Bidirectional associations between coparenting relations and family member anxiety: a review and conceptual model

Longitudinal Pathways from Parent Internalizing Symptoms to Parent and Youth Emotion Functioning

The current study utilized mediation analyses to examine how parental symptoms of depression and anxiety impact child emotion regulation (ER) and emotion stability (ES) through parent emotion functioning, parenting, and the coparent relationship. 564 parents of children between 3 and 17 years (Mage = 9.47; 54.4% male) were recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk across three time points: baseline (Wave 1), 4 months (Wave 2), 8 months (Wave 3). Mediation results demonstrated that symptoms of parent depression at Wave 1 predicted worse coparent relationships and decreases in parents' ability to identify their own emotions at Wave 2. Symptoms of parental anxiety at Wave 1 predicted decreases in positive parenting and an increased tendency to have negative secondary emotional responses, impulse-control difficulties, and difficulty accessing emotion-regulation strategies at Wave 2. Additionally, symptoms of parental anxiety at Wave 1 directly predicted lower child ER and ES at Wave 3. However, no significant indirect pathways were identified between parent symptoms and child ER and ES. Sensitivity analyses examined the effects of three youth developmental stages (i.e., early and middle childhood and adolescence), as well as parent gender (i.e., mother and father), and found no significant differences across groups. Thus, even at non-clinical levels, parental symptoms of anxiety and depression may negatively impact parenting, parent regulation, and the coparent relationship, while parental anxiety symptoms may contribute to lower child ER and ES.

Coparenting in English-Speaking and Chinese Families: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Using the Survey Tool CoPAFS

While coparenting-related conceptual frameworks and empirical studies have received considerable attention in Western countries, there is far less attention on this topic in other regions. This study seeks to fill this gap by comparing coparenting dynamics between English-speaking and Chinese parents. This study begins by reviewing coparenting relationships in both Western and Chinese contexts. Study participants comprised 399 English-speaking parents living in the US and Canada and 534 Chinese parents living in Mainland China. There were several waves of participant recruitment by sending out the flyers online or utilizing the professional networks to invite eligible parents. The measurement tool CoPAFS (Coparenting across Family Structures), which has been validated in English-speaking culture, was used to compare the differences in coparenting constructs in two cultures. First, the model fit of CoPAFS within Chinese culture was examined with Cronbach Alpha values and relevant model fit indices such as Comparative Fit Index and Root Mean square Residual. As most of the statistics fell below the expected level of excellence, there is a need to locally adjust the entire model in order to better interpret Chinese parenting. The intensity of connection between each factor included in the model and the coparenting relationship as a whole was then investigated. Although most factors were endorsed similarly by Chinese and English-speaking parents, there were notable differences in their opinions regarding communication and trust. While English-speaking parents highly valued these two elements within the coparenting process, Chinese parents showed almost no attentiveness to them. In order to understand factors that may contribute to such a sharp contrast, two main variables, culture and gender, were tested. Through a series of multigroup invariance analyses assessing equivalence across groups, it was discovered that culture emerged as the more dominant determinant among the groups of participants. The implications of cross-cultural use of the CoPAFS tool and future research directions are discussed.

Variation in coparenting quality in relation to child age: Links to coparents' relationship satisfaction and education

Coparenting, denoting shared responsibilities in caring for a child, is a core component of parenthood for most parents. Research has linked quality in the coparenting relationship to several child outcomes as well as parent relationship satisfaction and mental health, yet whether and how these links may differ depending on child age is unclear. Here, we investigated links between coparenting quality, relationship satisfaction, parents' education, and child age, after assessing the psychometric properties of a Swedish version of the 35-item Coparenting Relationship Scale (CRS) in a sample of 206 parents in Sweden. Participants completed the full 35-item CRS, alongside the Parenting Alliance Measure (PAM) and a relationship satisfaction measure. Our findings reveal good psychometric qualities and construct validity for both the CRS and PAM used with Swedish parents. Consistent with other adaptations of the CRS, we found four composite factors for the CRS, all demonstrating high reliability and convergence with the PAM. In relation to child age, parents of older children reported poorer coparenting quality than parents of younger children. The link between relationship satisfaction and coparenting quality was stronger for highly educated parents. Education also predicted partner endorsement in parents of children in early and middle childhood, but not parents of infants. Together, our findings expand the empirical base for understanding coparenting and its links to relationship satisfaction in parents with children of different ages, and they highlight a moderating role of parental education in these links.

