CHANGES IN PARTNERSHIP AFTER THE BIRTH OF A FIRST CHILD - A COMPARISON OF PARENTS AND CHILDLESS COUPLES

This study focusses on the questions of whether a deterioration of the relationship quality in young parents emerges after the birth of the first child compared to childless couples, whether this effect results in both groups simply from the relationship duration, and whether the changes in relationship are evaluated by women and men in different w ays. Results from a longitudinal study with parents and a control grou p of childless couples are presented. During the ii months of the stud y, the parental couples experienced a pronounced decline of tenderness and happiness in their partnerships compared to childless young coupl es who did not report a decrease in mutual tenderness and happiness. A lthough not statistically significant, marginal effects of gender-spec ific differences could be identified in the assessment of the relation ships.