Examining the Relations of Infant Temperament and Couples' Marital Satisfaction to Mother and Father Involvement: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

The relations of infant temperament and parents' marital satisfaction to mother and father involvement in early (T1, approximately 7 months, n = 142) and later (T2, approximately 14 months, n = 95) infancy were examined. At each assessment point, mothers and fathers completed daily diaries together to measure their involvement over four days (i.e., 2 weekdays and 2 weekend days), each partner reported on marital satisfaction, and mothers reported on infants' temperament. Structural equation models indicated that when infants were more temperamentally regulated, parents were more satisfied in their marital relationships. Parents' marital satisfaction mediated the association between more regulated infant temperament and greater mother involvement at T1 (but not at T2) and father involvement at T2 (but not at T1). The findings are discussed in terms of the implications of infant temperament and family relationships for parental involvement.

Figure 1

The relations of infant temperament and parents' marital satisfaction to mother involvement within time. Solid lines represent significant paths, bold lines represent mediated paths, and dashed lines represent hypothesized but non-significant paths. The coefficients in the upper row are the unstandardized estimates. The coefficients in the lower row (in parentheses) are the standardized estimates.

Figure 2

The relations of infant temperament and parents' marital satisfaction to father involvement within time. Solid lines represent significant paths, bold lines represent mediated paths, and dashed lines represent hypothesized but non-significant paths. The coefficients in the upper row are the unstandardized estimates. The coefficients in the lower row (in parentheses) are the standardized estimates.

Figure 3

The relations of parents' marital satisfaction and infant temperament to father involvement across time controlling for initial levels. Solid lines represent significant paths, and dashed lines represent hypothesized but non-significant paths. The coefficients in the upper row are the unstandardized estimates. The coefficients in the lower row (in parentheses) are the standardized estimates.