This dissertation examines how changing neighborhoods and the rise of urban school choice policies shape the experiences of parents raising young children. Drawing on 102 interviews with parents of elementary-aged children across New York City, descriptive network and geographic data from parent surveys, and four years of ethnographic observations of school district meetings, I answer four interrelated questions. First, how do parents integrate their sense of self into their school decision-making rationales? Second, how do ideologies around intensive mothering shape the particular experiences of mothers as they navigate school decision-making? Third, how do parents construct school decision-making networks that they draw on for advice and what are the spatial and geographic features of these networks? Lastly how do parents develop assessments of economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods and how do these evaluations guide their parenting strategies and childrearing logics? Through this research, I make four theoretical contributions. I examine parent decision-making standpoints and demonstrate how parents construct their identities through school decision-making. My findings suggest that socioeconomic differences shape how parents construct their identity as they make school decisions. Working-class parents primarily draw on their past school experiences while middle-class parents integrate their stance for equity into their school decisions. I find that parents across socioeconomic background center their parenting ideals on cultivating their child’s creativity and individuality and seek schools that will nurture their child’s identity. Second, I conceptualize the particular emotional labor mothers expend as they make school decisions. I find that mothers extend emotional labor in their search for schools for their children. Working-class mothers extend emotional labor at the beginning of the application process as they attempt to navigate application procedures. Middle-class mothers extend emotional labor in later stages as they attempt to implement a strategy for enrollment. Important racial and ethnic differences also shape how mothers take on these additional burdens of care work. I find that white mothers extend emotional labor by persistently contacting school administrators to seek enrollment while mothers of color across socioeconomic background extend emotional labor in their search for schools that will reaffirm and support their children’s marginalized identities. Third my dissertation contributes to our understanding of network effects in spatial context. I put forth a theory of cumulative network effects by evaluating the spatial attributes of parents’ advice networks. I find that parents draw on advice from family members, other parents, and organizations as they make school decisions. I find that both working-class and middle-class parents are more likely to enroll their children in non-zoned schools and schools that are greater distances away when they accumulate a large and spatially dispersed network. Lastly, I link together theories on neighborhood perceptions and childrearing by demonstrating how parents’ neighborhood assessments guide their parenting strategies in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. I find that parents’ varying views of economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in turn shapes their child rearing strategies. Parents who view the neighborhood more positively, cultivate relationships with neighbors and encourage their children to do the same, while parents who view the neighborhood less favorably create distance between their family and the neighborhood. Overall, my findings demonstrate that parenting approaches have shifted as neighborhoods have undergone changes and as educational policies in urban areas have emphasized greater school choice options. I demonstrate how parenting is shaped by decision-making standpoints, longstanding ideologies about motherhood, cumulative network effects in spatial context, and parents’ neighborhood assessments.

Denna studie syftar till att analysera hur fäders syn på faderskap i relation till hegemonisk maskulinitet och jämställdhet kan påverka föräldraskapet. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten som användes var Connells teori om hegemonisk maskulinitet samt kritiken riktad mot den. Urvalet består av sex fäder där somliga var föräldralediga, några studerade och resterande arbetade. Deras yrkesbakgrunder varierade mellan socialt arbete, data och IT, skolväsendet och hantverkarbranschen. Det empiriska materialet samlades in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer och analyserades med tematisk analys. Resultaten har visat att traditionell och ny maskulinitetsideologi verkar tävla om inflytande vad gäller hegemonisk status, men även att fäder i jämställdhetens namn både kan upprätthålla och göra avkall på en överordnad position i föräldraskapet. Utifrån resultaten har studien konstaterat att fäders tankesätt kring arbetsfördelning, ansvar och avlastning till viss del leder till att modern blir familjens projektledare och att fadern konstrueras till en andrahandsförälder, likväl som fädernas medvetenhet och engagemang för jämställdhet i föräldraskapet kan motverka denna problematik. Avslutningsvis har studien sammanlänkat fäders resonemang om jämställdhet och maskulinitet i relation till delaktighet och ansvar i faderskapet, vilket synliggjort hur det potentiellt finns samband mellan strukturella och relationella problem på individ- och familjenivå. / This study aims to analyze how fathers' views on fatherhood in relation to hegemonic masculinity and egalitarianism can affect parenthood. The theoretical framework was Connell's theory of hegemonic masculinity and the critique against it. The sample were six fathers whom either worked, studied or were on parental leave. Their professional backgrounds varied between social work, data and IT, school, and craftsmanship. The empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with thematic analysis. The results have shown that traditional and new masculinity ideology seem to compete for influence in terms of hegemonic status, but also that fathers use egalitarianism both to maintain and relinquish a superior position in parenthood. Based on the results, the study has found that father's mind-set about division of labor, responsibility and relief to some extent leads to the mother becoming the family's project manager and that the father is constructed as a second parent, but also that fathers' awareness and commitment to equality in parenthood can counteract this problem. In conclusion, the study linked fathers' reasoning about equality and masculinity in relation to participation and responsibility in paternity, which later showed how it potentially can cause relational problems at the individual and family level.

