Changes in identity and paternal–foetal attachment across a first pregnancy

Abstract

This paper explores change across a first pregnancy in the emergence of the father status and its relationship with paternal foetal attachment. A sample of 78 first‐time Australian fathers completed measures of their identity as fathers and the paternal antenatal attachment scale at the first and third trimester. There was no change in the identity measures. In contrast, paternal foetal attachment significantly increased with the imminent birth. Regression analyses supported the hypothesis that paternal foetal attachment would be predicted by father identity. The results are discussed with reference to limitations of the study and future research directions.

Keywords:

• attachment
• change
• father
• identity
• pregnancy

Notes

1. Rob Wilcher’s (2004) Diary of a Pregnant Dad is a personal anecdotal account and a practical guide for men throughout pregnancy.

2. The measure actually provides various scores and was initially intended to compare two pies: the actual self, ‘Me as I am’, with the idealised self, ‘Me as I’d like to be’. This allowed three scores: the actual size of each piece of the pie to indicate the importance of each identity/role, a satisfaction score based on the relative difference between pie portions of the two pies, and a measure of complexity of self as indicated by the number of portions selected.

3. Copies of the complete set of vignettes are available from the first author.

4. There is some indication in the maternal literature that in second and subsequent pregnancies mothers show less intense attachment than in the first pregnancy (e.g. Condon & Corkindale, 1997)