ArticlePDF Available

Abstract and Figures

Drawing on Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory and prior empirical research, the current study examines the way that blogging and social networking may impact feelings of connection and social support, which in turn could impact maternal well-being (e.g., marital functioning, parenting stress, and depression). One hundred and fifty-seven new mothers reported on their media use and various well-being variables. On average, mothers were 27 years old (SD = 5.15) and infants were 7.90 months old (SD = 5.21). All mothers had access to the Internet in their home. New mothers spent approximately 3 hours on the computer each day, with most of this time spent on the Internet. Findings suggested that frequency of blogging predicted feelings of connection to extended family and friends which then predicted perceptions of social support. This in turn predicted maternal well-being, as measured by marital satisfaction, couple conflict, parenting stress, and depression. In sum, blogging may improve new mothers' well-being, as they feel more connected to the world outside their home through the Internet.
Content may be subject to copyright.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 1
Running Head: MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING
New Mothers and Media Use:
Associations between Blogging, Social Networking, and Maternal Well-being
Final article published in the Maternal and Child Health
Journal. You can access it here:
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-011-0918-2
McDaniel, B. T., Coyne, S. M., & Holmes, E. K. (2012). New mothers and
media use: Associations between blogging, social networking, and
maternal well-being. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 16, 1509-
1517. DOI: 10.1007/s10995-011-0918-2
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 2
Abstract
Objectives Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and prior empirical research, the
current study examines the way that blogging and social networking may impact feelings of
connection and social support, which in turn could impact maternal well-being (e.g., marital
functioning, parenting stress, and depression).
Methods One hundred and fifty-seven new mothers reported on their media use and various well-
being variables. On average, mothers were 27 years old (SD = 5.15) and infants were 7.90
months old (SD = 5.21). All mothers had access to the Internet in their home.
Results New mothers spent approximately three hours on the computer each day, with most of
this time spent on the Internet. Findings suggested that frequency of blogging predicted feelings
of connection to extended family and friends which then predicted perceptions of social support.
This in turn predicted maternal well-being, as measured by marital satisfaction, couple conflict,
parenting stress, and depression.
Conclusion In sum, blogging may improve new mothers’ well-being, as they feel more
connected to the world outside their home through the Internet.
Keywords: Transition to parenthood, maternal well-being, media use, blogging, social
networking
Running head: MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 3
New Mothers and Media Use:
Associations between Blogging, Social Networking, and Maternal Well-being
The transition to parenthood is a long-term restructuring process that begins at pregnancy
and continues for some time after the birth of the child (1). Due to the substantial demands a
newborn child poses to the family, the transition to parenthood is among the most stressful life
events many individuals experience (2) and can be associated with a host of psychological,
physical, and social problems for parents (2-5). Successful employment of social, familial, and
spousal resources is key to managing parenting stress and to transitioning well to parenthood (6).
Social support for new parents has been connected with better maternal health,
relationship satisfaction, child outcomes, and parent-child interactions (7-9). One way that new
mothers may receive support to navigate and deal with their new responsibilities is through
social connection offered via new forms of media (10). There are mixed claims about the
Internet’s effect on mothers. Some claim that the Internet can help empower women through
online communities and information exchange (11-14). Yet, others claim that the Internet merely
affirms norms of femininity and consumerism (15), which could negatively influence mothers’
feelings of parenting stress, competency, and adjustment to the transition in general. Also, some
studies find that high levels of Internet use may result in less time spent with others and
increased loneliness (16), while other studies show no displacement of time with others (17).
Given these mixed results for overall time spent on the Internet, it is important to examine
specific types of Internet use, such as blogging or social networking that may be associated with
aspects of maternal well-being.
Blogging and social networking are relatively new forms of expression and connection
for mothers. For example, “mommy blogs” have received great attention in the news media and
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 4
are reportedly a very popular media form used by mothers to connect with the wider parenting
community (18). This may be particularly important for new mothers, as such women may feel
isolated and tied down by a newborn’s schedule. Whether new mothers create their own blogs or
read established blogs, participation in blogging may provide such mothers both a distraction and
a sense of connection with other mothers around the world, assuring them that they are not alone
(19). Similarly, social networking may provide a sense of connection for new mothers; such
sites provide ample opportunity to connect with friends and family without ever leaving one’s
home.
Even with many mothers using the Internet on a day-to-day basis, Madge and O’Connor
point out that the use of the Internet by new mothers has not been adequately explored (20).
Plantin and Daneback also explain that many of the studies examining parents’ media use have
lacked theoretical frameworks, leaving many questions unanswered (21). Thus, it is important to
use a strong theoretical framework to empirically examine whether blogging and social
networking can actually facilitate social connection and support for new mothers.
Besides increasing feelings of connectivity for new mothers, participation in new media
may also indirectly influence a mother’s stress, which may impact her depression, marital
quality, and family functioning (2, 22-25). Prior research has established that social support
buffers parenting stresses (26-28). Thus, in this paper we examine how participation in blogging
and social networking may indirectly be associated with a number of maternal outcomes,
including parenting stress, social support, marital conflict, marital satisfaction, and depression.
Conceptual Framework
Based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, transition to parenthood researchers
emphasize the interplay between individuals, families, and the larger social context (29).
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 5
Ecological theory assumes that individuals develop in a multitude of systemic contexts: the
microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. The two systems most relevant to the
role of media on motherhood are the microsystem, which encompasses the relationships and
interactions a mother, her partner, and her child have with their immediate surroundings (e.g. the
interaction they have at home), and the mesosystem, which represents the connection between
the mother and the institutions with which she interacts (e.g., the connection between new media
such as blogging or social networking sites and the mother). Thus, guided by this framework,
mothers should be able to improve interactions within their microsystem (e.g. interactions with
their partner and their child) if these microsystemic interactions are facilitated by their
interaction with others in the mesosystem (e.g. relationships with others in their community
through media institutions such as blogging and social networking sites). For example, mothers
may be able to share successful personal experiences on a blog or social networking site and
receive feedback from other parents that will reinforce perceptions of social support. Mothers
may also learn through observation or vicarious experience as they read about others’
experiences. All of this feedback via blogs and social networking sites may increase perceptions
of social support and reduce a mother’s stress, subsequently enhancing other aspects of her
wellbeing, including increased positive perceptions of marital quality, decreased marital conflict,
and decreased depressive symptoms.
