The Internal Structure and Ecological Context of Coparenting: A Framework for Research and Intervention

Feinberg, Mark E.

doi:10.1207/s15327922par0302_01

Cited by 929 publications

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References 204 publications

(171 reference statements)

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“…Our conceptual model (Feinberg, 2003) also led us to expect that enhanced coparental support and, subsequently, enhanced parental adjustment would facilitate more positive parent-child interaction. Coparental support regarding one's competence as a parent (Tice, 1992) was hypothesized to affect parenting and the parent-child relationship through parental self-efficacy (or confidence), which has been proposed as the final common pathway to addressing disruptions in caregiver sensitivity (Teti, O'Connell, & Reiner, 1996).…”

Section: Coparenting and Parent And Child Outcomes During The Transitmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Although there is limited research on risk factors for maternal anxiety, there is evidence that lack of social support is linked to maternal anxiety as well (Glazier, Elgar, Goel, & Holzapfel, 2004). Thus, we hypothesized that the FF program would reduce parental depression and anxiety.Our conceptual model (Feinberg, 2003) also led us to expect that enhanced coparental support and, subsequently, enhanced parental adjustment would facilitate more positive parent-child interaction. Coparental support regarding one's competence as a parent (Tice, 1992) was hypothesized to affect parenting and the parent-child relationship through parental self-efficacy (or confidence), which has been proposed as the final common pathway to addressing disruptions in caregiver sensitivity (Teti, O'Connell, & Reiner, 1996).…”

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confidence: 92%

“…This view is also supported by evidence of coparenting as a mediator of the relationship between the couple relationship and parenting, both cross sectionally and longitudinally (e.g., Gonzales, Pitts, Hill, & Roosa, 2000). When developing prevention programs, it is obviously more effective to target the risk mechanism rather than a factor that may be a marker of risk but is not a causal influence on outcomes.There are several important dimensions of coparenting, including division of labor and joint management of family dynamics (Feinberg, 2003). We have focused on the dimensions of coparental support and undermining, because research has indicated that these dynamics are linked to parenting and child outcomes (Abidin & Brunner, 1995;Belsky, Putnam, & Crnic, 1996;Feinberg, Neiderhiser, Reiss, & Hetherington, 2005;Floyd & Zmich, 1991).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…These changes undermine the adjustment and well-being of new parents, with subsequent effects on parenting quality and child adjustment. Derived from our theoretical model of coparenting (Feinberg, 2003) during the transition period (Feinberg, 2002), one goal of FF is to buffer parental adjustment from these strains by enhancing positive support and coordination in the coparenting relationship.As an indicator of parental adjustment, postpartum depression is relevant for all parents but particularly for mothers (Walther, 1997) and has negative repercussions for parent-child interaction and child development (Field, 2000). Evidence suggests that coparental support -or, as measured in some prior work, general emotional support from the father-is linked to lower maternal depression (Crnic & Greenberg, 1987;O'Hara & Swain, 1996).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Establishing family foundations: Intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations.