TITLE: Motherhood of Under Age Girls AUTHOR: Pavla Skasková DEPARTMENT: Department of Psychology SUPERVISOR: PhDr. PaedDr. Anna Kucharská, Ph.D. The dissertation is focused on phenomenon of motherhood in adolescence. In the Czech Republic nearly one thousand children are given birth every year by mothers who according to current law are not full-aged. A very similar number of teenage girls decide for abortion. The study searches for answers to broad varieties of particular research questions. Qualitatively directed research outcomes reflect motives involved in young women's final decisions to become an under-age mother, the determinants of the decision making process in the context of sexual reproductive health. They watch as the participants prepare for the role of mother, what helped them solve the situation and what is it difficult to evaluate their experience and maternity and parental competence. The work focuses on the reflected experience of the new role in the self, and the identity of teenage mothers. A semi-structured interview was chosen as the fundamental method to gather the data; however, additional essays of all respondents are available as well. There is analyzed the data of 28 participants, under-age mothers, who are allocated with their children in an institutional care or in...

Diplomová práce Kristýna Mixová Abstract The topic of this diploma thesis is the image of cohabitation, marriage and parenthood in lifestyle magazines. Theoretical sources of the text are ideas of Zygmunt Bauman - love as a consumer product or love forever, and the ideas of Gilles Lipovetsky about postmoral society without duty. Methodology for this diploma thesis was the qualitative content analysis of 12 issues of the most read czech men's lifestyle magazine Maxim and 12 issues of the most read czech women's lifestyle magazine Joy. Both published in 2012. In both lifestyle magazines love is presented as a consumer product, but in women's magazines exists an image of love forever as well. Duty is shown in negative view. Instead of duty, taking care about others is presented. Wedding is decribed like a normal event expected in a human life. Parenthood in men's lifestyle magazines is connected with self-denial, in women's lifestyle magazines as a self-fulfilment connected with self- denial. The last part of the diploma thesis updates the finding of Paulína Tabery from 2007.

Diplomová práce Bc. Kristýna Mixová Abstract The topic of this diploma thesis is the image of cohabitation, marriage and parenthood in lifestyle magazines. Theoretical sources of the text are ideas of Zygmunt Bauman - love as a consumer product or love forever, and the ideas of Gilles Lipovetsky about postmoral society without duty. Methodology for this diploma thesis was the qualitative content analysis of 12 issues of the most read czech men's lifestyle magazine Maxim and 12 issues of the most read czech women's lifestyle magazine Joy. Both published in 2012. In both lifestyle magazines love is presented as a consumer product, but in women's magazines exists an image of love forever as well. Duty is shown in negative view. Instead of duty, taking care about others is presented. Wedding is decribed like a normal event expected in a human life. Parenthood in men's lifestyle magazines is connected with self-denial, in women's lifestyle magazines as a self-fulfilment connected with self- denial.

