Life Stress and Unmarried, African American Fathers’ Prenatal Childrearing Attitudes: The Moderating Role of Shift-and-Persist

• In Event: Stress Across the Transition to Parenthood

Abstract

Unmarried, Black fathers’ positive engagement contributes to children’s health and development beginning in early infancy (Schoppe-Sullivan et al., 2014). For many of these men, preparations for parenthood begin before birth as expectant fathers formulate attitudes toward childrearing that can promote close, nurturing father-infant relationships and attachment security (Vreeswijk et al., 2014). However, research to date has not examined the psychological, contextual, or life history determinants of prenatal childrearing attitudes among unmarried, African American fathers (Tyrell & Masten, 2022). Moreover, protective factors that promote positive attitudes toward the fathering role and protect against the potential negative consequences of life stress have not been considered in this population. To address these gaps, the present study examined three aspects of life stress (depressive symptoms, childhood trauma, and negative life experiences) as predictors of prenatal childrearing attitudes toward emotional security, and the extent to which one psychological resilience factor (shift-and-persist strategies) moderated these associations in a sample of unmarried, Black men expecting the birth of a child.

Method

A sample of 121 unmarried, Black men from resource-poor rural communities in Georgia participated during the 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Expectant fathers reported on childhood trauma using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein et al., 2003), negative life experiences using the Negative Life Experiences Scale (Kowal, Gunthorpe, & Bailie, 2007), and depressive symptomology using the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977). Fathers also completed a survey assessment of “shift-and-persist" attitudes, reflecting the ability to frame adverse experiences as opportunities for growth (“shift”) and remain optimistic and future-oriented (“persist”) in the face of adversity (Chen, McLean, & Miller, 2015). A measure of childrearing attitudes assessing the extent to which they valued and prioritized fostering emotional security in their infants (e.g., “my child should know that it is ok to cry or be sad”) was designed for this study.

Results

A series of hierarchical regression equations indicated that depressive symptoms and negative life events were directly related to childrearing attitudes prioritizing emotional security. Significant interaction terms indicated that the association between life stress and childrearing attitudes toward security was moderated by shift-and-persist attitudes for childhood trauma (Beta = 38, p < .01), negative life experiences (Beta = .45, p < .001), and depressive symptoms (Beta = .54, p < .01). Specifically, life stress was generally unrelated to childrearing attitudes when shift-and-persist was low, but associated with more positive attitudes toward emotional security when shift-and-persist was high. Examples are presented graphically in Figures 1 and 2.

Discussion

Findings suggest that the ability to shift-and-persist may be an important resilience factor in moderating associations between paternal life stress and adaptive prenatal childrearing attitudes for unmarried, Black fathers. Further, results support other recent work indicating that the shift-and-persist cognitive strategies may not only buffer the effects of negative life stressors on but play a “steeling” role in which moderate levels of life stress can promote positive adaptation (positive prenatal childrearing attitudes, in this case). Implications for future research and practice with unmarried, Black fathers will be discussed.

Group Authors

Clare R. Thomas, Christopher Collins, Alp Aytuglu, Cullin Howard, & Geoffrey Brown

Authors

• Clare R. Thomas, University of Georgia
  Presenting Author

• Geoffrey L. Brown, University of Georgia

• Alp Aytuglu, University of Georgia

• Cullin Howard, University of Georgia