Association between the Degree of Marital Communication during Pregnancy and Gatekeeping during Parenthood: An Examination of Different Combinations of Employment Status

Abstract

This study determined the longitudinal effects of marital communication during pregnancy on fathers' perceived gatekeeping/gate-opening behaviors from mothers during parenthood. A total of 1357 married couples were analyzed using data obtained at two-time points when the children were zero and three years old. The degree of communication during pregnancy was retrospectively rated by mothers when the child was age zero, and gatekeeping/gate-opening was retrospectively rated by fathers when the child was three. The results showed that the association between the degree of communication during pregnancy and gate-opening was significant for all combinations of employment status. In contrast, the association with gatekeeping was significant only for couples who were full-time employees. Also, the amount of variance explained by the degree of discussion during pregnancy was approximately 10%. This study suggest that it is important for couples to discuss childcare before childbirth, especially for those who plan to work full-time after childbirth.