Thinking Ahead: Complexity of Expectations and the Transition to Parenthood S. Mark Pancer Michael Pratt Bruce Hunsberger Margo Gallant Wilfrid Laurier University ABSTRACT This study examined the integrative complexity of thinking in individuals making the transition to parenthood, and the relationship between complexity and adjustment during this period. Sixty-nine couples were inter- viewed 3 months before their babies were born, and 6 months after the birth. The prenatal interview focussed on individuals’ expectations about what it would be like being a parent; the postnatal interview focussed on individuals’ actual experiences as parents. In addition, participants completed measures of depression, self-esteem, and marital satisfaction after each interview, and a Journal of Personality 68:2, April 2000. Copyright © 2000 by Blackwell Publishers, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA, and 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF, UK. This research was supported by a grant from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada to authors Hunsberger, Pratt, and Pancer. Questions, comments, and requests for reprints should be sent to S. Mark Pancer, Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5, or by e-mail to MPANCER@WLU.CA. The authors would like to thank Tracey Idle, Fiona Currie, and Kim Ewing for serving as interviewers, Susan Alisat for her work transcribing the interviews, Rebecca Filyer for managing the study database, and all the parents who participated in the research. We would also like to express our appreciation to Phil and Carolyn Cowan, for their help and advice throughout the project, and to Avril Thorne and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions concerning the manuscript.