Coparental Communication with Nonresidential Parents as a Predictor of Couples' Relational Satisfaction and Mental Health in Stepfamilies

Schrodt, Paul

doi:10.1080/10570314.2010.512282

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Co-parental communication, in turn, refers not to the individual attempts of a parent to guide and direct the behaviors and activities of his or her child, but to the interaction patterns that emerge as one co-parent supports and/or undermines the parenting attempts of his or her partner. Family scholars have argued that co-parental communication should be conceptualized and studied as distinct from other interparental interactions because of the unique effects that co-parenting may have on family member outcomes (Adamsons & Pasley, 2006; Schrodt, 2010, 2011; Schrodt & Braithwaite, 2011). In intact families, for example, co-parenting is more predictive of parents’ and children’s adjustment than is general marital quality, and it accounts for variance in parenting and child outcomes after controlling individual parent characteristics (Feinberg, Kan, & Hetherington, 2007; Schoppe-Sullivan, Mangelsdorf, Frosch, & McHale, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling caught as a mediator of co-parental communication and young adult children’s mental health and relational satisfaction with parents

Schrodt

Shimkowski

2013

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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This study tested young adults’ feelings of being caught between their parents as mediators of co-parental communication (i.e., supportive and antagonistic communication) and young adults’ mental health and relational satisfaction with parents. Participants included 493 young adult children from intact and divorced families. For participants from intact families, feeling caught mediated indirect effects for both supportive and antagonistic co-parental communication on satisfaction with mothers and mental health symptoms, though direct effects for supportive co-parental communication on all three outcomes remained. For participants from divorced families, however, feeling caught emerged as a mediator only of antagonistic co-parental communication and mental health symptoms. Collectively, the results suggest that feeling caught may function as a mechanism linking co-parental communication to children’s adjustment.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling caught as a mediator of co-parental communication and young adult children’s mental health and relational satisfaction with parents

Schrodt

Shimkowski

2013

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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“…Indeed, for a comprehensive assessment of context in the development of a child in a stepfamily, we should have assessed coparenting between parent and stepparent and between parent and parent, and we should have tested their respective influence and interaction. Studies have indeed shown that the coordination between coparenting units is related to the quality of life in both of the child's families and, by extension, has an impact on the development of the child (Schrodt, 2010;Schrodt, Baxter, McBride, Braithwaite, & Fine, 2006). Third, we did not have longitudinal data to assess possible causal relationships between coparenting and child adjustment, so that our results present the limitations inherent in a cross-sectional study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Studies have indeed shown that the coordination between coparenting units is related to the quality of life in both of the child's families and, by extension, has an impact on the development of the child (Schrodt, 2010;Schrodt, Baxter, McBride, Braithwaite, & Fine, 2006). First, covert coparenting and the assessment of child adjustment were obtained from the mother only.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mother‐Stepfather Coparenting in Stepfamilies as Predictor of Child Adjustment

2018

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Coparenting between biological parents is a strong predictor of child adjustment. To date, however, little is known about the coparenting dynamics between parent and stepparent in stepfamilies. This study aimed at exploring the links between coparenting in the mother-stepfather dyad and child behavior in stepfamilies compared with the links between mother-father coparenting and child behavior in first-marriage families. Two modes of coparenting were assessed: overt coparenting, that is, coparental behaviors in the presence of the child, and covert coparenting, that is, the way each parent speaks of the other parent to the child. The sample (N = 80) comprised 48 stepfamilies and 32 first-marriage families with a child between 7 and 13 years old. Overt coparenting was assessed through direct observation in the standardized situation of the PicNic Game. Covert coparenting and child behavior were assessed through mother-reported questionnaires. Results showed (a) more covert coparenting behaviors in first-marriage families, (b) no differences in overt coparenting, (c) more child difficulties reported in stepfamilies, (d) less optimal overt coparenting being linked with more difficulties in children in both family structures, and (e) an interaction effect between family structure and coparenting, showing that overt coparenting is linked with child behavior mainly in stepfamilies.

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“…The data reported here were collected as part of a larger program of research investigating interpersonal communication behaviors and family functioning in stepfamilies (Schrodt, 2010; Schrodt & Braithwaite, in press). In this study, the data included survey responses from residential stepparent and nonresidential parent dyads, who reported on their coparental communication with each other, their coparental communication with the residential parent, and their relational satisfaction with each other.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stepparents' and nonresidential parents' relational satisfaction as a function of coparental communication in stepfamilies

Schrodt

2011

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Using interdependence theory, this study tested a series of actor–partner interdependence models of coparental communication and relational satisfaction among stepparents and nonresidential parents in stepfamilies. Participants included 40 residential stepparent/nonresidential parent dyads ( N = 80). Results revealed significant actor and partner effects for stepparents' and nonresidential parents' reports of supportive and antagonistic coparental communication and relational satisfaction. A second set of models examined stepparents' and nonresidential parents' coparental communication with the residential parent and revealed that nonresidential parents' supportive and antagonistic coparental communication predicted their own satisfaction with the stepparent, as well as the stepparent’s satisfaction with them (i.e., a partner effect). Importantly, the findings demonstrate the interdependence of coparenting relationships in stepfamilies, as nonresidential parents' coparental communication with their ex-spouses predicted meaningful variance in stepparents' satisfaction with the nonresidential parent.

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Coparental Communication with Nonresidential Parents as a Predictor of Couples' Relational Satisfaction and Mental Health in Stepfamilies

Cited by 18 publications

References 51 publications

Feeling caught as a mediator of co-parental communication and young adult children’s mental health and relational satisfaction with parents

Feeling caught as a mediator of co-parental communication and young adult children’s mental health and relational satisfaction with parents

Mother‐Stepfather Coparenting in Stepfamilies as Predictor of Child Adjustment

Stepparents' and nonresidential parents' relational satisfaction as a function of coparental communication in stepfamilies

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