Even though Sweden is perceived to be on the gender equality frontline parenthood is still, according to previous research, influenced by parent ideals which are based on traditional ideas about gender. This is visualized through the fact that women usually spend more time on childcare and household work than men, whereas men mainly provide for the family. Parenthood can therefore be understood as a part of the process of doing gender. We do gender through interaction with others and it is also through interaction that traditional ideas about gender can be maintained and reproduced. In today's society we interact through social media and digital platforms to a large extent, which implies that social science research should study this context more. Based on this argument, this study is designed as a qualitative thematic content analysis which examines how parenthood ideals are visualized through members’ interaction on Familjeliv.se. The aim is to study if traditional ideas about gender are maintained, reproduced and challenged through this interaction. The posts on Familjeliv.se were analyzed using West and Zimmerman’s concept doing gender and Connell’s gender theory. The results show that traditional ideas about gender are both maintained, reproduced and challenged through the discussions on the forum. The users mainly express more equal parent ideals but seem to have difficulty putting this into practice. The conclusion is that the users on Familjeliv.se are doing gender in both normative and different ways. / Trots att Sverige anses vara i framkant gällande jämställdhet präglas föräldraskap, enligt tidigare forskning, till stor del av föräldraideal som baserar sig på traditionella föreställningar om kön. Detta synliggörs genom att kvinnor ägnar mer tid än män åt barnomsorg och hushållsarbete medan män ägnar mer tid åt förvärvsarbete än kvinnor. Föräldraskapet kan således ses som en del i görandet av kön. Görandet av kön sker genom interaktion med andra och det är även på detta sätt som traditionella föreställningar om kön kan upprätthållas och reproduceras. I dagens samhälle interagerar vi människor i stor utsträckning på sociala medier och digitala plattformar, vilket innebär en ny typ av kontext som samhällsforskning bör studera. Baserat på detta resonemang utformades en kvalitativ tematisk innehållsanalys som undersöker hur användare på forumet Familjeliv.se interagerar kring föräldraideal. Syftet är att studera om och i så fall hur traditionella föreställningar om kön upprätthålls, reproduceras och utmanas genom denna interaktion. Diskussionsinläggen på forumet analyserades med utgångspunkt i West och Zimmermans teori om doing gender och Connells genusteori. Resultaten visar att traditionella föreställningar om kön både upprätthålls och reproduceras samt utmanas i diskussionerna på Familjeliv.se. Användarna framställer framför allt mer jämställda föräldraideal men verkar ha svårt att realisera detta i praktiken. Slutsatsen blev således att användarna gör kön på både normativa sätt och annorlunda sätt.

Bakgrund: Att genomgå förlossning och bli förälder för första gången är en av de största händelserna i livet och förlossningsupplevelsen påverkas av flera faktorer. Mer kunskap behövs om sambandet mellan föräldrars förlossningsupplevelser, uppfattat socialt stöd samt deras känsla av sammanhang ett år efter förlossning. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utforska samband mellan förstföderskors samt partners förlossningsupplevelser ett år efter förlossning och deras uppfattning om socialt stöd samt deras känsla av sammanhang. Metod: Kvantitativ longitudinell kohortstudie med 380 förstföderskor och 266 partners. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med upprepade enkätutskick mellan en vecka och ett år efter förlossning. Dataanalys genomfördes genom deskriptiv samt analyserande statistik med logistisk binär- och multipel regressionsanalys. Resultat: Den multipla regressionsanalysen påvisade att mer positiv förlossningsupplevelse ett år efter förlossning visade samband med: högre skattad betydelse av positiv förlossningsupplevelse, uppfattad normal förlossning, känsla av trygghet och kontroll under förlossning, vid olika mättillfällen i studien. Utöver ovan beskriva samband i den multipla regressionsanalysen visade det sig i den binära regressionsanalysen att uppfattat socialt stöd spelar en betydande roll för förstföderskors förlossningsupplevelse. Studien visar även att en högre skattad känsla av sammanhang hos förstföderskor samt partners står i samband med en mer positiv förlossningsupplevelse ett år efter förlossning. Konklusion: Betydelsen av en positiv förlossning, uppfattad normal förlossning samt känsla av trygghet och kontroll under förlossning påvisar samband med en mer positiv förlossningsupplevelse ett år efter förlossning. / Background: Childbirth and becoming a parent for the first time is one of the biggest events in life and the birth experience is affected by several factors. More knowledge is needed about the relationship between parent’s birth experiences, perceived social support and their sense of coherence one year after childbirth. Objective: The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between first-time-mothers and partners birth experiences one year after childbirth and their perception of social support and their sense of coherence Method: Quantitative longitudinal cohort study with 380 first-time-mothers and 266 partners. The data collection was carried out with repeated questionnaires between one week and one year after delivery. Data analysis was performed through descriptive and analytical statistics with logistic binary and multiple regression analysis. Results: The multiple regression analysis showed that more positively perceived childbirth experience one year after childbirth was significantly associated with: higher estimated importance of perceiving positive childbirth experience, perceived normal childbirth, feeling of security and control during childbirth, at various measurement occasions in the study. In addition to the above described, it was found in the binary regression analysis that perceived social support plays a significant role in the childbirth experience of first-time-mothers. The study also shows that a higher valued sense of coherence within first-time-mothers and partners is associated with a more positive birth experience one year after childbirth. Conclusion: The importance of a positive birth, perceived normal birth and a feeling of security and control during childbirth demonstrates a connection with a more positive birth experience one year after childbirth.