The Current Study
The aim of the current study is to examine whether participation in blogging and social
networking are associated with maternal well-being. We focus on first-time mothers who have
recently transitioned to parenthood, a group that is arguably more at risk for feelings of isolation
and parenting stress than more experienced parents. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 6
theory and other research concerning mothering and media use (e.g., 10, 20, 30), we present the
following hypotheses:
H1: We hypothesize that new mothers will utilize the computer and Internet every day, with at
least some of this time spent on social networking and blogging.
H2: We predict that the majority of new mothers will report reasons for blogging that align with
perceptions of social support, such as maintaining contact with family and friends.
H3: As outlined in our conceptual framework, we were most interested in mothers’ microsystems
and mesosystems. Therefore, we hypothesize that media social supports, such as blogging and
social networking, will be associated with new mothers’ abilities to stay connected with others in
their social network and with stronger perceptions of social support (mesosytem). We then
hypothesize that social support will be negatively related to mycrosystemic processes including
parenting stress, marital conflict, and maternal depression, and positively related with marital
satisfaction. Decreased parenting stress is expected to be associated with decreased maternal
depression and marital conflict. Marital conflict is expected to be negatively related to marital
satisfaction. Figure 1 shows the hypothesized model.
Method
Procedure
New mothers were recruited through classroom announcements, emails, and contacts
with local hospitals and birthing clinics. In order to qualify for inclusion in this study, mothers
had to have a baby less than 18 months old which was their only and first child. Mothers who
qualified were directed to the online survey. This research was conducted in accord with
prevailing ethical principles as set forth by the American Psychological Association and was
approved by the University Institutional Review Board (IRB).
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 7
Participants
One hundred and fifty-seven new mothers completed the study. On average, the mothers
were 27 years old (SD = 5.15), were in their first marriage, and had been married an average of
3.26 years (SD = 2.15). Their infants were on average 7.90 months old (SD = 5.21). Most of the
mothers were White non-Hispanic, had graduated from college, and had a household income of
less than $50,000. About half of the mothers worked, with some of them working from home.
The average number of hours worked in a week was 12.18 (SD = 15.94). All mothers had a
computer and the Internet in their home (see Table 1).
Measures
Media Use and Daily Life. Media use by new mothers was measured by asking them to
enter the average number of hours they use various forms of media per day, such as using the
computer, watching television, using a mobile phone, and listening to music. They were also
asked to indicate how often they participate in these activities across a 5-point scale, ranging
from 1 (never) to 3 (once every 2 to 3 weeks) to 5 (several times a week). Time spent on daily
life tasks was also rated by mothers (e.g., housework, childcare tasks, and sleeping). All media
use items were created specifically for this study and were pilot tested to ensure readability.
Computer and Internet Use. Although it is understood that mothers may also have access
to the Internet via mobile phones, iPads, and other devices, mothers reported mainly on their
computer and Internet use (e.g., “How frequently are you using the internet when on the
computer?”). They also rated how often they engaged in ten specific activities while on the
Internet, including “blogging”, “social networking (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, etc.)”, “checking
email”, “Searching for and reading parenting information”, “reading the news”, “listening to
music (e.g., Pandora, etc.)”, “shopping (e.g., Amazon, Walmart, etc.)”, “researching for a class
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 8
or work”, “chatting”, and “watching TV/Movies”. An “other” item was also included where
mothers could write in additional ways that they used the Internet that were not already listed.
These items were rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). Only
blogging and social networking items were retained for the current study.
Reasons for Blogging. Mothers’ reasons for blogging were assessed using a measure
developed by Lenhart and Fox (31). This measure lists ten common reasons for blogging and
asks the participant to rate whether each reason is a (1) major reason, (2) minor reason, or (3) not
a reason that she blogs (Cronbach’s alpha = .71). Reasons include items such as to express
yourself creatively, to document your personal experiences or share them with others, to stay in
touch with friends and family, and to share practical knowledge or skills with others.
Feelings of Connectedness. Feelings of connection were assessed using the following two
items which were rated across a 4-point scale ranging from 1 (very isolated) to 4 (very
connected): (1) extended family and (2) friends (Cronbach’s alpha = .70). For the purposes of
our analysis, a composite connection to extended family and friends was created by summing
the items and taking the mean.
Social Support. Social support was measured using the Relationships with Other People
Scale (32-33), an 11-item measure on which mothers rate their perceived availability of support
over the past month. Each item is scored from 1 (none of the time) to 6 (all of the time). Higher
scores represent greater perceived availability of support. Cronbach’s alpha was .90.
Parenting Stress. Mothers completed a 30-item, modified version of the 101-item
Parenting Stress Index (34). Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1
(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Higher scores represent greater parenting stress
(Cronbach’s alpha = .83).
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 9
Marital Conflict. To assess marital conflict, participants responded to eight common
problems experienced in couple relationships in terms of how often each item is a problem in
their relationship. Items were selected from the RELATE assessment battery (35), such as
“Rearing children” and “Financial matters.” Responses were based on a 5-point Likert scale
ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). In the present study, frequency of conflict had good
internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = .75).
Marital Satisfaction. Marital satisfaction was assessed using the Quality of Marriage
Index (QMI)(36). The QMI is a six-item inventory that assesses marital satisfaction using broad
items, such as “We have a good marriage.” The respondent shows the degree of agreement with
each of the five items on a scale of 1 (very strongly disagree) to 7 (very strongly agree). In the
present study, the QMI had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = .96).
Maternal Depression. Mothers completed the CES-D, which is designed to measure
maternal symptoms of depression (37). Mothers rate how often they have felt 20 different
symptoms during the past week. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 (rarely or
none of the timeless than 1 day) to 3 (most or all of the time5 to 7 days) (Cronbach’s Alpha
= .81).
Results
Descriptive Analyses: Mothers’ Media Use
The most frequently used media item by mothers was the computer (M = 5.90, SD =
0.37), with mothers’ rating themselves as using it every day. Interestingly, the amount of hours
the computer was used per day (M = 3.12, SD = 2.50) came behind only childcare tasks (M =
8.72, SD = 4.06) (t (156) = -13.46, p < .001) and sleeping (M = 7.34, SD = 1.52) (t (156) = -17.20, p
< .001). Also, mothers spent about one hour longer on the computer than on housework each day
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 10
(M = 1.87, SD = 1.05) (t (156) = 5.41, p < .001). Watching television (M = 4.88, SD = 1.58),
listening to music (M = 4.78, SD = 1.09), reading books (M = 4.75, SD = 1.29), and texting were
also common (M = 4.59, SD = 1.85).
