Partner relationships and the raising of a temperamentally difficult infant

This paper explores marital adjustment among couples raising a temperamentally difficult infant. Employing a multiple case study methodology we conducted ten interviews with six couples. The parenting distress these couples experienced meant they were at higher risk of marital maladjustment. Four co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human affairs (Bratislava, Slovakia) Slovakia), 2018-07, Vol.28 (3), p.219-232
Main Authors: Bajgarová, Zdeňka, Stuchlíková, Iva
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Case studies
Childrearing practices
Children
Couples
Family roles
Fathers
infant with difficult temperament
Marital adjustment
Marital satisfaction
Marriage
Mothers
partner relationship
paternal involvement
Psychological distress
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Summary:This paper explores marital adjustment among couples raising a temperamentally difficult infant. Employing a multiple case study methodology we conducted ten interviews with six couples. The parenting distress these couples experienced meant they were at higher risk of marital maladjustment. Four couples experienced marital crisis, resulting in the separation of one couple. Our analysis suggests that reference to “insufficient father involvement” during the interviews signaled problems with the mother’s satisfaction and marital adjustment. We found that mothers consider four specific aspects of paternal behavior as constituting involvement: 1. the father caring for the child in the mother’s presence, 2. the father caring for the child on his own, 3. the father sleeping in the same room as the mother and baby, and 4. the father being psychologically involved and supportive.
ISSN:1210-3055
1337-401X
DOI:10.1515/humaff-2018-0018