Feinberg¹,

Kan²

2008

Journal of Family Psychology

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362

372

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This study investigated the ability of a theoretically driven, psychosocial prevention program implemented through childbirth education programs to enhance the coparental relationship, parental mental health, the parent-child relationship, and infant emotional and physiological regulation. A sample of 169 heterosexual, adult couples who were expecting their 1st child was randomized to intervention and control conditions. The intervention families participated in Family Foundations, a series of 8 classes, delivered before and after birth, that was designed as a universal prevention program (i.e., it was applicable to all couples, not just those at high risk). Intent-to-treat analyses indicated significant program effects on coparental support, maternal depression and anxiety, distress in the parent-child relationship, and several indicators of infant regulation. Intervention effects were not moderated by income, but greater positive impact of the program was found for lower educated parents and for families with a father who reported higher levels of insecure attachment in close relationships. These findings support the view that coparenting is a potentially malleable intervention target that may influence family relationships as well as parent and child well-being. Keywordscoparenting; prevention; parenting; infancy Theory and research suggest that coparenting-that is, how parents coordinate their parenting, support or undermine each other, and manage conflict regarding child rearing-is a central aspect of family life (McHale, Kuersten-Hogan, Lauretti, & Rasmussen, 2000;Minuchin, Rosman, & Baker, 1978;Van Egeren, 2004). A number of studies have demonstrated the influence of the coparenting relationship measured across childhoodfrom infancy through adolescence-on measures of parenting, parent-child relations, and child social-emotional adjustment and behavioral problems (Feinberg, Kan, & Hetherington, 2007;Schoppe, Mangelsdorf, & Frosch, 2001). Thus, coparenting is a potential leverage point for enhancement of family functioning and child outcomes.Despite this emerging recognition of the coparenting relationship, there is as yet no published evidence regarding the ability of psychosocial intervention to effect positive Copyright © 2008 NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript change in coparenting (Feinberg, 2002). In this article, we present the first results of a randomized trial of Family Foundations (FF), a universal prevention program that was developed to enhance coparenting quality among cohabiting and/or married couples who were expecting a first child. FF is a series of eight interactive, psychoeducational, skillsbased classes designed for expectant couples who are cohabiting or married. The program is delivered through the universal, nonstigmatizing framework of childbirth education departments of local hospitals. This article is poised to shed light on whether positive coparenting can be enhanced through a universal, group-format program and whether such a pr...

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Section: Coparenting and Parent And Child Outcomes During The Transitmentioning

confidence: 92%

mentioning

confidence: 92%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Establishing family foundations: Intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations.

Feinberg¹,

Kan²

2008

Journal of Family Psychology

Self Cite

362

372

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“…But coparenting is an enterprise, one involving the coordination among adults responsible for the care and upbringing of children (Feinberg, 2003;McHale, Khazan, et al, 2002;McHale, Kuersten-Hogan, Lauretti, & Talbot, 2001). It involves far more than just the carrying out of childcare responsibilities (McHale, 1995;McHale & Fivaz-Depeursinge, 1999;McHale, Khazan, et al, 2002;McHale, Lauretti, Talbot, & Pouquette, 2002), proceeding even when fathers never change a diaper, warm a bottle, or get up with a colicky child at night.…”

Section: Conceptual and Definitional Issues What Constitutes The Domamentioning

confidence: 99%

Growing Points for Coparenting Theory and Research

McHale

Kuersten‐Hogan

Rao

2004

Journal of Adult Development

190

119

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Though the study of coparenting is still in its infancy, an explosion of coparenting research is in the wings. This paper identifies several emerging issues in coparenting theory and research to guide work in the years ahead, including issues in definition, conceptualization, and measurement; the interface between coparenting and adult development; and conceptual benefits that will accrue from studies of interadult coordination across diverse cultures and family systems. We emphasize that theory must lead empirical efforts, that across family systems the strongest coparental alliances are likely to be those in which the coparents both experience and provide support and solidarity for one another's parenting efforts with the children, and that measurement approaches need to be expanded so as to capture more comprehensively each family's organizational cooparenting structures and themes.

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Parenting Science and Practice

Bornstein

2007

Handbook of Child Psychology

107

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Each day more than three-quarters of a million adults around the world experience the rewards and challenges as well as the joys and heartaches of becoming parents. Of course, everyone who has lived has had parents; the human race succeeds because of parenting. Parenting is a subject about which people hold strong opinions, but about which too little solid information or considered reflection exists. Parenting: Science and Practice redresses this imbalance.Parenting is, perhaps first and foremost, a functional status in the life cycle: Parents issue as well as protect, care for, and represent their progeny; indeed, parenthood is the "final common pathway" to childhood oversight and caregiving. Parenthood is therefore a job whose primary object of attention and action is the child. But parenting also has consequences for parents themselves. Parenting: Science and Practice encompasses the broad themes of who are parents, whom parents parent, the scope of parenting and its many effects, the determinants of parenting, and the nature, structure, and meaning of parenthood for parents.

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The Internal Structure and Ecological Context of Coparenting: A Framework for Research and Intervention

Cited by 929 publications

References 204 publications

Establishing family foundations: Intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations.

Establishing family foundations: Intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations.

Growing Points for Coparenting Theory and Research

Parenting Science and Practice

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