A paper co-authored by Communication Professor Jennifer Theiss, and several Rutgers SC&I alumni, received the 2024 Article of the Year Award from the Journal of Family Communication for their study titled, "Facilitation and Interference from Partners During the Transition to Parenthood: A Co-Occurrence Analysis of Themes Emerging Over Time within and Between Romantic Partners."

The study examined how romantic partners either support or impede one another’s individual goals and daily routines during the transition to parenthood and found that partners facilitate one another’s goals through emotional and tangible support, sharing responsibilities, and prioritizing the relationship In contrast, partners can also interfere with one another’s goals and routines due to ineffective communication, challenges with scheduling and time management, unequal distribution of household labor, changes to routines and lifestyles, and diminished intimacy and romance.

"Pragmatically, this study illuminates how having a child can be disruptive to personal and relational routines, while also providing opportunities to reinforce interdependence between partners in response to changing circumstances," said co-author Professor of Communication Jennifer Theiss.

This study explores how a partner’s influence on the other can either help or hinder the individuals in the relationship to pursue or maintain their personal, relational, or parental goals.

"The new responsibilities associated with the birth of a first child can interfere with the personal goals, routines, and actions that partners enjoyed prior to becoming parents," Theiss said. "Understanding how romantic partners exert influence on one another in their relationship can illuminate the ways they facilitate or disrupt interpersonal routines during this transition."

The focus of this study is novel, Theiss said, because current research on the issues romantic couples face during their transition to parenthood tends to emphasize how the birth of a child is disruptive to intimacy, connection, and communication between romantic partners.

In contrast, this study explores how a partner’s influence on the other can either help or hinder the individuals in the relationship to pursue or maintain their personal, relational, or parental goals.

The study found that romantic partners can help each other achieve their individual goals "by providing tangible support, conveying emotional comfort, and bolstering self-esteem. Notably, spousal support of personal goals and coordination of co-parenting behavior are associated with increased relationship satisfaction during the transition to parenthood," The authors wrote.

Romantic partners can help each other achieve their individual goals by providing tangible support, conveying emotional comfort, and bolstering self-esteem."

The researchers suggest that their findings point to various strategies romantic partners can employ to help facilitate a smooth transition to parenthood.

Their recommendations include:

• Before the baby arrives, it can help if romantic partners discuss how they anticipate their lives will change after the baby's birth, and how they plan to proactively adjust their routines to minimize friction in their relationship once the child is born.
• Romantic partners who practice empathy and receive reassurance from each other, both in quantity and quality, may find it easier to cope with their changed lifestyle.
• It helps if couples can communicate and coordinate with each other about duties and tasks that need to be done and then share those burdens.
• Partners who blame the stress or upset they feel on their undesirable circumstances, not their spouse or partner, likely experience more relationship satisfaction.
• Soliciting help from friends and family or taking advantage of resources and services to simplify their common tasks can provide new parents with more time to spend together on things they enjoy.

However, Theiss cautions, "Challenges that couples anticipate prior to childbirth may not align with the reality of parenthood once the child arrives. Thus, prenatal education and support groups can play an important role in helping expecting couples establish realistic expectations about the myriad ways their schedules, routines, and lifestyles are likely to change, which may help couples anticipate disruptions and coordinate their behaviors and actions to facilitate a smooth transition."

Additional authors include Roi Estlein (SC&I Ph.D. 12; Associate Professor University of Haifa); Hannah Jones (SC&I Ph.D. ’24; Assistant Professor University of Kentucky); Deborah Yoon (SC&I MCM'15, Ph.D.'22; Assistant Professor University of Minnesota; and Kirsten Weber (Central Michigan University).

Learn more about the Communication Department at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.