Psychopathology and Mindful Parenting in Parents of Preschool and School-Aged Children: The Role of Supportive Coparenting

The present study aimed to explore the mediating role of supportive coparenting in the relationship between parental psychopathology symptoms and mindful parenting and to explore whether the child's age group moderates the associations in the model. A sample of 462 parents (94.2% mothers) of preschool and school-aged children completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Parental Perceptions of Coparenting Questionnaire, and the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale. A moderated mediation model was estimated to analyze the indirect effect of psychopathology symptoms on mindful parenting through supportive coparenting and the moderating role of the child's age group. Higher levels of parental psychopathology were found to be associated both directly and indirectly (through lower levels of supportive coparenting) with lower levels of mindful parenting, regardless of the child's age group. The results suggest that supportive coparenting is a relevant explanatory mechanism for the relationship between parental psychopathology and mindful parenting.

Psychological Interventions for Prenatal Anxiety in Latinas and Black Women: A Scoping Review and Recommendations

Anxiety symptoms are common among pregnant women worldwide. In the United States, prenatal anxiety symptoms tend to be elevated among Black and Latin American women as compared to non-Latina White women. Despite the high prevalence of anxiety and associations with adverse maternal and offspring outcomes, interventions have not been developed or tailored sufficiently to Black women or Latinas who need efficacious treatment. This article provides a scoping review of articles published since 2017 that test the effects of randomized and non-randomized psychological interventions designed to reduce prenatal anxiety in samples comprised primarily of ethnic/racial minority women. We also review published protocols of planned psychological interventions to reduce prenatal anxiety in order to highlight novel approaches. In addition to summarizing intervention efficacy and participant acceptability, we highlight gaps in the literature which, if addressed, could improve perinatal mental health equity. Finally, we discuss future directions in prenatal anxiety intervention science beginning preconception including intervention design and prevention models.

Factors contributing to coparenting quality: characteristics at the individual level and the relational level

This study aimed to explore how characteristics of parents at the individual level (i.e. anxiety, depression, and psychological resilience) and the relational level (i.e. family functioning) are associated with their coparenting quality in Chinese context. A total of 432 parents whose first child aged 1-18 were recruited to complete online self-measures of anxiety, depression, psychological resilience, family functioning, and coparenting quality. The findings indicated that parents with more anxiety and depression tended to have worse resilience and family functioning, as well as poorer coparenting quality. There were strong correlations between resilience, family functioning, and coparenting quality. Mediation analysis showed that resilience and family functioning partially mediated the link between anxiety and coparenting and fully mediated the link between depression and coparenting. Moreover, family functioning fully carried the impact of resilience on coparenting. These results extended our understanding by demonstrating that resilience and family functioning serve as mediators between negative emotions and coparenting quality. The significant implications for parental practice and research were also discussed.

Coparenting Alleviated the Effect of Psychological Distress on Parental Psychological Flexibility

Parenting is full of challenges and responsibilities. It is particularly important for parents to be open to parental difficult experiences and adopt behaviors consistent with self-chosen values, which termed as parental psychological flexibility (PPF). However, few studies have focused on the effect of psychological distress (anxiety and depression) on different components of PPF. This study examined the effect of psychological distress on the three components of PPF (cognitive defusion, committed action, and acceptance) as well as the role of coparenting quality in Chinese parents. A total of 462 parents of children aged 1–18 years completed self-report measures of anxiety, depression, coparenting, and PPF. Our results revealed that higher level of PPF went along with less anxiety and depression, while it was also associated with better coparenting quality. Coparenting partially mediated the effect of anxiety on cognitive defusion and acceptance and fully mediated the effect of depression on cognitive defusion and acceptance. Moderation analyses showed that the link between anxiety and cognitive defusion, as well as the link between anxiety and acceptance were moderated by coparenting. We discussed the implications of coparenting as a protective factor in alleviating the negative effect of psychological distress on PPF.

Family as a health promotion setting: A scoping review of conceptual models of the health-promoting family

BACKGROUND

The family is a key setting for health promotion. Contemporary health promoting family models can establish scaffolds for shaping health behaviors and can be useful tools for education and health promotion.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this scoping review is to provide details as to how conceptual and theoretical models of the health promoting potential of the family are being used in health promotion contexts.

