The purpose of this-study.wat to determine the . reltitfonship between expectations of first-time parenthood and else . of transition into the roe of parent. Respondents voluntarily . odmplete0 questionnaires wring hospital pre-natal classeg or natural childbirth/classes; post-natal guestionnaireswere mailed torespondents six weeksafter the birth of their child. Both the pre-natAl expectations and'the post-natal ease of transition were 'measured by a 34-item checklist which tapped bosth

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... and negative asgbcts of parenthood. A hierarchial, step-wise regression. . prodedure was employed in order to examine separately the effects of expectations and controlvariablesd P14-natal -expectations, age and education exhibited siguificant-relationships with. ease of transition, while,educatiOn was negatively related. Expectations of an experience atpear tO,be a strong determinant of the perception of that experience. It was 'suggested that this. might be due to_the self-fulfilling prophecy or tts an attitudinal component of ) anticipatory socialization. (Author)