Perceived partner responsiveness across the transition to parenthood: The role of attachment insecurity

During challenging periods like the transition to parenthood, support from one’s partner becomes of vital importance for maintaining a healthy relationship. Responsiveness describes that relationship partners attend to and react in a supportive manner to one’s disclosed concerns and feelings in times of need. Perceived partner responsiveness occurs when one partner acts in a way that the other partner perceives as responsive to his or her needs, conveying understanding, validation, and care. However, such perceptions are highly subjective and shaped by attachment orientations of the perceiver, especially during challenging times. Besides, when partner behavior is perceived as responsive, this can also be beneficial for the relationship and promote a sense of security. The current study examined whether attachment insecurities predicted changes of perceived partner responsiveness across the transition to parenthood, and whether perceived partner responsiveness predicted changes in attachment orientations across time. We investigated changes in perceived responsiveness in 120 mixed-gender couples across the transition to parenthood over four different time points (during pregnancy, 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months after the birth of their first child). The results suggest that although perceived responsiveness increased during the transition to parenthood, the increase was significantly less strong in individuals who scored higher in attachment insecurities. Additionally, examination of changes in attachment orientations shows significantly less increases of attachment insecurities when individuals perceived their partner’s responsiveness across the transition to parenthood.