Computer use. As mothers extensively used computers, it is key to examine what they
were doing while on the computer. The results show that they most frequently were using the
Internet. Mothers were on the Internet while on the computer almost 3 hours per day on average
(M = 2.92, SD = 2.37). In sum, they were on the Internet almost the entire time they were on the
computer each day.
Internet use. The next step was to examine what mothers were doing while on the
Internet. While on the Internet, mothers utilized social networking sites fairly often (M = 3.78,
SD = 1.25) and blogged sometimes (M = 3.30, SD = 1.22). Although these mothers utilized
social networking sites significantly more than blogging on average (t (155) = 4.21, p < .001),
social networking and blogging both ranged from those that never used them to those who used
them very often. There were no significant differences between mothers who blogged and those
who did not on any demographic variables, whereas those who utilized social networking sites
were younger (M = 26.73, SD = 4.97) than those who never used these sites (M = 30.00, SD =
5.67) (t (154) = 2.24, p < .05).
Reasons for Blogging
Blogging was a fairly popular phenomenon in this study. Of 157 mothers, 111 read blogs
at least sometimes (76%), and 96 authored their own blogs (61%). Those who authored blogs
rated their reasons for blogging. The major reasons for blogging were to document personal
experiences or share them with others (89%) and to stay in touch with friends and family (86%).
This appears to support the hypothesized model of blogging linking with connection to others.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 11
Bivariate Correlations between Study Variables
Bivariate correlations between all main variables are presented in Table 2. All
correlations were in the predicted directions, although some variables were related in
unanticipated ways. For example, social networking was not associated with any outcome
variable, while blogging related only to connection to extended family and friends and social
support.
Main Analysis
Analysis Plan. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using maximum likelihood
estimation in the Analysis of Moments Structure (AMOS) software (38) was conducted to test
the fit of our hypothesized model to the data. SEM is a multivariate statistical analysis which
allows scholars to test and refine complex theoretical models. SEM is preferred over regression
as SEM uses maximum likelihood estimation. Maximum likelihood estimation minimizes bias
(i.e., Type 1 error) in estimates, allows one to include multiple independent and dependent
variables in the same analysis (which offers a better assessment of the overall strength and
direction of effects), and offers basic confidence intervals and other assessments of goodness of
fit for hypothesis testing (39). Goodness of fit indexes compare the observed covariances with
the covariances predicted by the hypothesized model. Assessments of “goodness of fit” include
the chi-square (χ
2
) test, the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA), and baseline
comparison indexes such as the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) or Comparative Fit Index (CFI). χ
2
examines whether or not there is a statistically significant difference between the model and the
sample data and degrees of freedom. A non-significant χ
2
statistic is preferable as it reflects
“exact fit” between the hypothesized model and the data. The RMSEA reflects good model fit
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 12
with a score of .06 or lower (the lower the better), while the TLI/CFI reflect good model fit with
a score of .95 or higher (on a scale of 0 to 1) (40).
Building a sound structural equation model is often referred to in two steps: 1) building
and refining the measurement model, and 2) testing and refining the structural model. While the
measurement model allows one to account for measurement error, an important guideline in
model building is that one must have at least 10 individuals per parameter to be estimated. Due
to our sample size, we were unable to estimate both the structural and measurement models.
Thus, we report only the structural model (for guidelines regarding sample size and parameter
estimation in the measurement model, see Kline, 41). However, we emphasize that the benefits
of maximum likelihood estimation and SEM as a multivariate statistical tool are still present in
the building and testing of the structural model (39, 41).
Results. We tested a structural model of engagement in blogging and social networking as
predictors of connection with family and friends and social support using maximum likelihood
estimation in AMOS. These variables were then modeled as predictors of marital satisfaction,
marital conflict, parenting stress, and depression. The hypothesized model did not meet
acceptable criteria for good model fit (40) (χ² (16) = 24.20, p = .09; RMSEA = .06, lo = .00, hi =
.10; CFI = .94). Initial analyses revealed that social networking did not predict any of the main
variables; accordingly social networking was dropped in the final model. Further, our initial
model suggested that blogging was not predictive of perceptions of social support (β = .09, ns),
thus we also dropped this structural path in the final model. Figure 2 shows the final model with
standardized path estimates for all participants as a whole. The final model fit the data well (χ²
(12) = 10.63, p = .56; RMSEA = .00, lo = .00, hi = .07; CFI = .99). Frequency of blogging
predicted greater feelings of connection with extended family and friends (β = .25, p < .01).
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 13
Connection predicted greater perceptions of social support (β = .36, p < .001), and increased
social support predicted decreased parenting stress (β = -.19, p < .05) and marital conflict (β = -
.33, p < .001), and increased marital satisfaction (β = .26, p < .001). Surprisingly, social support
was not predictive of maternal depression (β = -.13, ns). Finally, decreased parenting stress
predicted decreased maternal depression (β = .24, p < .01) and marital conflict (β = .19, p < .05),
and decreased marital conflict was strongly predictive of increased marital satisfaction (β = -.42,
p < .001).
Discussion
To our knowledge, this paper is one of the first to examine first-time, new mothers’ social
media use, especially blogging and social networking, and the potential relationship between
media use and maternal well being. According to our results, new mothers appear to be on the
computer around 3 hours per day (mostly on the Internet)a significant proportion of time. It
may be that some of this time is while mothers are at work, but only half of the mothers in this
sample were currently working. More importantly, during this time, new mothers frequently use
social networking sites and sometimes blogs.
Our results revealed that frequency of blogging positively predicted feelings of
connection to extended family and friends. This could potentially be a result of new mothers’
intentions in their blogging. Whereas in a recent survey of bloggers, 37% blogged in order to
stay in touch with friends and family (31), the majority of new mothers in our sample stated this
as their major reason for blogging (86%). This is similar to previous findings that expression and
affiliation explain most of the reasons people use blogs (42), and media tends to help mothers
stay in touch with others (43).
