New moms, dads unable to live upto ‘perfect’ parent tag
December 1st, 2011 - 9:29 am ICT by IANSWashington, Dec 1 (IANS) Parents of newborns might not quite be able to live upto the tag of ‘perfect’ moms and dads, thrust on them by the society, says a study.
The study found moms showed less confidence in their parenting abilities and dads felt more stress when they were more worried about what other people thought about their parenting skills.
However, self-imposed pressure to be perfect was somewhat better for parents, especially for fathers, according to the results, the Journal Personality and Individual Differences reports.
The findings are some of the first to show how the quest for perfectionism affects first-time parents, said Meghan Lee, a graduate in human development and family science at Ohio State University, who led the study.
“Trying to be the perfect parent is a mixed bag. If you think you have to be perfect because of outside pressure, it really hurts adjustment. If you put these demands on yourself, it may have some benefits early on, but it is not universally good,” said Lee, according to an Ohio statement.
Lee conducted the study with Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, associate professor, and Claire Kamp Dush, assistant professor, both in human development and family science at Ohio State.
This study is part of a larger, long-term “New Parents Project” that is studying how dual-earner couples adjust to becoming parents for the first time. Researchers examined 182 couples who became parents between 2008 and 2010.
-Indo-Asian News Service
st/sd
- Parents who share caregiving for their kids 'experience more conflict' - Jan 27, 2011
- Level of tiffs between spouses remains same over years - Aug 16, 2011
- Perfectionists at risk for postpartum blues - Jul 10, 2010
- Mental health of mums abused by partners 'gets worse after relationship ends' - Aug 25, 2010
- Supportive co-parenting helps reduce childhood behavioural problems - Mar 04, 2009
- Being Perfectionist Might Take A Toll On Health - Jul 13, 2010
- Women still living in a man's world - career-wise - Apr 02, 2010
- Helpful dads may hurt self-esteem of "super-mums" - Mar 19, 2010
- Parenting after child's death a tough challenge: Study - Feb 17, 2011
- Blame backbone fractures on evolution, not osteoporosis - Oct 20, 2011
- New antibiotic to treat adulterated food - Aug 07, 2011
- Grief can literally break your heart - Dec 01, 2011
- Mom's role determines dad's involvement in childcare - Jun 02, 2008
- Women disadvantaged in dual-income households - Apr 02, 2010
- Women quit careers due to unhelpful husbands - Apr 05, 2010
Tags: asian news, assistant professor, associate professor, becoming parents, dual earner couples, dush, family science, first time parents, journal personality and individual differences, kamp, meghan, moms and dads, new parents, newborns, ohio state university, parenting skills, parents project, perfectionism, personality and individual differences, time researchers