The Impact of Parental Relationship Satisfaction on Infant Development: Results From the Population-Based Cohort Study DREAM

Abstract

Extensive literature has shown that interparental conflicts and violence have detrimental effects on children's adjustment in childhood and adolescence. It is not equally well-understood how parental relationship satisfaction impacts infant communicational and personal-social development during the first year of life. This longitudinal study examines (a) the impact of maternal and paternal relationship satisfaction on infant development, (b) whether this prospective association is mediated by parent-infant relationship, and (c) a potential moderating effect of infant gender. Data were derived from the population-based cohort study “Dresden Study on Parenting, Work, and Mental Health” (DREAM) including 1,012 mothers and 676 fathers. Relationship satisfaction and parent-infant relationship were assessed eight weeks postpartum, infant communicational and personal-social development were measured 14 months postpartum. Multiple linear regression, mediation, and moderation analyses were conducted for mothers and fathers separately. It was shown that paternal relationship satisfaction is a significant predictor of infant personal-social development. This prospective association was partially mediated by father-infant relationship. When postnatal depression was included in the analysis, however, father-infant relationship was not a significant mediator. The association in fathers is neither reduced nor increased as a function of infant gender. No similar effects were found in the mothers' sample. Parental relationship satisfaction did not significantly predict infant communicational development in either mothers or fathers. The study findings highlight the importance of paternal relationship satisfaction, father-infant relationship, and postnatal depression for infant personal-social development.