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 14
New mothers’ interactions with extended family members and friends through their
blogging (i.e., the mesosystem) theoretically influence their feelings of connection and social
support, as well as interactions within their microsystems (i.e., parenting stress, marital
satisfaction, conflict, and depression). Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory would posit that as
mothers are able to share successful parenting experiences on blogs, receive feedback from
family and friends, and also learn through vicarious experience while reading blogs, their
perceptions of social support could increase. Our analyses provide initial empirical support for
these claims. Future research may also wish to examine exosystem and macrosystem processes.
Thus, blogging is indirectly associated with other areas of a mother’s life through feelings
of connection and support. In their review, Gjerdingen, Froberg, and Fontaine found that social
support across the transition to parenthoodin many forms, such as emotional, tangible, and
informationalwas positively related to maternal well-being and mental health (44). Social
support has consistently been linked to diminished maternal depressive symptoms (27, 45-46), as
well as better marital functioning (8); both of these associations were observed in this study.
Although there was not a direct effect of perceptions of social support on new mothers’
depression, parenting stress did appear to act as an intervening variable between social support
and depression. In sum, blogging may improve new mothers’ well-being, as they feel more
connected to the world outside their home through the Internet (20, 43).
Conversely, unlike blogging, our results revealed that social networking was not
associated with connectedness or social support. Thus, it appears that social networking
functions somewhat differently than blogging. Perhaps new mothers may use these sites to see
what friends and family are up to in their lives, looking at pictures and status updates, but may
not receive much support in return. Accordingly, they do not feel more connected or supported
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 15
by those important to them, nor do others build their feelings of competence as a parent. We did
not analyze such possibilities in the current research; accordingly this represents one useful
avenue for future research.
There are also privacy concerns with social networking sites, such as MySpace and
Facebook (47), and although Dwyer, Hiltz, and Passerini found that individuals are likely to
disclose most information regardless of trust (48), this process may work differently for mothers;
if a mother feels that she cannot trust the site she may be less likely to disclose parenting
concerns and calls for support. For instance, Mital, Israel, and Agarwal found that trust mediated
disclosure of information at least partially for their sample (49). Future research should examine
how and with whom new mothers interact on social networking sites.
Limitations & Future Directions
This study, although informative and a necessary first step to understanding social media
effects on new mothers, is exploratory in nature. As is the case in any correlational research, we
cannot establish causation. Further, demonstrated effects may be reversed; for example, it may
be that those mothers with stronger relationships tend to turn to blogging more to connect with
extended family and friends. It is also possible that those with better well-being may be more or
less likely to use media for social support. Even if this were the case, we hypothesize that
blogging or reaching out to extended family and friends would reciprocally increase their
perceptions of social support, and social support has been linked by prior research to a variety of
maternal well-being outcomes (7-9, 50-53). Our sample was limited and consisted of mostly
white, highly-educated mothers. It is also important to note that blogging can be done in different
domains. For example, some mothers may blog in order to connect with family and friends,
while others may blog in order to connect with other parents on the web. This study did not
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 16
address this distinction. Finally, our measures of media use were limited (e.g., access to social
media supports on the Internet via mobile phones and other devices was not examined).
There are a number of other directions that may be profitable for future research. As this
study did not have a comparison group of women, future research may wish to compare both
mothers and non-mothers on their media use. Also, it may be of worth to understand exactly
which social networking and parenting sites mothers use most frequently in order for health
professionals to best reach out to mothers on the Internet. Finally, it would be important to
understand whether those who live farther away from parents and extended family are more
likely to blog; blogging may be more beneficial for those who are unable to visit in-person with
extended family.
Conclusion and Practical Implications
Research on mothers’ media use is still in its infancy; therefore an exploratory study was
necessary. The current study acts as a springboard for the development of larger scale projects
and theoretical models for media influences on new mothers across the transition to parenthood.
New mothers appear to be immersed in new age media, such as blogging and social networking.
This study shows that new mothers’ blogging is associated with feelings of connection to
extended family and friends. These feelings link with perceptions of social support, which are
related to many aspects of maternal well-being, such as marital conflict, marital satisfaction,
parenting stress, and finally depression. As blogging is a relatively simple task and small
associations were found even for those who blogged only sometimes, doctors, clinicians, and
family life educators may wish to mention blogging as one way for new mothers to feel more
connected to extended family and friends.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 17
References
1. Perren, S., Von Wyl, A., Burgin, D., Simoni, H., & Von Klitzing, K. (2005). Depressive
symptoms and psychosocial stress across the transition to parenthood: Associations with
parental psychopathology and child difficulty. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics &
Gynecology. 26(3), 173-183.
2. Leigh, B., & Milgrom, J. (2008). Risk factors for antentatal depression, postnatal depression
and parenting stress. BMC Psychiatry, 8, 24-35.
3. Lawrence, E., Rothman, A., Cobb, R., Rothman, M., & Bradbury, T. (2008). Marital satisfaction
across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 41-50.
4. Beck, A. N., Cooper, C. E., McLanahan, S., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2010). Partnership
transitions and maternal parenting. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 219-233.
5. Mistry, R. S., Vandewater, E. A., Huston, A. C., McLoyd, V. C. (2002). Economic well-
being and children's social adjustment: The role of family process in an ethnically diverse
low-income sample. Child Development, 73, 935-951.
6. Cooper, C. E., McLanahan, S. S., Meadows, S. O., Brooks-Gunn, J. (2009). Family structure
transitions and maternal parenting stress. Journal of Marriage & Family, 71, 558-574.
7. Meadows, S. (2011). The association between perceptions of social support and maternal
mental health: A cumulative perspective. Journal of Family Issues, 32, 181-208.
8. Salmela-Aro, K., Nurmi, J-E., Saisto, T., & Halmesmaki, E. (2010). Spousal support for
personal goals and relationship satisfaction among women during the transition to
parenthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 34, 229-237.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 18
9. Crnic, K. A., Greenberg, M. T., Robinson, N. M., & Ragozin, A. S. (1984). Maternal stress
and social support: Effects on the mother-infant relationship from birth to eighteen months.
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 54, 224-235.