Ce travail de thèse propose d'explorer les processus psychiques à l’œuvre au sein du couple au moment de la transition à la parentalité. Pour le couple, le devenir parent représente un bouleversement de la dynamique relationnelle dans laquelle vont devoir s'inscrire les places de conjoints, d'amants et de parents. Un réaménagement du lien conjugal est donc nécessaire, impliquant d'une part, une crise intrapsychique qui s'accompagne de la réactivation de l'histoire et de la sexualité infantile individuelle chez les devenants parents, et, d'autre part, une crise intersubjective qui concerne les liens familiaux et conjugaux. Cette ré-articulation relationnelle entre les futurs parents s'accompagne de la réminiscence de mouvements archaïques et œdipiens mais également d'un conflit générationnel chez chacun des partenaires. De plus, la crise conjugale dans la période périnatale se nourrit des conflits intimes rejoués au niveau parental et de la réactivation des éléments conscients et inconscients mis en commun au moment de la fondation du couple. La crise conjugale du devenir parent réinterroge donc l'origine du couple, les modalités du choix du conjoint et ses aménagements défensifs. Dans ce contexte, nous nous posons la question suivante : Comment ces réaménagements psychiques du lien conjugal contribuent-ils à la construction du devenir parent et à l'investissement de l'enfant ? Notre étude porte sur la nature des transformations des liens conjugaux pendant la période du devenir parent chez chacun des partenaires. Plus précisément, nous avons cherché à mettre à l'épreuve de la clinique de recherche les hypothèses générales suivantes : HG1: Le réaménagement du lien conjugal influence la dynamique du devenir parent : Sur le plan des représentations parentales prénatales et postnatales de chacun des conjoints. Sur le plan de la construction de l'alliance coparentale au fil de la grossesse et à la naissance de l'enfant. HG2 : Le réaménagement du lien conjugal s'accompagne d'une réactualisation du « maillage » générationnel. Méthodologie : Cette recherche qualitative se réfère à une méthodologie hypothético-déductive et s'inscrit dans un référentiel psychanalytique. Elle a obtenu l'avis favorable du Comité d'éthique de la recherche en santé de l'Université Paris Descartes le 23 juin 2015. Les participants ont signé un formulaire de consentement éclairé. La population est constituée de huit couples hétérosexuels primipares. Des entretiens semi-structurés conjugaux et individuels ont été menés auprès de ces couples aux quatrième et septième mois de grossesse puis aux trois mois de l'enfant. Les couples ont également rempli L’Échelle d'Ajustement Dyadique (Spanier, 1976 ; Baillargeon, 1986) aux trois étapes de la recherche. Enfin, une observation filmée d'une séquence de jeu libre a eu lieu aux trois mois de l'enfant afin d'analyser l'alliance triadique. Résultats préliminaires : Les premiers résultats mettent en avant, durant la période de grossesse et à la naissance de l'enfant, deux tendances chez les couples. D'une part, nous relevons une possibilité de réaménagement du lien conjugal à travers notamment la réorganisation des collusions conjugales et la présence de représentations parentales et d'une alliance triadique de bonne qualité. D'autre part, nous pouvons mettre également en avant un réaménagement du lien conjugal plus rigide qui fait apparaître ou accentue le décalage entre les deux partenaires et qui s'accompagne de représentations parentales et d'une alliance triadique de moins bonne qualité. En somme, le réaménagement du lien conjugal par les devenants parents est, à ce moment de l'analyse de nos résultats, prédicateur de la qualité de l'investissement de la parentalité. / This thesis aims to explore the psychological processes at work within the couple at the time of the transition to parenthood. For the couple, access to parenthood is a disruption of the relational dynamics and the partners have to develop new status as spouse, lover and parent. A reorganization of the conjugal link is necessary, involving on one hand, an intrapsychic crisis which comes along with the reactivation of the story and individual infantile sexuality of future parents, and, on the other hand, an intersubjective crisis which concerns family and conjugal links. This relational reorganization between the parents-to-be comes along with the recollection of archaic and oedipal movements but also with a generational conflict for each of the partners. Furthermore, the marital crisis for the perinatal period feeds on intimate conflicts replayed at the parental level and on the reactivation of conscious and unconscious elements shared at the time of the couples foundation. The marital crisis of future parents re-questions the origin of the couple, the reasons of the choice of the spouse and its defensive arrangements. In this context, we ask ourselves the following question: How do these psychic reorganizations of the conjugal bond contribute to parenthood construction and to the investment of the child? Our study concerns the nature of transformations of the conjugal bond during the period of the parenthood to each of the partners.

