TRANSITION TO PARENTHOOD AND DYNAMICS OF THE RELATIONSHIPS - A STUDY WITH THE GIESSEN-TEST FOR COUPLES

In an prospective longitudinal study of family development, 39 healthy couples were examined by the Giessen-Test 1 - 3 months before and 1 m onth and 1 year after the birth of their first child. The self-assessm ent and the assessment of the other spouse were recorded from both par tners. By this procedure information relating to intrapsychic and inte rpersonal dynamics of the couple was obtained. It was evident, that du ring the transition from the preto the postnatal period the assessment s at the personal as well as at the couples' level remained very stabl e. Our sample showed considerable differences compared to a representa tive couple sample. These differences decreased by the time of the thi rd survey one year after the birth of the child. Although pregnancy an d the birth of the first child seem to cause specific, but transitory changes in the parents self-images and in the dynamics of their relati onship, our results support the notion of a high stability during the transition to parenthood with regard to the selfconcepts of mother and father and especially to the structure of the parental dyad.