10. Rideout, V. J., Foeher, U. G., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M
2
: Media in the lives of
8- to 18-year-olds. Kaiser Family Foundation. Accessed online [March 8, 2011].
http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf
11. Hall, W. & Irvine, V. (2009). E-communication among mothers of infants and toddlers in a
community-based cohort: A content analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65, 175-183.
12. Miyata, K. (2002) Social support for Japanese mothers online and offline. In B. Wellman
and C. Haythornthwaite (eds.), The Internet in Everyday Life. Malden, MA: Blackwell
Publishers.
13. Sutton, J. & Pollock, S. (2000). Online activism for women’s rights. Cyberpsychology and
Behavior, 3, 699706.
14. Youngs, G. (2001). Theoretical reflections on networking in practice: The case of the
women on the net. In Green, E. and Adam, A. (Eds.) Virtual Gender: Technology,
Consumption and Identity. London: Routledge, 8499.
15. Pitts, V. (2004). Illness and internet empowerment: Writing and reading breast cancer in
cyberspace. Health, 8, 3359.
16. Nie, N., Hillygus, H.D.S. and Erbring, L. (2002) Internet use, interpersonal relations, and
sociability. In B. Wellman and C. Haythornthwaite (eds.), The Internet in Everyday Life.
Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
17. Di Maggio, P., Hargittai, E., Neumann, W.R. and Robinson, J.P. (2001). Social implications
of the internet. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 30736.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 19
18. Cochran, L. (Feb 23, 2011). Queen of the Mommy Bloggers. New York Times. Accessed
online [March 8, 2011]: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/magazine/27armstrong-
t.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1299611015-l9fELjjfcKM+rFVYxwX9tA
19. Feinberg, J. (May 4, 2010). Modern moms connect by writing and reading blogs. The
Patriot Ledger. Accessed online [March 8, 2011]. http://www.patriotledger.com/lifestyle/
x1042479950/Modern-moms-connect-by-writing-and-reading-blogs#axzz1G2LkXadM
20. Madge, C., & O’Connor, H. (2006). Parenting gone wired: Empowerment of new mothers
on the internet? Social & Cultural Geography, 7, 199-220.
21. Plantin, L. & Daneback, K. (2009). Parenthood, information and support on the internet. A
literature review of research on parents and professionals online. Family Practice, 10, 1-12.
22. Lavee, Y., Sharlin, S., & Katz, R. (1996). The effect of parenting stress on marital quality.
Journal of Family Issues, 17, 114-135.
23. Mystry, R., Stevens, G. D., Sareen, H., De Vogli, R., & Halfon, N. (2007). Parenting-related
stressors and self-reported mental health of mothers with young children. American Journal
of Public Health, 97, 1-8.
24. Coltrane, S. (2000). Research on household labor: Modeling and measuring the social
embeddedness of routine family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1208-1233.
25. Vessey, J., & Knauth, D. (2001). Marital change during the transition to parenthood. Pediatric
Nursing, 27, 169.
26. Coleman, P. K., & Karraker, K. H. (1998). Self-efficacy and parenting quality: Findings and
future applications. Developmental Review, 18, 47-85.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 20
27. Leahy-Warren, P., McCarthy, G. and Corcoran, P. (2011). First-time mothers: social
support, maternal parental self-efficacy and postnatal depression. Journal of Clinical
Nursing.
28. Raikes, H. & Thompson, R. (2005). Efficacy and social support as predictors of parenting
stress among families in poverty. Mental Health Journal, 26, 177190.
29. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development.
Developmental Psychology, 22, 723-742.
30. Harcourt, W. (2000). The personal and political: Women using the internet.
Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 3, 699-706.
31. Lenhart, A., & Fox, S. (2006). A portrait of the internet’s new storytellers. Pew Internet &
American Life Project, 1-33. Accessed online [March 8, 2011]. http://www.pewinternet.org.
32. Marshall, N. L., & Barnett, R. C. (1993). Work-family strains and gains among two-earner
couples. Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 64-78.
33. Weiss, R. (1974). The provisions of social relationships. In Z. Rubin (Ed.) Doing unto
others. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
34. Abidin, R. R. (1983). Parenting stress index manual. Charlottesville, VA: Pediatric
Psychology Press.
35. Busby, D. M., Holman, T. B., & Taniguchi, N. (2001). RELATE: Relationship evaluation of
the individual, family, cultural, and couple contexts. Family Relations, 50, 308-316.
36. Norton, R. (1983). Measuring marital quality: A critical look at the dependent variable.
Journal of Marriage and Family, 45, 141-151.
37. Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the
general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 21
38. Arbuckle, J. L., & Wothke, W. (1999). Amos 4.0 user’s guide. Chicago: Small Waters.
39. Buhi, E. R., Goodson, P., & Neilands, T. B. (2007). Structural equation modeling: A primer
for health behavior researchers. American Journal of Health Behavior, 31, 74-85.
40. Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure
analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-
55.
41. Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3
rd
Edition). New York: Guilford Press.
42. Kaye, B. K. (2005). It’s a blog, blog, blog, blog world. School of Journalism & Electronic
Media, 13, 7395.
43. Descartes, L., & Kottak, C. P. (2009). Media and middle class moms: Images and realities
of work and family. New York: Routledge.
44. Gjerdingen, D. K., Froberg, D.G., & Fontaine, P. (1991). The effects of social support on
women’s health during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period. Family
Medicine, 23, 370-375.
45. Dennis, C., & Letourneau, N. (2007). Global and relationship-specific perceptions of
support and the development of postpartum depressive symptomatology. Social Psychiatry
and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42, 389-395.
46. Howell, E. A., Mora, P., & Leventhal, H. (2006). Correlates of early postpartum depressive
symptoms. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 10, 149-157.
47. Gross, R., & Acquisti, A. (2005). Information revelation and privacy in online social
networks. Proceedings of WPES’05 (pp. 7180). Alexandria, VA: ACM.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 22
48. Dwyer, C., Hiltz, S. R., & Passerini, K. (2007). Trust and privacy concern within social
networking sites: A comparison of Facebook and MySpace. Proceedings of AMCIS.
Accessed online [April 6, 2011]. http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2007/339
49. Mital, M., Israel, D., & Agarwal, S. (2010). Information exchange and information
disclosure in social networking web sites: Mediating role of trust. Learning Organization,
17, 479-490.
