This study investigated the personality development of couples during pregnancy, using data collected prior to the birth of the couples' first children. Four types of questionnaires were conducted with one hundred and twenty six men and their expectant wives, who were abont five months pregnant. The questionnaires were designed to fiudont how marital quality, gender-role identity and the image of children were related to feelings of becoming a parent. The main findings included the following; Two psychological dimensions characterized the feelings about becoming a parent: feelings of self-growth and that of restriction. Men and women's feelings of self-growth were positively related to their femininity (gender-roles) and “cheerful” child image. Their feelings of restriction were positively related to a “feeble-looking” child image and negatively to marital quality. Moreover, men's feelings of self-growth were also dependent on their marital quality. On the other hand, that of women's were influenced by the gender-role identity of theirs pouse. These results were discussed in terms of gender-roles and marital relationship.
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