Dataset Information

Time, money, and entry into parenthood: The role of (grand)parental support.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The study's objective is to understand how parental propensities to provide support, as predicted by parental characteristics, shape adult daughters' and sons' entry into parenthood in the United States.

Background

Much research explores the influence of parental support on adult children's fertility, but the evidence is mixed and primarily focuses on European contexts. Theoretical approaches suggest that to best understand how parental support shapes adult children's outcomes, it is important to account for different forms of parental support, that is, time and money, and variation in parental characteristics.

Method

This study combined different data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics: the 2013 Roster and Family Transfers module, main interview data file, and the Childbirth and Adoption History File. We implemented a two-step analysis strategy. In the first, we built two different measures of propensities to receive parental support (PPS) in the form of time and money. In the second, we used discrete-time logistic regression models to analyze the effects of these propensities to receive parental support on adult daughters' and sons' fertility.

Results

We find a positive and consistent effect of all types of PPS measures on adult daughters', but not adult sons', likelihood of entry into parenthood. The fertility decisions of adult daughters are highly responsive to the prospect of receiving parental support in the form of time or money.

Conclusions

Our results reflect the importance of informal support for women's entry into parenthood and highlight gender differences in the perceived and actual costs of becoming parents.

SUBMITTER: Pessin L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9290986 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The transition to parenthood can be a challenging time for new parent couples, as a baby comes with changes and stress that can negatively influence new parents' relational functioning in the form of reduced relationship satisfaction and disrupted partner social support. Yet, the transition to parenthood is also often experienced as a joyous time. In this research, we draw on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions to suggest that new parents' positive emotions are not merely an enjoyable distraction, but are instead central to their relational adjustment. Specifically, we hypothesized that new parents who experienced greater positive emotions would report enhanced relationship satisfaction and partner social support across time. To test these ideas, we drew on two dyadic and longitudinal studies of new parents. In Study 1, 104 couples (208 individuals) completed surveys across the course of 1 year, and in Study 2, 192 couples (384 individuals) completed surveys and a laboratory-based social support interaction over the course of 2 years. At each wave of data collection, participants completed assessments of positive emotions, relationship satisfaction, and partner social support. We examined how actor and partner positive emotions longitudinally predicted relational adjustment across time. Results demonstrated that, even when controlling for baseline levels of each outcome variable, greater actor reports of positive emotions prospectively predicted greater subsequent actor (a) relationship satisfaction, (b) perceptions of social support from the partner, and (c) enacted social support as rated by independent observers, a pattern that was especially prominent for fathers. These results suggest positive emotions may be a resource that fosters healthy relational adjustment during chronically stressful periods that threaten intimate relationships, including during the transition to parenthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).