50. Crnic, K. A., & Booth, C. L. (1991). Mothers’ and fathers’ perceptions of daily hassles of
parenting across early childhood. Journal of Marriage and Family, 53, 1042-1050.
51. Balaji, A. B., Claussen, A. H., Smith, D. C., Visser, S. N., Morales, M. J., & Perou, R.
(2007). Social support networks and maternal mental health and well-being. Journal of
Women’s Health, 16, 1386-1396.
52. Bost, K. K., Cox, M. J., Burchinal, M. R., & Payne, C. (2002). Structural and supportive
changes in couples’ family and friendship networks across the transition to parenthood.
Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 517-531.
53. Crnic, K. A., Greenberg, M. T., Ragozin, A. S., Robinson, N. M., & Basham, R. B. (1983).
Effects of stress and social support on mothers and premature and full-term infants. Child
Development, 54, 209-217.
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 23
Table 1
Sample Characteristics
Variable
Mean
(or N)
Household Income
Less than $20,000
47
$20,000 - $50,000
46
Greater than $50,000
64
Ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic
141
African American
4
Hispanic American
6
Other
6
Education
College-graduate
123
Some college
31
High school graduate
3
Employment
Currently working
83
Working from home
31
Hours working per
week
12.18
Mother
Age (in years)
27.08
Child
Age (in months)
7.90
Marriage
First Marriage
157
Length of Marriage
3.26
Computer with internet in home
157
Total N = 157
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 24
Table 2
Zero-Order Correlations Between Independent and Dependent Variables and Descriptive Statistics
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Mean
Std. Dev.
1. Social
Networking
1.00
.28***
.12
.07
.08
.01
-.04
-.01
3.78
1.26
2. Blogging
1.00
.25**
.18*
-.10
.10
-.08
.08
3.30
1.22
3. Connection to
Extended Family
& Friends
1.00
.36***
-.06
.05
.09
-.09
3.29
0.51
4. Social
Support
1.00
-.36***
.41***
-.19*
-.17*
58.61
6.36
5. Frequency of
Conflict
1.00
-.51***
.25**
.20*
17.40
4.24
6. Marital
Satisfaction
1.00
.13
-.14
27.71
3.19
7. Parenting
Stress
1.00
.26**
83.12
8.01
8. Depression
1
9.38
6.44
*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001 (N = 146)
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 25
MEDIA USE AND MATERNAL WELL-BEING 26
... Over the past several years, several types of research have been carried out to explore the social media usage of women who have recently given birth. These studies have focused on blogging [24], pregnancy and motherhood forums [24,25], and Facebook. McDaniel and colleagues [24] found that the frequency of posts from new mothers was related to their feelings of interpersonal connectedness to extended family and friends, as well as to express their feelings regarding social support and maternal welfare. ...
... Over the past several years, several types of research have been carried out to explore the social media usage of women who have recently given birth. These studies have focused on blogging [24], pregnancy and motherhood forums [24,25], and Facebook. McDaniel and colleagues [24] found that the frequency of posts from new mothers was related to their feelings of interpersonal connectedness to extended family and friends, as well as to express their feelings regarding social support and maternal welfare. ...
... These studies have focused on blogging [24], pregnancy and motherhood forums [24,25], and Facebook. McDaniel and colleagues [24] found that the frequency of posts from new mothers was related to their feelings of interpersonal connectedness to extended family and friends, as well as to express their feelings regarding social support and maternal welfare. Gibson and Hanson [26] found that new mothers saw Facebook as a valuable platform for creating a new identity, maintaining social connections after giving birth, and finding information and comfort about their decisions and worries about raising a baby. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background and objective Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a frequently ignored birth-related consequence. Social network analysis can be used to address this issue because social media network serves as a platform for their users to communicate with their friends and share their opinions, photos, and videos, which reflect their moods, feelings, and sentiments. In this work, the depression of delivered mothers is identified using the PPD score and segregated into control and depressed groups. Recently, to detect depression, deep learning methods have played a vital role. However, these methods still do not clarify why some people have been identified as depressed. Methods We have developed Attribute Selection Hybrid Network (ASHN) to detect the postpartum depression diagnoses framework. Later analysis of the post of mothers who have been confirmed with the score calculated by the experts of the field using physiological questionnaire score. The model works on the analysis of the attributes of the negative Facebook posts for Depressed user Diagnosis, which is a large general forum. This framework explains the process of analyzing posts containing Sentiment, depressive symptoms, and reflective thinking and suggests psycho-linguistic and stylistic attributes of depression in posts. Results The experimental results show that ASHN works well and is easy to understand. Here, four attribute networks based on psychological studies were used to analyze the different parts of posts by depressed users. The results of the experiments show the extraction of psycho-linguistic markers-based attributes, the recording of assessment metrics including Precision, Recall and F1 score and visualization of those attributes were used title-wise as well as words wise and compared with daily life, depression and postpartum depressed people using Word cloud. Furthermore, a comparison to a reference with Baseline and ASHN model was carried out. Conclusions Attribute Selection Hybrid Network (ASHN) mimics the importance of attributes in social media posts to predict depressed mothers. Those mothers were anticipated to be depressed by answering a questionnaire designed by domain experts with prior knowledge of depression. This work will help researchers look at social media posts to find useful evidence for other depressive symptoms.
... Previous research has shown that the internet can disrupt marital boundaries and introduce distractions [18][19][20]. On the other hand, online communication, leisure, and entertainment activities have demonstrated potential in alleviating individual psychological stress, reducing conflicts within marriages, and enhancing marital satisfaction [21][22][23]. While existing research studies have provided valuable insights, they frequently draw inconsistent conclusions and have rarely explored various aspects of marital quality. ...
... The effect is more significant for young and middleaged couples compared with elderly couples and more pronounced for urban couples compared with rural couples [21]. These internet-based activities predicted connection with family and friends, social support, and subsequently improved marital satisfaction, reduced marital conflicts, and better well-being for new mothers [22]. ...