DESIGN

Guided by PRISMA ScR guidelines, we used a three-step search strategy to find relevant papers. This included key-word searching electronic databases (Medline, PSycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL), searching the reference lists of included studies, and intentionally searching for grey literature (in textbooks, dissertations, thesis manuscripts and reports.).

RESULTS

After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the overall search generated 113 included manuscripts/chapters with 118 unique models. Through our analysis of these models, three main themes were apparent: 1) ecological factors are central components to most models or conceptual frameworks; 2) models were attentive to cultural and other diversities, allowing room for a wide range of differences across family types, and for different and ever-expanding social norms and roles; and 3) the role of the child as a passive recipient of their health journey rather than as an active agent in promoting their own family health was highlighted as an important gap in many of the identified models.

CONCLUSIONS

This review contributes a synthesis of contemporary literature in this area and supports the priority of ecological frameworks and diversity of family contexts. It encourages researchers, practitioners and family stakeholders to recognize the value of the child as an active agent in shaping the health promoting potential of their family context.

Family Functioning in Families of Adolescents with Mental Health Disorders: The Role of Parenting Alliance

This study primarily examined the predictive role of emotional and behavioral disorders in family cohesion and the moderating role of parenting alliance. Adolescents’ mental health issues are a major concern, with important implications for individuals and their families. However, the impact of mental disorders on family processes has been less widely studied. Participants in this study were 72 parents of adolescent beneficiaries of mental health services. Questionnaires assessed family cohesion, parenting alliance, and sociodemographic factors. Results indicated that emotional and behavioral disorders did not have an influence on family cohesion. They also suggested that parenting alliance may be a protective factor for family cohesion. This paper highlights the role of parenting alliance as a potential protective factor in positive family processes. These findings support the importance of focusing on the parental subsystem in therapy, and the need to incorporate a positive parenting perspective when working with these families.

Changes in Fathers' Body Mass Index, Sleep, and Diet From Prebirth to 12 Months Postbirth: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Parenthood Experience and Coparenting Support

BACKGROUND

While research has examined prenatal to postnatal changes in women's weight, sleep, and diet, much less is known about these changes among fathers.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to (a) examine changes in fathers' body mass index (BMI), sleep, and diet from 1 month before birth to 5-6 months following birth, and from 5-6 months to 11-12 months following birth and (b) explore the moderating roles of parenthood experience and coparenting support.

METHODS

169 fathers (mean age 35.5 years, 58.9% White) participated. Fathers completed an intake survey shortly after their infant's birth to recall their height and weight, nighttime sleep hours, fruit and vegetable intake, soda intake, and fast food intake for the month prior to birth. When their child was 6 and 12 months old, fathers reported their weight, sleep, and diet again for the past 4 weeks (i.e., 4 week periods spanning 5-6 months and 11-12 months following birth). Generalized estimating equations were used to answer our research questions.

RESULTS

Fathers reported higher BMI (Δ = 0.22 kg/m2; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.06, 0.38; p = .008) and less nighttime sleep duration (Δ = -0.21 hr; 95% CI = -0.38, -0.05; p = .012) at 5-6 months following birth compared to 1 month prior to birth. Fathers' diet remained stable over the three timepoints. No evidence was found to support the moderating roles of parenthood experience and coparenting support on fathers' weight and behavior changes.

CONCLUSIONS

5-6 months following birth may be an important point of intervention for fathers to promote a return to prebirth BMI and sleep levels.

Intergenerational transmission of anxiety in Chinese migrant families: The mediating role of parents' perceptions of coparenting

BACKGROUND

There is evidence that anxiety transmits across generations. However, little is known about the intergenerational transmission of anxiety in Chinese migrant families and the potential mediators of the intergenerational transmission. Therefore, this study investigated the intergenerational transmission of anxiety from both fathers and mothers to children in Chinese migrant families and the mediating role of both mothers' and fathers' perceptions of coparenting.

METHODS

Participants were 477 elementary school-age children and both their parents in Chinese migrant families. Mothers and fathers self-reported their anxiety and perceptions of coparenting. Children's anxiety was measured based on maternal report and paternal report. Structural equation modelling was used to evaluate the mediating role of both mothers' and fathers' perceptions of coparenting in the intergenerational transmission of anxiety.

