Teresa

To assess change in interparental anger for the sample as a whole, scores were subjected to a 2 (gender) x 2 (time) repeated measures ANOVA, with both time and partner entered as repeated measures. There was a significant main effect for time (F[1, 217] = 26.22, p < .000, ηp2 = 0.11) and partner (F[1, 217] = 103.38, p < .000, η p2 = .32), and no significant interaction was found (F[1, 217] = 1.51, p > .05). Observation of the mean scores for each group revealed a distinct pattern of increase in anger over time for both partners, as displayed in Figure 5.1. The increase in mothers’ anger was relatively substantial (η p2 = .11), and was slightly smaller for fathers (η p2 = .07).

Figure 5.1. Mean interparental anger scores displayed as a function of time and partner.

Next, the proportion of individuals who reported an increase in interparental anger was computed. A difference score was calculated for each individual by subtracting their

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 Pregnancy Postpartum Inter pa re ntal ang er sc or e Time point Mother Father

score at pregnancy from their score at six months post partum. Subsequently, a positive number suggested an increase in anger, a negative number signified a decrease, whilst zero suggested no change. Approximately half the mothers in the sample reported an increase in anger (55%), whilst fewer mothers (30%) reported a decrease, and even fewer (14%) showed no change in anger over time. A similar pattern emerged for fathers, with half (50%)

reporting an increase, around a third (34%) reporting a decrease, and fewer fathers (17%) experiencing no change in levels of anger over the transition to parenthood.

Finally, the association between partners’ pattern of change was considered. To test for contrasts between mothers’ and fathers’ pattern of change, as derived from the preceding analyses, a chi-square test of association was employed comparing mother and father group status. This revealed that mothers and fathers were more likely than chance to follow the same pattern in anger over time, χ2

(4, 218) = 56.80, p <.001. The expected and observed frequencies are presented in Table 5.5. The raw difference scores were then subjected to a paired t-test, comparing mothers and fathers. No significant difference between partners was seen; mothers and fathers did not significantly differ in their scores of change, t(217) = 1.23, p > .05. These difference scores were then subjected to a Pearson’s correlation to test for agreement. A significant association revealed mothers and fathers scores showed similar patterns over time, r(218) = .58, p < .000. Together, these results suggest partners in relationships followed similar patterns of change to each other.

Table 5.5.

Crosstabulation of Interparental Anger Change Group Membership

Mother Decrease No change Increase Total n (%)

Decrease 41 (22) 12 (11) 13 (33) 66 (30%)

No Change 14 (11) 8 (5) 9 (15) 61 (14%)

Increase 19 (41) 16 (20) 86 (60) 121 (56%)

Total n (%) 74 (36%) 36 (17%) 108 (50%)

Note. Unless specified, expected counts are displayed in parantheses. Father

5.4 Discussion

The first hypothesis concerned the stability of expressed anger over the transition to parenthood in women and men. Supporting the results of the previous chapter, levels of anger between time points showed high association, providing further evidence for individual stability in the experience of anger across time. The data in this chapter extend this finding to fathers, and to anger measured specifically within the couple relationship.

The analyses in this chapter also considered the comparison of reported anger between women and men, both in pregnancy and at six months postpartum. Women

consistently reported higher anger than men over time. This finding coincides with previous research that suggests anger is more frequently reported in women (Frost & Averill, 1982; Funabiki et al., 1980; Malatesta-Magai et al., 1992; Ross & Van Willigen, 1996).

However, there was also high agreement between partners levels of anger, with men’s’ and women’s’ anger correlating significantly within relationships. In sum, individuals with the highest levels of anger also had partners with the highest levels. This supports previous research that postulates the similarity between spouses’ anger (Laughrea et al., 1997; Schoebi, 2008).

By measuring levels of anger in partners at the postpartum period and a number of related factors, the data offered an opportunity to screen for predictors of interparental anger at six months postpartum. Fathers’ age and education were both significant predictors, with relationships including younger and less educated fathers expressing the highest levels of interparental anger. Young mothers, and mothers with less education, also expressed the most interparental anger postpartum. Relationships in which the partners were cohabiting but unmarried, as compared to those cohabiting and married, reported higher levels of

contribution to the prediction of postpartum interparental anger; those in shorter relationships displayed the most anger. Both parents’ levels of pre-childbirth anger were consistent

predictors of interparental anger postpartum, where high pre-childbirth anger was associated with the highest interparental anger scores, lending further support for the stability of anger across time.

With respect to the final question, the change in interparental anger over time, the data revealed that interparental anger was greater following the birth of the baby than during pregnancy. This pattern was evident for both mothers and fathers. More parents increased in anger than decreased, whilst a small minority showed no change over time. Indeed, 56% of mothers displayed an increase in their levels of anger, whilst 50% of fathers followed the same trend. Indeed, the direction of change was similar within relationships; mothers who had increased in anger were likely to have partners who also increased.

In summary, the data suggest both stability and change in interparental anger across the transition to parenthood, with a small but significant difference between genders in frequency of anger, but not in the rate of change.

Interpretation of the basic descriptive data provides interesting information regarding the expression of anger in relationships across the perinatal period. The majority of partners report a minimal level of anger, endorsing that they express anger ‘some of the time’ to their respective partner. A minority report expressing no anger at all. However, some report ‘almost always’ expressing anger to their partners. Whilst there is evidence that a certain level and quality of conflict and anger can be adaptive in overcoming challenges (Lazarus, 1991), unresolved and repeated conflict can exert deleterious influences on the relationship and developing child (Cummings et al., 1991; Cummings et al., 2007). Importantly, the frequency of parents’ shouting alone is a significant predictor of externalizing behaviour in children (Jenkins & Smith, 1991). Given the inclusion of a measure of shouting in the current

data, and the finding of an increase across the transition to parenthood, the data highlight the importance of the postpartum months in the consideration of infant development.

Furthermore, the close association between anger frequency and marital satisfaction

previously reported (Simpson et al., 2003) suggest this increase in anger may be instrumental in the decrease of satisfaction reported across the transition to parenthood in previous studies (Schulz et al., 2006; Shapiro et al., 2000). Alternatively, the decrease in satisfaction may trigger the increase in anger. Further research to disentangle these effects would provide an opportunity to investigate the direction of this proposed relationship.

In concentrating on interparental anger alone, the current data provide a description of the course of one aspect of the parental relationship that is likely to be affected across the transition to parenthood. For a full interpretation of this process, future studies should measure other elements of relationship conflict and satisfaction in unison. Indeed, for a number of couples, the transition to parenthood seemed to alleviate anger; 30% of mothers and 34% of fathers reported a decrease in anger after the birth of their first child. An investigation into the potential buffering effects that protect these couples would be an interesting avenue for future research. Potential protective factors may include healthy

communication styles, longer relationships, planned pregnancies, social support, and a host of other variables. An exploration of this converse effect may also be informative for future intervention work for the benefit of those parents who report the greatest increase in anger after the birth of their first child.

A limitation of the current dataset is the reliance on two time points for the measurement of interparental anger. Because conclusions regarding predictors of change require at least three measurements points to be robust (Bryman & Hardy, 2004), an exploration of interparental anger across the same transition, but incorporating more

couples who initially increase in anger post-birth, but quickly adapt and desist. Conversely, others may continue to increase in anger over time. Conceptualising groups using a

methodological approach such as this would prove highly informative. Although the data in this chapter do not allow such analyses, they do provide novel evidence supporting a