Cette thèse en cotutelle vise à analyser le processus d'institutionnalisation des accouchements par césarienne au Brésil et en France selon une démarche socio-clinique institutionnelle. Le cadre théorique et méthodologique, dans son caractère dialectique entre institué et instituant, permet d’approcher le processus d'institutionnalisation. Par conséquent, la naissance est comprise comme un analyseur des institutions de « santé maternelle et infantile » et d’« éducation en santé ». La présente recherche est issue d'une étude plus vaste sur la naissance au Canada, en France et au Brésil. Les données sur lesquelles s’appuient cette thèse ont été produites entre 2016 et 2019, au Brésil et en France. Ceci lors de groupes de discussion de parents et de professionnels, d'entretiens individuels avec des professionnels de la santé maternelle et infantile et des participants à un Comité de surveillance des décès maternels et infantiles), ainsi qu’avec des mères et des pères ayant vécu l'accouchement. Un journal de recherche a également été tenu tout au long de la recherche. Les groupes de discussion étaient composés de professionnels des services traditionnels et alternatifs, de parents issus de milieux sociaux différents. Chaque groupe s’est réuni trois fois, ceci pour un total de 12 réunions qui ont été transcrites. Les aspects éthiques de la recherche avec des êtres humains ont été respectés. Une analyse croisée a été effectuée entre les différents types de données, entre les services, entre les groupes et entre les pays, ceci de façon continue, à partir des matériaux produits. Trois axes d’analyse ont été retenus : 1) Naissance par césarienne: un analyseur - de la condition féminine face à la médicalisation, 2) des pratiques professionnelles et des discours, et 3) de l'institutionnalisation de la naissance. Les transcriptions ont fait l’objet d’une analyse thématique. Des synthèses transversales des entrevues ont été réalisées pour chacun des groupes interviewés. L'analyse a également été produite lors de restitutions aux participants. De façon générales, la démarche d’analyse des matériaux était basée sur l'approche d'analyse thématique des auteurs Mucchielli et Paillé. Le Brésil et la France suivent des processus distincts concernant l’institutionnalisation de la césarienne. Le Brésil est le champion des accouchements chirurgicaux sans indication. La France, en revanche, présente une autre réalité, où les naissances sont essentiellement vaginales. Chacun des pays étudiés a sa propre structure sanitaire et éducative mais les deux sont imprégnés par une construction socio-historique et économique marquée par le patriarcat et la soumission féminine. La Nouvelle Gestion Publique influe sur les deux contextes nationaux, précarisant l’offre sanitaire dans un discours ou prédomine les impératifs économiques. En termes d'éducation et de santé, dans tous les pays, la grossesse est essentiellement comprise comme un processus physiologique et donne lieu à de nombreuses interventions sur le corps féminin. Les dimensions techniques et organisationnelles prédominent en soulignant la division intellectuelle et sociale du travail et des connaissances en santé. Les pratiques et les discours des professionnels (dans le processus de travail) influencent le choix (ou non) de pratiquer la césarienne. La progression ou la régression de ce phénomène est liée au degré de mise en œuvre des actions médicales dans les actions de santé. Au moment de la réalisation de cette recherche doctorale, au Brésil, il y a une lutte entre l'institutionnalisation de l'accouchement par césarienne et sa désinstitutionnalisation. En France, en ce qui concerne les césariennes, une discussion sur la «césarienne active» apparait. Celle-ci exprime-t-elle le mouvement d'institutionnalisation de l'accouchement par césarienne dans ce pays ?Mots-clés: césarienne ; accouchement ; éducation à la santé; santé ; éducation, analyse institutionnelle / This is a double titled thesis that aims to analyze the process of institutionalization of cesarean deliveries in Brazil and France from the perspective of institutional social-clinical. The theoretical-methodological framework, in its dialectical character between institute and instituinte, unfolds in the process of institutionalization. Therefore, birth is understood as an analyzer of "maternal and child health" and "health education" institutions. The present research comes from a larger study on births in Canada, France and Brazil. In this thesis, data were produced between 2016 and 2019, in Brazil and France, through focus groups, individual interviews with maternal and child health professionals (and the Brazilian Maternal and Child Death Surveillance Committee), with mothers and fathers who lived the experience of childbirth and the research journal. The focus groups were composed of professionals from traditional and alternative services, parents from different social backgrounds. There were 3 meetings making a total of 12 meetings. The ethical aspects regarding research with human beings were respected. A