735
Views
14
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Couple empathy – the mediator of attachment styles for partners adjusting to parenthood

Pages 15-27 | Received 02 May 2014, Accepted 05 Oct 2014, Published online: 26 Nov 2014

References

  • Adamsons, K. (2013). Predictors of relationship quality during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 32, 160–171.
  • Alexander, R., Feeney, J., Hohaus, L., & Noller, P. (2001). Attachment style and coping resources as predictors of coping strategies in the transition to parenthood. Personal Relationships, 8, 137–152.
  • Batson, C. D. (1991). The altruism question: Toward a social–psychological answer. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Batson, C. D. (2009). These things called empathy: Eight related but distinct phenomena. In J. Decety & W. Ickes (Eds.), The social neuroscience of empathy (pp. 16–31). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Bielawska-Batorowicz, E., & Kossakowska-Petrycka, K. (2006). Depressive mood in men after the birth of their offspring in relation to a partner’s depression, social support, fathers’ personality and prenatal expectations. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 24, 21–29.
  • Bradford, K., & Hawkins, A. (2006). Learning competent fathering: A longitudinal analysis of marital intimacy and fathering. Fathering: A Journal of Theory Research, and Practice About Men as Fathers, 4, 215–234.
  • Burnette, J. L., Davis, D. E., Green, J. D., Worthington Jr, E. L., & Bradfield, E. (2009). Insecure attachment and depressive symptoms: The mediating role of rumination, empathy, and forgiveness. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 276–280.
  • Busby, D. M., & Gardner, B. C. (2008). How do I analyze thee? Let me count the ways: Considering empathy in couple relationships using self and partner ratings. Family Process, 47, 229–242.
  • Castellano, R., Velotti, P., Crowell, J. A., & Zavattini, G. C. (2014). The role of parents’ attachment configurations at childbirth on marital satisfaction and conflict strategies. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23, 1011–1026.
  • Cohen, S., Schulz, M. S., Weiss, E., & Waldinger, R. J. (2012). Eye of the beholder: The individual and dyadic contributions of empathic accuracy and perceived empathic effort to relationship satisfaction. Journal of Family Psychology, 26, 236–245.
  • Cowan, C. P., & Cowan, P. A. (1995). Interventions to ease the transition to parenthood: Why they are needed and what they can do. Family Relations, 44, 412–423.
  • Cramer, D., & Jowett, S. (2010). Perceived empathy, accurate empathy and relationship satisfaction in heterosexual couples. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27, 327–349.
  • Curran, M. A., Hazen, N., Jacobvitz, & Sasaki, T. (2006). How representations of the parental marriage predict marital emotional attunement during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 477–484.
  • Davis, M. H. (1994). Empathy: A social psychological approach. Madison, WI: Brown & Benchmark Publishers.
  • Davis, M. H., & Oathout, H. A. (1987). Maintenance of satisfaction in romantic relationships: Empathy and relational competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 397–410.
  • Eisenberg, N., & Eggum, N. D. (2009). Empathic responding: Sympathy and personal distress. In J. Decety & W. Ickes (Eds.), The social neuroscience of empathy (pp. 71–83). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Feeney, J. A. (2002). Attachment-related dynamics: What can we learn from self-reports of avoidance and anxiety? Attachment and Human Development, 4, 193–200.
  • Genesoni, L., & Tallandini, M. A. (2009). Men’s psychological transition to fatherhood: An analysis of the literature, 1989–2008. Birth, 36, 305–318.
  • Gough, H. G., & Heilbrun, A. B. (1965). The adjective check list: Manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
  • Hawkins, A. J., Fawcett, E. B., Carroll, J. S., & Gilliland, T. T. (2006). The Marriage Moments program for couples transitioning to parenthood: Divergent conclusions from formative and outcome evaluation data. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 561–570.
  • Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524.
  • Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6, 53–60.
  • Impett, E. A., & Peplau, L. A. (2006). His’ and ‘her’ relationships? A review of the empirical evidence. In A. Vangelisti & D. Perlman (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of personal relationships (pp. 273–291). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
  • Kazmierczak, M. (2008). Faces of empathy in marriage. Gdansk: University of Gdansk Press.
  • Kazmierczak, M. (2013). Perceived partner’s empathy as a predictor of satisfaction with a romantic relationship. Social Psychology, 4(27), 435–447.
  • Kazmierczak, M., & Goodwin, R. (2011). Pregnancy and body image in Poland: Gender roles and self-esteem during the third trimester. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 29, 334–342.
