childbirth. A latent growth curve model demonstrated that higher initial levels of stress in couples were associated with a greater decrease in relational humility. The results suggest that individuals who are more stressed perceive their partners as increasingly less humble across the transition into parenthood. •Relational humility declined over time.•Individuals with greater stress perceived their partner as less humble more rapidly over time.•Husbands and wives did not differ in relational humility.•Relationship length did not matter in perceptions of partner humility at baseline.
ISSN:0191-8869
1873-3549
DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.016