Åsa Gamgam Leanderz
School of Health Sciences
Åsa Gamgam Leanderz defends her PhD thesis “The Parenthood Journey – A time of vulnerability and change in a digital age”.
The PhD thesis defence will be held in Room G110 at the University of Skövde, and will also be streamed online.
Join the livestream: https://his-se.zoom.us/j/67630427135?pwd=VnynyC3DWylBDYavJSeWTbUw3bzfTH.1
Abstract
Becoming a parent describes as challenging, even perceived as a crisis, affecting well-being and evoking existential inquiries. Aim: The aim was to understand the meaning of becoming a parent and factors associated with parental-couple relation during the transition to parenthood. Methods: An illuminative and explorative design with Qualitative (Study I & II), Mixed- (Study III) and Quantitative- (Study IV) methods. Data was collected through open-ended interviews and questionnaire surveys. Study I and II involve expecting and new parents. Study III and IV include a cohort of first-time mothers and their partners. The data were analyzed using a phenomenological hermeneutic approach (Study I & II), qualitative content analysis, Kaplan-Meier estimates (Study III), and statistical regression models (Study III & IV).
Results: The meaning of becoming a mother was experienced as to be profoundly touched and changed. Through a sense of belonging and being present in the moment, mothers open up to the possibility of being profoundly emotionally affected. Mothers are balancing between being part of different contexts and managing on their own, are open to love, and want to be mothered themselves. Mothers experience a deepened bodily awareness and inherent vulnerability, and they develop their new selves. Further, becoming a father means feeling connected to their child, partner, and friends and creating strategies entailing flexibility, engagement, management, support and solitude in their new situation. The mothers and fathers use digital media for support. There were higher odds of relationship stability for those mothers and partners with a high sense of coherence, perceived social support, and perceived quality of dyadic relationships. Parents experience multidimensional vulnerability in the parental-couple relationship, and their well-being is negatively affected by the unpredictability of everyday life. The findings indicate that parental-couple separation was significantly associated with a low or changing sense of coherence, social support, and quality of parental-couple relationship. There was a lower risk of parental-couple separation for mothers attending professional preparatory support with the father and for fathers receiving professional support by attending large-group parental classes for expectant parents.
Conclusions: Becoming a parent means being profoundly emotionally touched and there is a vulnerability and change during the transition to parenthood. Being a parent means focusing on the child and encounter new, intense, elevated feelings that touch them deep inside, which can change them. Essential when becoming a parent is to actively act and create strategies for daily life by being flexible and searching for belonging and support from close family and significant others, and to use digital media for support. The vulnerability in parents transition to parenthood seems related to existential health.
Supervisors
- Margaretha Larsson, Senior Lecturer, University of Skövde
- Caroline Bäckström, Associate Professor, University of Borås
- Maria Henricson, Docent, University of Borås
- Frida Lygnegård, Senior Lecturer, Jönköping University
Opponent
- Ingela Rådestad, Professor, Sophiahemmet University
Committee
- Eva Elvin, Docent, Karolinska Institutet
- Marie Oscarsson, Professor, Linnaeus University
- Lars Kristensen, Senior Lecturer, University of Skövde