Article
Full-text available
While previous studies have investigated the influence of new media on mental health, little is known about its effects on the mental health of married women. This is a crucial research area, given that married women commonly encounter distinct mental health difficulties. Also, current research fails to provide comprehensive, population-based studies, with most relying on cross-sectional designs. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between new media use and mental health among married women in China, utilizing a nationally representative longitudinal dataset. We utilized a balanced panel dataset from 2016 to 2020 to establish a causal connection between internet use and the mental health of these women. Our findings indicate that internet use has a positive impact on the mental health of married women in China. Additionally, a structural estimation model (SEM) with 2020 wave data was utilized to investigate various new media use effects and explore mediating pathways of marital satisfaction. Consistently, there were negative findings between new media use, marital satisfaction, and depression. Furthermore, it was determined that new media usage had a significant negative impact on married women’s overall satisfaction with their spouses’ housework contribution, which, in turn, negatively affected marital satisfaction as a whole. The pathways that mediate the effect of marital satisfaction on depression differ across general internet use, streaming media use, and WeChat use. Examining various theoretical perspectives, we interpreted the indirect impact of new media use on mental health through marital satisfaction as passive mediation.
... To construct the embedding words vector, we trained Word2Vec of two layers to identify a word (or predefined list of words) having similar context. Two directions are used (CBOW (Continuous Bag-Of-Words) and Skip-gram) [32][33][34] . The first predicts one word from context, while the second predicts the context from a given word. ...
... ∈ (0, 1) www.nature.com/scientificreports/ Among the Word2Vec extraction techniques 22,31,33 , the CBOW and Skip-gram reported an impressive performance recently 4,5,27 . Accordingly, both techniques are implemented on the three datasets. ...
Article
Full-text available
Currently, a noteworthy volume of information is available and shared every day through participation and communication of individuals on social media. These enormous contents with the right exploit and research leads to valuable discoveries. In this study, a deep framework of learning accurate detection of women’s depression is proposed. It is beneficially guided by social media content of individual posts and tweets and an essential support from psycho-linguistic for providing the indicator depression signs vocabulary that creates the embedding words necessary for building the applied approach. The presented model is validated using dual datasets extracted from Twitter: the first dataset is general data formed by 700 women from different countries; the second contains only 80 women from KSA. A third benchmark dataset CLPsych 2015 is used for comparative analysis purposes. The model proved its performance on the three datasets and the obtained and reported in this paper results shows its effectiveness.
... Research has shown that engaging with these platforms can provide beneficial effects. These include enhanced feelings of social connectedness and well-being (Allen et al., 2014;Hayes, 2022;Leist, 2013;McDaniel et al., 2012;Orben & Przybylski, 2019), as well as effective information sharing among individuals, groups, and organizations (Ahmed et al., 2019;Chen & Wang, 2021;Majchrzak et al., 2013). In contrast, there are several reports of negative effects on mental health outcomes (e.g., depression; Lin et al., 2016), and this has led to an active debate as to whether excessive social media use might produce the type of adverse consequences that would mirror an addictive behavior (Andreassen et al., 2016;Griffiths & Kuss, 2017;Vorderer et al., 2016;Zhao, 2021). ...
... For instance, in the USA, smartphone use in those aged 18 + rose from 35-85% between 2011 and 2021 [3], whilst in China 1.22 billion people had subscribed to mobile services by 2021, representing 83% of the population [4]. Despite the benefits technology has created for adults, such as increased social support [5] and the flexibility to work from home [6], research highlights the potential for disruption of in-person social dynamics by mobile and digital technology use. Initially, this demeanour was dubbed 'absent presence'; referring to an individual being physically present but being distracted by communication or mobile content [7]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose The term ‘technoference’ refers to habitual interferences and disruptions within interpersonal relationships or time spent together due to use of electronic devices. Emerging evidence suggests associations between parental technoference and young people’s mental health and violent behaviours. This scoping review sought to summarise the existing literature. Methods A scoping review was undertaken across six databases (APA PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ASSIA, ERIC, Social Sciences Premium Collection, SciTech Premium). Searches included articles examining the association between parental technoference and adolescent mental health and violent behaviours. All included studies provided empirical findings. Results Searches retrieved 382 articles, of which 13 articles met the eligibility criteria. A narrative approach was applied to synthesise the eligible findings. Across all studies, adolescent perceptions of parental technoference were negatively associated to adolescent mental health and positively related to adolescent violent behaviours. Parental cohesion and mental health were identified as significant mediating factors. Conclusion Findings suggest that parents should be aware of the environment in which they use electronic devices as their use can potentially, directly and indirectly, influence adolescent mental health and violent behaviours. Further research into the potential caveats of parental technoference could support the development of evidence-informed guidelines for parental management of electronic devices.
... Online interventions may be particularly appealing for mothers because of the flexibility and time efficiency, making it possible to follow and complete the program anytime and anywhere. . Interactive online environments, such as Facebook, blogs, and smartphone applications (apps) are also popular among mothers [31]. Another important finding of phase 1 is the importance of social-and peer support (social opportunities). ...
Article
Full-text available
Background Pregnancy and the transition to parenthood are accompanied by multiple changes and stress exposure. Resilience has the potential to counteract the negative impact of stress and can be a protective factor against mental health problems. To date, the use of a theoretical framework in the development or application of resilience interventions during pregnancy up to one year postpartum is missing. The aim of this study is to develop an intervention to enhance resilience for pregnant women up to one year postpartum. Methods A systematic and theory-based approach informed by the Behaviour Change Wheel framework and the theoretical model of perinatal resilience was applied. The development took place in three phases and during the process, the target group, researchers and clinicians were involved. Results A combination of resilience-enhancing exercises, group sessions and an online support platform, including follow-up at six and twelve months after delivery, was designed to enhance resilience during pregnancy and up to one year postpartum. This intervention incorporates 5 intervention functions delivered by 18 behaviour change techniques. Conclusions This study responds to the need for theory-based intervention programs aiming to enhance resilience to improve the psychological health of pregnant women. We developed a multicomponent resilience-enhancing intervention for pregnant women up to one year postpartum.
... Это не просто предметы, составляющие обстановку дома, это объекты, с которыми регулярно и часто осуществляется взаимодействие, практически «живые существа», с которыми ребенку приходится конкурировать за внимание к себе. Исследования показывают, что активное использование смартфонов является предиктором сниженного внимания по отношению к детям (Kushlev & Dunn 2019), часть родителей чувствует вину и сообщают о фрустрации, связанной с их вовлеченностью в использование телефона (McDaniel et al. 2012). В то же время развитие интернет-технологий имеет корреляцию с намерением иметь второго или третьего ребенка, так как позволяет работать и не терять связь с внешним миром (Калабихина и др. ...
