A new study in the journal Personality and Individual Differences finds first time moms and dads have a tougher time adapting to their new roles if they believe society expects them to be perfect parents.
Researchers looked at 182 couples and found that mothers had less confidence in their parenting abilities and fathers felt more stress when they were more worried about what others thought of their parenting skills.
The parents were assessed three months after their child was born, so it's possible that the role of perfectionism may change over time.