  • Kazmierczak, M., & Rostowska, T. (2010). Percepcja relacji małżeńskich i poziom empatii partnerów a jakość życia [Marital relations perception and the quality of life]. In T. Rostowska & A. Peplinska (Eds.), Psychospołeczne aspekty życia rodzinnego [Psychosocial aspects of family life] (pp. 110–124). Warsaw: DIFIN.
  • Kenny, D. A., & McCoach, D. B. (2003). Effect of the number of variables on measures of fit in structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 10, 333–351.
  • Khodabakhsh, M. R. (2012). Relationship of attachment styles with empathy and interpersonal problems. Global Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 2, 14–20.
  • Long, E. C., & Andrews, D. W. (1990). Perspective taking as a predictor of marital adjustment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 126–131.
  • Matthews, K. A., Batson, C. D., Horn, J., & Rosenman, R. H. (1981). ‘Principles in his nature which interest him in the fortune of others …’: The heritability of empathic concern for others. Journal of Personality, 49, 237–247.
  • Matthey, S., Kavanagh, D. J., Howie, P., Barnett, B., & Charles, M. (2004). Prevention of postnatal distress or depression: An evaluation of an intervention at preparation for parenthood classes. Journal of Affective Disorders, 79, 113–126.
  • Mikulincer, M., & Shaver, P. R. (2010). Attachment in adulthood: Structure, dynamics, and change. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • Mikulincer, M., Gillath, O., Halevy, V., Avihou, N., Avidan, S., & Eshkoli, N. (2001). Attachment theory and reactions to others’ needs: Evidence that activation of the sense of attachment security promotes empathic responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1205–1224.
  • Miller, R. S., Perlman, D., & Brehm, S. S. (2007). Intimate relationships (4th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
  • Ngu, L., & Florsheim, P. (2011). The development of relational competence among young high-risk fathers across the transition to parenthood. Family Process, 50, 184–202.
  • O’Hara, M. W., & McCabe, J. E. (2013). Postpartum depression: Current status and future directions. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 9, 379–407.
  • Paley, B., Cox, M. J., Harter, M. J., & Margand, N. A. (2002). Adult attachment stance and spouses’ marital perceptions during the transition to parenthood. Attachment and Human Development, 4, 340–360.
  • Paulson, J. F., & Bazemore, S. D. (2010). Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression. Journal of the American Medical Association, 303, 1961–1969.
  • Pistrang, N., Picciotto, A., & Barker, Ch. (2001). The communication of empathy in couples during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 615–636.
  • Plopa, M. (2008). Romantic attachment styles questionnaire. Warsaw: Vizja Press & IT.
  • Podolska, M. Z., Majkowicz, M., Bidzan, M., Kozłowska, U., Smutek, J., & Podolski, J. (2013). Real self and ideal self of pregnant and postpartum women with symptoms of perinatal depression. Psychiatria polska, 47, 41–52.
  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asympotic and resampling procedures for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891.
  • Redshaw, M., & Martin, C. (2014). The couple relationship before and during transition to parenthood. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 32, 109–111.
  • Rholes, W. S., Simpson, J. A., Blakely, B. S., Lanigan, L., & Allen, E. A. (1997). Adult attachment styles, the desire to have children, and working models of parenthood. Journal of Personality, 65, 357–385.
  • Shaver, P. R., & Mikulincer, M. (2002). Attachment-related psychodynamics. Attachment and Human Development, 4, 133–161.
  • Simpson, J. A., & Rholes, W. S. (2002). Attachment orientations, marriage, and the transition to parenthood. Journal of Research in Personality, 36, 622–628.
  • Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Foster, C. A. (2003). Parenthood and marital satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 65, 574–583.
  • Tucker, D. M., Luu, P., & Derryberry, D. (2005). Love hurts: The evolution of empathic concern through the encephalization of nociceptive capacity. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 699–713.
  • Weinfield, N. S., Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., & Carlson, E. (2008). Individual differences in infant-caregiver attachment: Conceptual and empirical aspects of security. In J. Cassidy & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 78–101). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • Wilkinson, R. B., & Scherl, F. B. (2006). Psychological health, maternal attachment and attachment style in breast- and formula-feeding mothers: A preliminary study. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 24, 5–19.
  • Wood, W., & Eagly, A. H. (2002). A cross-cultural analysis of the behavior of women and men: Implications for the origins of sex differences. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 699–727.
  • Xuereb, R. B., Abela, A., & Spiteri, G. (2012). Early parenting – Portraits from the lives of first-time parents. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 30, 468–482.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.