Mother‐Stepfather Coparenting in Stepfamilies as Predictor of Child Adjustment

• Published in: Family process 2019-06, Vol.58 (2), p.446-462
• Main Authors: Favez, Nicolas, Widmer, Eric D., Frascarolo, France, Doan, Minh‐Thuy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adaptación del niño; Adaptation, Psychological; Adjustment; Adolescent; apoyo en la cocrianza; Behavior; Child; Child Adjustment; Child Behavior; Children; conflicto en la cocrianza; Coparenting; Coparenting Conflict; Coparenting Support; Covert; Divorce; díada madre‐padrastro; familias ensambladas; Family Relations - psychology; Family structure; Fathers; Female; Humans; Male; Marriage; Mothers; Mother–Stepfather Dyad; Natural parents; Parent-Child Relations; Parenting; Parents; Questionnaires; Socioeconomic Factors; Stepfamilies; Surveys and Questionnaires; 儿童适应; 共同亲职冲突; 共同亲职支持; 母亲‐继父二元组; 继亲家庭
• ISSN: 0014-7370; 1545-5300
• DOI: 10.1111/famp.12360

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. Resumen La cocrianza entre padres biológicos es una buena predictora de la adaptación del niño. Sin embargo, hasta la fecha, se sabe muy poco acerca de la dinámica de cocrianza entre padre/madre y padrastro/madrastra en las familias ensambladas. La finalidad de este estudio fue analizar las relaciones entre la cocrianza en la díada madre‐padrastro y comportamiento del niño en familias ensambladas comparadas con las relaciones entre la cocrianza de la madre y el padre y el comportamiento del niño en familias formadas por un matrimonio en primeras nupcias. Se evaluaron dos formas de cocrianza: la cocrianza abierta, es decir, los comportamientos coparentales en presencia del niño, y la cocrianza encubierta, es decir, la manera en la que cada padre habla del otro padre al niño. La muestra (N = 80) constituyó 48 familias ensambladas y 32 familias de matrimonios en primeras nupcias con un niño de entre 7 y 13 años. La cocrianza abierta se evaluó mediante la observación directa en la situación estandarizada del juego del picnic. La cocrianza encubierta y el comportamiento del niño se evaluaro