The correlational and cross-sectional nature of this study does not allow for

definitive conclusions to be drawn from the association found between husbands'

violated expectations and their individual well-being. Longitudinal research could

determine if men with higher levels of individual well-being prior to the birth of their

child are more likely to be involved in child-related tasks than fathers with lower levels

of individual well-being. An intervention study could also test whether increasing fathers'

involvement in child-related tasks would lead to higher levels of individual well-being

compared to a control group.

 Thus far, most investigations of violated expectations among couples transitioning

to parenthood (including the present study) have asked partners to rate their expectations

concerning which parent will complete more of the household or child-related tasks, or

have asked participants to indicate the proportion of family work they expect contributed

from their partners and themselves. Despite the tendency for couples to expect fairly

egalitarian divisions of labor, violated expectations are common among new parents, with

women contributing more than expected when compared to their male partners. One

possible explanation for this outcome is that partners may underestimate the total amount

of work required in caring for an infant; one study of parents' complexity of thought

about the impact of having a baby found significantly less complex thoughts and

expectations among parents prior to the birth of their child compared to their complexity

of thought after the child's birth (Pancer & Pratt, 2000). Men's overall amount of

involvement may be similar to what both partners expected, while the total amount of

work that is needed but was unexpected by both partners may fall disproportionately on

women. Research differentiating between partners' expectations for their overall amount