Becoming Fathers: Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Neurological Predictors of New Fathers’ Parenting Behavior

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The transition to parenthood is a critical window of development and often an inflection point in trajectories of adult health, well-being, and relationship functioning; in turn, these factors can either support or undermine effective parenting and child development. The papers in this symposium all address the experiences of fathers in the transition to parenthood, addressing persistent gaps in this research area by considering fathers’ interpersonal, intrapersonal, and neurological characteristics as predictors of parenting behaviors in the first year of their children’s lives. The first paper highlights the interpersonal context of couples’ relationships, using longitudinal mediation models to elucidate how observed synchronicity and warmth among couples during pregnancy predicts greater paternal satisfaction with childrearing labor division, and subsequently less controlling parenting behaviors at one year. The second paper addresses beliefs and perceptions about parenting over the transition to parenthood, from the third trimester to 3 months postpartum, as predictors of fathers’ involvement with their infants. This study includes a focus on the assessment of maternal essentialism, a novel construct reflecting beliefs that mothers are inherently better at parenting and more central to child development. The third paper leverages multiple levels of analysis to identify neural correlates of empathy and perspective-taking in expectant fathers. The authors demonstrate associations between specific patterns of functional connectivity and later indicators of sensitive parenting behaviors and father-infant attachment at 6 months postpartum. The discussant will integrate key findings, emphasizing implications for future research on fathers’ transition to parenthood.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Anne E Shaffer, University of Georgia

Discussant

• Sarah Jane Schoppe-Sullivan, Ohio State University

Individual Presentations

• Synchronicity During Pregnancy Helps Couples Effectively Balance New Childrearing Responsibilities Which Minimizes Adversarial Parenting - Presenting Author: Erin Ramsdell, University of Nebraska - Lincoln; Non-Presenting Author: Eric Phillips, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Non-Presenting Author: Rebecca Brock, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• An Exploration of Paternal Perceptions of Maternal Roles, Parenting Confidence, and Fathers’ Engagement During the Transition to Parenthood - Presenting Author: Miriam Zegarac, University of Georgia; Non-Presenting Author: Anne E Shaffer, University of Georgia; Non-Presenting Author: Violeta J Rodriguez, University of Georgia; Non-Presenting Author: Dominique Luisa La Barrie, University of Georgia; Non-Presenting Author: Geoffrey L. Brown, University of Georgia

• Stronger Mentalizing Network Connectivity in Expectant Fathers Predicts Postpartum Father-Infant Attachment and Parenting Behavior - Presenting Author: Narcis Marshall, University of Southern California; Non-Presenting Author: Jonas Kaplan, University of Southern California; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Stoycos, University of Southern California; Non-Presenting Author: Diane Goldenberg, University of Southern California; Non-Presenting Author: Hannah Khoddam, University of Southern California; Non-Presenting Author: Sofia Cardenas, University of Southern California; Non-Presenting Author: Pia Sellery, University of Southern California; Non-Presenting Author: Darby E. Saxbe, University of Southern California