cross-analysis was carried out between the different types of data, between services, between groups and between countries, on a continuous basis, based on the materials produced. The polished thematic axes were: Birth by cesarean section: an analyzer of the female condition in face of medicalization, of professional practices and discourses, and of the institutionalization of birth. These were arranged in analytical frameworks and organized by group of interviewees and scenarios studied. Afterwards, horizontal summaries of the interviews were carried out, by groups interviewed. The analysis was also produced during the time of restitution to the participants and was based on the thematic analysis approach of the authors Mucchielli and Paillé. Brazil and France demarcate distinct processes. Brazil is the champion in surgical deliveries without indication. France, on the other hand, presents another reality, in which births are mostly vaginal. It was possible to learn that although each of the countries studied has its peculiar sanitary and educational structure, they are marked by a sociohistorical-economic construction outlined by the patriarchy and female subjugation. The marks of New Public Management are present in both contexts and reveal a precariousness of offers and actions supported by a discourse of economic fragility. In terms of education and health, in any of the countries, pregnancy is understood as a physiological process and developed with numerous interventions on the female body. There is an appreciation of the technical and organizational dimensions pointed out by an intellectual and social division of work and knowledge in health. The practices and discourses of professionals (in their work process) influence the occurrence (or not) of cesarean delivery. The progression or regression of this is related to the degree of implementation of medical actions in health actions. In this way, in Brazil there is a struggle between the institutionalization of cesarean delivery in comparison with its deinstitutionalization. In France, in relation to cesarean sections, there is a discussion on "active cesarean section". Would this be the movement of institutionalization of cesarean delivery in this country?Keywords: cesarean section; childbirth; health education; health; education

This study examined some of the factors that influence father involvement for first time parent s. These variables included: general or cultural attitudes of father involvement, personal expectations for father involvement, and level of satisfaction with the marriage. A secondary purpose was to examine factors that buffer the decline of marital satisfaction associated with the transition to parenthood. It was proposed that marital satisfaction was associated with having similar expectations for father involvement, having father involvement that met or exceeded personal expectations, and accurately perceiving spousal identity. A final purpose was to create a model of father invol vement, originally represented by the level of time, awareness, and support a father provides for his child. Ninety-six couples enrolled in two prenatal classes participated in this study. Both mothers and fathers were given nearly identical surveys for the prenatal (or the third trimester of pregnancy) and postnatal (when the target child was between 3 and 6 months old) phases of the study With a 29% attrition rate, the final sample consisted of68 couples. The results indicated that postnatal father involvement was predicted by the level of marital satisfaction and also by the personal expectations that both spouses have for father involvement. Results failed to support the hypotheses that father involvement would be significantly related to prenatal general attitudes of father involvement. However, there was some support that general (or cultural) attitudes change as a fun ction of personal experience for father s; the standard set for other fathers seems to be based from and conform to their own level of involvement. As expected, postnatal marital satisfaction for both spouses was strongly related to father involvement. Although postnatal marital satisfaction was slightly related to the similarity in spouses' expectations for father involvement, the exploratory analysis shows that spouses with high personal expectations for father involvement (during the prenatal phase) tend to experience high levels of postnatal marital satisfaction, regardless of similarity of expectations between spouses. There was a general trend for postnatal marital satisfaction to be high when father involvement met or exceeded personal expectations, and low when father involvement fell short of personal expectations. The exception is when expectations were high; spouses with high expectations tend to report high levels of postnatal marital satisfaction regardless of whether father involvement met, surpassed, or fell short of those expectations. Contrary to expectations, accurately perceiving spousal identity was not related to marital satisfaction. Implications are given.