Marital Quality over the Transition to Parenthood as a Predictor of Coparenting

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Authors

CHRISTOPHER Caroline UMEMURA Tomotaka TANYA Mann JACOBVITZ Debolarh HAZEN Nancy

Year of publication 2015
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source Journal of Child and Family Studie
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Social Studies

Citation
Web http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10826-015-0172-0
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0172-0
Field Psychology
Keywords coparenting; marital satisfaction; marital conflict; transition to parenthood
Attached files
Description This study examined changes in first-time parents’ marital quality over the transition to parenthood as predictors of their triadic coparenting quality and mothers’ and fathers’ involvement in parenting and support of their spouse’s coparenting. Mothers and fathers (N = 96 couples) individually completed measures of marital conflict and satisfaction prenatally, at 8 months, and at 24 months. Triadic family interactions observed at 24 months were coded for cooperative and competitive coparenting, fathers’ involvement in parenting, mothers’ involvement in parenting, fathers’ support of mothers’ parenting, and mothers’ support of fathers’ parenting. Latent growth curve modeling demonstrated that declines in fathers’ marital satisfaction predicted higher competitive coparenting and lower father involvement in parenting, and increases in fathers’ marital conflict predicted lower cooperative coparenting. Increases in mothers’ marital conflict predicted mothers’ lower support of fathers’ parenting. Thus, declines in fathers’ marital quality may have more direct effects on triadic coparenting quality, whereas declines in mothers’ martial quality may indirectly affect coparenting through their support of their spouse’s parenting.
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