Maternal coping adaptations, social support, and transition difficulties to parenthood of first-time civilian and military mothers.

There is little research on whether the transient nature of the military family contributes to transition difficulty to parenthood or to the type of social supports utilized. Data were collected by mailed survey from a convenience sample of military and civilian mothers at 3 months after delivery. No significant differences were found in transition difficulty, maternal coping adaptations, or social support. Military mothers showed a trend toward utilizing more internal coping resources than did the civilian population. Military nurses may utilize the studies using civilian populations when considering nursing interventions to assist their military clients with transition difficulty to parenthood.