The interaction of child–father attachment and child–mother attachment in the prediction of observed coparenting.

Abstract

A number of studies have examined the role of coparenting relationships on the development of children's attachment to their mothers and fathers. However, previous research tends to interpret this link as unidirectional, thereby ignoring the possibility that, in reverse, child-parent attachment relationships could also predict the quality of the coparenting relationship. Furthermore, there is limited work examining how the child-father and the child-mother attachment relationships may interact to predict coparenting. In response to these limitations, the current study drew from an integrative family systems framework and observational measures to examine these possible relations in biparental heterosexual families. To assess child-parent attachment security, 144 preschool-aged children (83 girls; M ϭ 46.89 months, SD ϭ 8.77) completed independent separation-reunion procedures with their mother and father during counterbalanced laboratory visits. During a subsequent home visit, parents engaged in triadic play with their child, from which coparenting cooperation and competition were evaluated. Results showed that child-mother and child-father attachment security were not independent predictors of coparenting; rather, their interaction significantly predicted the quality of the coparenting relationship. In line with theoretical models calling for a family systems approach, study findings highlight the importance of considering the interactive effects of child-father and child-mother attachment relationships when examining family dynamics. Public Significance StatementThe current study suggests that the interaction between children's attachment security toward their father and mother is a more important predictor of the quality of the coparenting relationship than is either individual child-parent attachment relationship. On a broader level, these results show the need to consider the interplay between the child-father and the child-mother relationship when assessing family dynamics. At a more specific level, we also show that there is lower cooperation and higher competition when child-mother security is high but child-father security is low, whereas there is higher cooperation and lower competition when both child-parent attachment relationships present high levels of security. These results suggest that when mothers are successful in fostering a secure attachment relationship, whereas fathers are not, the coparenting relationship may suffer as a result of increased competition and decreased cooperation between parents. As such, assuming positive family dynamics based on the examination of one relationship in isolation might be short-sighted.

Fathers’ Sensitivity in Infancy and Externalizing Problems in Middle Childhood: The Role of Coparenting

“…Mothers may undermine their husbands’ input about parenting when they perceive their husbands as incompetent as caregivers, leading to more critical and competitive coparenting behavior. Our findings are also consistent with past studies that have found that attachment security, characterized by sensitive parenting, is related to coparenting quality ( Bureau et al, 2021 ).…”

“…These couples also displayed more enjoyment of their child. Further, the interaction of child–mother and child–father attachment security during the preschool years, which is known to be related to parenting sensitivity, significantly predicted the quality of the coparenting relationship ( Bureau et al, 2021 ). Perhaps when fathers are more sensitive, their spouses are more supportive and less likely to undermine the father-child relationship.…”

Fathering: New perspectives, paradigms, and possibilities.

“…A third noteworthy aspect of the collected papers is a broader focus on fathers from diverse racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., including Black (African American and Afro-Carribean) and Latino fathers (Cooper et al, 2021; Fagan, 2021; Lee et al, 2021; Mattis et al, 2021; McKee et al, 2021; Planalp et al, 2021), as well as across cultures, in this case China, Italy, and Canada (Bureau et al, 2021; Carone et al, 2021; Li, 2021). Further, we see representations of low-income fathers from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, which included both resident and nonresident fathers (Cooper et al, 2021; Fagan, 2021; Lee et al, 2021; McKee et al, 2021), as well as men of European descent from middle-class homes in both the U.S. and Canada (Bureau et al, 2021; Schoppe-Sullivan et al, 2021). The qualitative work of both Li (2021) on Chinese fathers and that of Mattis et al on urban Black fathers is particularly noteworthy here.…”

“…The call for papers for this special issue went out in June 2019 requesting papers be submitted that could address any number of topics to advance fatherhood scholarship in line with these core issues, and the resulting papers collected in this special issue have successfully accomplished this goal. Specifically, we asked authors to consider submitting papers that included understanding fathering beliefs and parenting behaviors among diverse groups of men from under-represented, minority families in the U.S., including immigrant fathers, as well as an understanding of fathering within and across cultures (see Bureau et al, 2021; Carone et al, 2021; Cooper et al, 2021; Fagan, 2021; Lee et al, 2021; Li, 2021; Mattis et al, 2021; McKee et al, 2021; Planalp et al, 2021). We also invited papers with a focus on constructions of masculinity and gender role ideologies as they determined fathering and father–child relationships (see Cooper et al, 2021; Fagan, 2021; Holmes et al, 2021; Li, 2021; Mattis et al, 2021; Schoppe-Sullivan et al, 2021), and a consideration of gender differences and comparisons across mothers and fathers in the roles, activities, interactions and relationships established with their children across different periods of the life span (see Bureau et al, 2021; Holmes et al, 2021; Lee et al, 2021; McKee et al, 2021; Temmen & Crockett, 2021), as well as examining different means of family formation for fathers from diverse groups such as gay and bisexual fathers, adoptive fathers, step fathers, and fathers raising children as a result of artificial reproductive technologies (Carone et al, 2021).…”

“…Specifically, we asked authors to consider submitting papers that included understanding fathering beliefs and parenting behaviors among diverse groups of men from under-represented, minority families in the U.S., including immigrant fathers, as well as an understanding of fathering within and across cultures (see Bureau et al, 2021; Carone et al, 2021; Cooper et al, 2021; Fagan, 2021; Lee et al, 2021; Li, 2021; Mattis et al, 2021; McKee et al, 2021; Planalp et al, 2021). We also invited papers with a focus on constructions of masculinity and gender role ideologies as they determined fathering and father–child relationships (see Cooper et al, 2021; Fagan, 2021; Holmes et al, 2021; Li, 2021; Mattis et al, 2021; Schoppe-Sullivan et al, 2021), and a consideration of gender differences and comparisons across mothers and fathers in the roles, activities, interactions and relationships established with their children across different periods of the life span (see Bureau et al, 2021; Holmes et al, 2021; Lee et al, 2021; McKee et al, 2021; Temmen & Crockett, 2021), as well as examining different means of family formation for fathers from diverse groups such as gay and bisexual fathers, adoptive fathers, step fathers, and fathers raising children as a result of artificial reproductive technologies (Carone et al, 2021). We also were aiming to consider papers focused on understanding the relations between fathering, men’s characteristics, and child and adolescent wellbeing (see Lee et al, 2021; Temmen & Crockett, 2021), and addressing different nonresident father populations (e.g., military deployment, incarceration) and how men created and maintained father–child relationships from a distance or across multiple family situations (Fagan, 2021).…”