Parental Gender and Adult Attachment Style in the Transition to Parenthood: Implications for Parent–Infant Interaction, Parenting Stress, and Parental Leave Practices

ABSTRACT Objective Aiming to broaden our understanding of parental gender differences within the framework of attachment theory, this study explores how parents' prenatal attachment styles relate to parenting stress, parent–infant interaction, and paternity leave, by investigating how attachment styles and gender interact to predict parenting outcomes. Background The attachment system is at the core of parental adjustments during the perinatal period, underscored by the interplay between attachment styles and caregiving behavior. Yet, gender differences in these associations remain poorly understood, despite variations in parenting roles. Methods Families ( N = 1036) participating in a prospective community‐based study in Norway reported adult attachment orientations during pregnancy. Postnatal data included self‐reported parenting stress, observed mother–infant/father–infant interactions, and paternal parental leave uptake. A path analysis was carried out, using multigroup comparisons to investigate parental gender differences. Results Prenatal adult attachment avoidance and anxiety predicted higher parenting stress (range: β = 0.12–0.38), and attachment avoidance predicted higher father–infant interactional difficulties postnatally ( β = 0.35). Fathers' attachment insecurities were related to lower uptake of paternity leave through indirect pathways with a small effect size. Associations between attachment avoidance and all parenting outcomes were consistently stronger for fathers than mothers. Conclusion Adult attachment styles among expectant parents are associated with a diverse range of parenting outcomes, with findings revealing gendered patterns in the links between adult attachment and caregiving systems during the perinatal period.