Parental psychopathology, marital quality, and the transition to parenthood.

This study of 80 expectant first-time parents investigated the associations among marital quality, parental psychiatric disorders, and parents' capacity to form triadic relationships (Triadic Capacity). The results suggest that marital quality as well as maternal and paternal psychopathology affect child and family development as early as pregnancy, when parents prepare themselves to integrate the future child into their relational world.