| Abstract: |
| The transition to parenthood is a major life event that can profoundly reshape couple emotional dynamics. Starting from a mathematical model of love dynamics in a couple, this work introduces two additional parameters representing caregiving load and the allocation of childcare responsibilities between partners. The extended system is used to investigate how the birth of a child modifies couple regimes and average emotional involvement between the partners.
The analysis is carried out for different attachment configurations. For secure-secure couples, increasing caregiving load lowers equilibrium involvement, while the distribution of responsibilities produces trade-offs between equity, total involvement, and robustness. For insecure-secure couples, results are similar but increasing caregiving load may increase the equilibrium involvement of the insecure partner. Moreover, when one partner`s reactions are self-biased by their own involvement, caregiving load can either induce or suppress oscillatory regimes.
Finally, when caregiving load is periodic, the interaction between endogenous and exogenous oscillations may generate quasi-periodic or chaotic regimes.
Overall, the results show that parenthood acts as a perturbation of love dynamics, shaping relational outcomes according to attachment style, caregiving load, and the distribution of parental responsibilities. |
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