Mom-and-Pop Narcissism: The Impact of Attention Seeking and Grandiosity on Couples' Experience of the Transition to Parenthood

Self-Compassion and Compassionate Love Are Positively Associated with Sexual and Relational Well-Being Among Expectant and New Parent Couples

Pregnancy and the postpartum period can be a challenging time for many couples' relationships. Outside of pregnancy and the postpartum period, being more attentive and sensitive to one's own suffering (i.e., high in self-compassion) and showing love that centers on another person's well-being (i.e., compassionate love) has been linked with greater sexual and relationship satisfaction and lower sexual distress. Both self-compassion and compassionate love may benefit couples during the perinatal period by facilitating more adaptive coping and greater responsiveness to one's own and one's partner's needs. The goal of this study was to examine associations between self-compassion and compassionate love and sexual and relationship satisfaction and sexual distress in two samples of (1) expectant (n = 102) and (2) new parent (n = 102) couples. During pregnancy, self-compassion and compassionate love were linked with higher relationship and sexual satisfaction and lower sexual distress. In the postpartum, higher self-compassion and compassionate love were associated with greater relationship satisfaction, but were less consistently linked with sexual satisfaction and sexual distress. Consistent with theory, self-compassion and compassionate love may allow expectant and new parent couples to adjust to the demands of new parenthood more easily, with benefits for their sexual and relationship wellbeing. Given our data and the established benefits of self-compassion and compassionate love for facilitating adjustment during stressful life events, educating couples about the importance of fostering self-compassion and compassionate love during pregnancy, and after the baby is born, may cultivate resilience which, in turn, may promote stronger relationships.

Parent Grandiose Narcissism and Child Socio-Emotional Well Being: The Role of Parenting

Previous research has highlighted how parent narcissism relates to parenting broadly. However, research has not examined how facets of grandiose narcissism are associated with parenting tactics, nor how these facets may indirectly affect child development. The current study assesses parenting tactics as intervening variables in associations between facets of grandiose narcissism and child internalizing/externalizing. Participants were 457 parents of a child between six and 18. Parents completed a survey assessing grandiose narcissism, positive and negative parenting tactics, and reported on child internalizing/externalizing behaviors. Higher parent grandiosity and entitlement/exploitation were associated with more negative parenting tactics and less positive parenting tactics. Negative parenting tactics intervened in relations between these facets of grandiose narcissism and child internalizing and externalizing. Conversely, higher levels of leadership/authority were related to more positive parenting tactics. Results suggest that deficits in parenting may be a mechanism for how parent grandiose narcissism relates to child mental health.

Respiratory sinus arrhythmia as a dyadic protective factor in the transition to parenthood

Considerable heterogeneity has been observed in couples' adjustment to the transition to parenthood (TTP). One potential yet understudied predictor of emotional adjustment to the TTP is the new parents' capacity for regulation. A widely accepted biological marker of this capacity is respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), which is closely tied to parasympathetic activation. In the present work, we sought to examine the role of tonic RSA and RSA reactivity as possible protective dyadic factors in the TTP. As part of a larger study, we recruited a sample (N = 100) of TTP couples. At 15 weeks postpartum, the couples took part in a lab session during which their RSA was assessed both at rest (tonic RSA) and during four affiliative dyadic interactions (RSA reactivity). Following this session, couples completed daily diaries over a period of 3 weeks, reporting their daily levels of negative affect and stress. A Multivariate Actor Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine the extent to which each partner's RSA predicted their own and their partner's negative affect (NA) level, as well as NA stress-reactivity (i.e., the strength of the within-person stress-affect association). New mothers' tonic RSA predicted their own lower NA level and NA stress-reactivity; both their tonic RSA and RSA reactivity predicted their (male) partners' lower NA level; and finally, new fathers' tonic RSA and RSA reactivity predicted their (female) partners' lower NA stress-reactivity. These results suggest that RSA may serve as a personal and dyadic protective factor.