Article
Full-text available
The source of the formation of basic skills for young children is the environment that is created by surrounding adults. Modern children are introduced and seduced by mobile devices in infancy. Most often, parents use gadgets as a universal way to calm or entertain the child in order to save time for work or leisure. Touch screens and visual interfaces allow young children to interact with devices in a more responsive way than it is possible in the physical world. The experiences gained in the digital reality is carried over to the offline world, from the naive ways of interacting with the physical reality, demonstrated by infants, to the transfer of such of behavior norms as the ability to return and undo actions. The knowledge and skills related to digital resources and games are becoming more important than knowledge about the surrounding world. Voice assistants not only allow children to use the Internet without being literate, but also actively interact with the infant as a babysitter. Such communication allows children to draw a conclusion about their anthropomorphism, and, in general, contributes to uncritical immersion in the digital reality much earlier, than they are able to comprehend and realize it that dictates new ways of existence. Such an early and positive acquaintance with digital technologies gives the new generation trust and confidence in the inviolability of the technogenic world
Article
Following Facebook's introduction of the "Like" in 2009, CaringBridge (a nonprofit health journaling platform) implemented a "Heart" symbol as a single-click reaction affordance in 2012. In 2016, Facebook expanded its Like into a set of emotion-based reactions. In 2021, CaringBridge likewise added three new reactions: "Prayer", "Happy", and "Sad." Through user surveys (N=808) and interviews (N=13), we evaluated this product launch. Unlike Likes on mainstream social media, CaringBridge's single-click Heart was consistently interpreted as a simple, meaningful expression of acknowledgement and support. Although most users accepted the new reactions, the product launch transformed user perceptions of the feature and ignited major disagreement regarding the meanings and functions of reactions in the high stakes context of health crises. Some users found the new reactions to be useful, convenient, and reducing of caregiver burden; others felt they cause emotional harms by stripping communication of meaningful expression and authentic care. Overall, these results surface tensions for small social media platforms that need to survive amidst giants, as well as highlighting crucial trade-offs between the cognitive effort, meaningfulness, and efficiency of different forms of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC). Our work provides three contributions to support researchers and designers in navigating these tensions: (1) empirical knowledge of how users perceived the reactions launch on CaringBridge; (2) design implications for improving health-focused CMC; and (3) concrete questions to guide future research into reactions and health-focused CMC.
Article
Written by nationally recognized anthropologists Conrad Kottak and Lara Descartes, this ethnography of largely white, middle class families in a town in the midwest explores the role that the media play in influencing how those families cope with everyday work/family issues. The book insightfully reports that families struggle with, and make work/family decisions based largely on the images and ideas they receive from media sources, though they strongly deny being so influenced. An ideal book for teaching undergraduate family, media, and methods courses.
Article
This article reports on a beginning study of minor daily stresses associated with parenting, and how the perception of minor stresses may be mediated by parental social support networks and social cognitive level. Daily hassles of parenting were assessed in three groups of mothers and fathers with children 9-12, 18-24, and 30-36 months old, along with measures of social support, social cognitive level, and parental satisfaction. Results indicated that reported hassles were significantly greater with increasing child age, although fathers and mothers did not differ in the overall amount of hassle they perceived. Both mothers' and fathers' perception of parenting hassles were related to indices of support and social cognition, although differential patterns of relations were found across ages and between mothers and fathers. Parental social support moderated the effect of minor stresses for some outcomes. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for determinants of parenting and family processes influencing children's relationships with their parents.
Article
This paper critically examines the operationalization of marital quality indices used as dependent variables. First, it looks at the functioning and construction of marital quality variables. In particular, Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale is used to illustrate the arguments. Second, it presents both semantic and empirical criteria to judge the development of a marital quality index. Finally, it presents a Quality Marriage Index (QMI) based on the introduced criteria. This index was constructed using data from 430 people across four states. Several advantages of the QMI over more traditional measures are shown in terms of how covariates relate to the index.
Article
The question of how to best measure family processes so that longitudinal experiences within the family are accurately captured has become an important issue for family scholars. Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,158), this article focuses on the association between trajectories of perceived supportiveness from biological fathers and mothers’ mental health problems 5 years after a birth. The relationship status between mothers and biological fathers is significantly related to her perceptions of his supportiveness, with married mothers reporting the highest levels of supportiveness followed by mothers in cohabiting unions, romantic non-coresidential unions, and, finally, mothers not in a romantic relationship. Controlling for both time-varying and time-invariant maternal and relationship characteristics, a positive slope of perceived supportiveness from biological fathers is associated with fewer subsequent mental health problems 5 years after the birth. The discussion calls attention to alternate modeling strategies for longitudinal family experiences.
Article
The aim of this three-wave cross-lagged longitudinal study was to examine the prospective relationships between women’s goal-related spousal support and their relationship satisfaction during the transition to parenthood. Two-hundred and forty-six Finnish women who were either married or cohabited (45% primiparous; 55% multiparous) filled in questionnaires on personal projects (Little, 1983) and related spousal support, relationship satisfaction (Spanier, 1976), and background data three times: in their early pregnancy; one month before childbirth; and three months after childbirth. Among the primiparous women the results showed a cumulative cycle of goal-related spousal support and relationship satisfaction: goal-related spousal support in early pregnancy predicted higher relationship satisfaction just before childbirth, and, vice versa, relationship satisfaction in early pregnancy predicted higher goal-related spousal support just before childbirth. In turn, among the multiparous women only relationship satisfaction predicted goal-related support later on. In addition, the results showed that women perceived low spousal support for individualistic goals, such as self-related goals, and high support for shared goals, such as family-related goals.
Article
Activists working online have recognized the potential of the Internet as a force for social change. Women are using the technology as a form of empowerment, by creating women's venues, resources, and networks for organizing. Meanwhile, policies to bring about a connected society have not used a gender-based analysis in the planning and implementation of "public" resources. The discrepancy between the growing expectation of greater democratic participation through the use of Internet resources, and the discouraging reality of the promotion of inequality through the lack of the use of a gender-based analysis, has resulted in growing tension over information/communications technology (ICT) resource allocation. Networking and strategizing among women and women's groups have led to activism, such as the Women's Internet Campaign, which addresses ICT as a women's rights issue.