Authors: William L Dunlop Lawrence J Walker Grace E Hanley Nicole Harake
Publish Date: 2016/09/08
Volume: 18, Issue: 6, Pages: 1729-1745
Abstract
In two studies we examined the implications psychosocial constructions of parenting hold for an understanding of wellbeing In studies 1 N = 504 and 2 N = 98 participants provided a list of personal goals and narratives about the experience of becoming parents respectively In both studies measures of wellbeing were also completed Goals were categorized on the basis of whether they contained reference to parenting as well as agentic and communal motivation whereas stories were coded for themes of exploration and resolution In Study 1 the proportion of parenting goals related positively with wellbeing although this effect was rendered nonsignificant after accounting for the communal motivation of parenting goals In Study 2 themes of exploration and resolution in parents’ narratives positively predicted wellbeing Collectively these results provide intimation of parenting’s “meaningfulness” within the current sociocultural context
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