RESULTS

Anxiety was transmitted across generations from both fathers and mothers to migrant children, and fathers' (but not mothers') perceptions of coparenting mediated the intergenerational transmission of anxiety from both fathers and mothers to migrant children.

LIMITATIONS

Causal conclusions cannot be drawn based on cross-sectional research design.

CONCLUSIONS

Coparenting seemed to play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of anxiety. Interventions preventing the intergenerational transmission of anxiety should designate relevant effort enhancing fathers' perceptions of coparenting by changing fathers' negative perceptions and evaluations of the coparenting relationship and increasing mothers' high-quality coparenting behavior.

Resemblance and clustering of mother's and father's psychopathology levels among Chinese parents of schoolchildren with psychiatric disorders

Background

Few studies have assessed the characteristics of spousal psychopathologies among parents of schoolchildren with and without psychological disorders (PD) in China.

Methods

Parental symptoms were measured using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) in 275 mothers and 278 fathers of 298 schoolchildren with PDs diagnosed in a population survey and in 825 mothers and 834 fathers of 894 schoolchildren without PDs as a 1:3 matched comparison group. Spousal GHQ scores were compared. Childhood PD type, presence of childhood comorbidities, and multiple parental and family characteristics were examined as predictors for parental GHQ scores by multiple linear regression analyses.

Results

The GHQ scores were significantly higher among mothers and fathers of children with any PD. Maternal GHQ scores were higher than paternal scores and significantly correlated with paternal GHQ scores in both groups. Spousal GHQ, personal PD history, and childhood PD comorbidity were significant independent predictors of both parents’ GHQ scores. There were also significant associations among parental chronic disease, low family income, and paternal and maternal GHQ score, as well as among low maternal education, less common disorder (LCD) prevalence in children and maternal GHQ score. The rate of GHQ score ≥3 for both parents was significantly higher in the study group than the control group (15.1 vs.7.0%).

Conclusions

Parents of children with any PD type demonstrate significantly elevated psychopathologies, and psychopathology tends to occur concomitantly and resemble that of the other spouse. Screening and treatment of parental psychiatric symptoms will benefit all family members.

Bidirectional Associations between Youth Adjustment and Mothers' and Fathers' Coparenting Conflict

Research demonstrates significant associations between coparenting conflict and child adjustment problems. However, the implications of youth adjustment for coparenting, especially during youth's adolescence, remain poorly understood. Addressing several gaps in the literature, this study examines the longitudinal trajectory of mothers' and fathers' reported coparenting conflict from youth ages 10-17 and tests bidirectional associations between youth social anxiety, hostility, risk-taking behaviors, and mothers' and fathers' coparenting conflict. Participants include 757 mothers, fathers, and youth in two-parent families (M youth age = 11.28, SD = 0.49; 53% female) who participated in 5 waves of data collection when youth were in the 6th to 9th grades. Multilevel growth curve models revealed significant non-linear change in mothers' and fathers' coparenting conflict, such that coparenting conflict declined through youth's transition to adolescence, leveled off in early adolescence, and declined in the mid-late adolescent years. Cross-lagged models showed significant positive associations between youth social anxiety and hostility and coparenting conflict at the following time point, but coparenting conflict did not predict later youth adjustment problems in these domains. There were significant bidirectional associations between mother-reported coparenting conflict and youth risk-taking behaviors; the associations between coparenting conflict and risk-taking were not significant for fathers. The findings demonstrate that investigating longitudinal associations between youth adjustment and coparenting conflict may provide new insights into the role of child effects for mothers' and fathers' coparenting experiences.

The Long-Term Impact of Maternal Anxiety and Depression Postpartum and in Early Childhood on Child and Paternal Mental Health at 11-12 Years Follow-Up

BACKGROUND

Postpartum maternal anxiety and depression can affect child development and family functioning. However, the long-term impact of postpartum maternal anxiety and depression on child and paternal mental health is understudied. The present large-scale prospective cohort study is one of the first to investigate whether maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms postpartum and at child age 5-6 years separately and synergistically increase paternal anxiety and depressive symptoms and child emotional problems in early adolescence at age 11-12 years. Secondly, we investigated whether concurrent paternal anxiety and depressive symptoms at child age 11-12 years moderated the association between maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms in the postpartum period and at child age 5-6 years with child emotional problems at age 11-12 years.

METHODS

This study is part of the Amsterdam Born Children and Development (ABCD) cohort study, the Netherlands (N = 2.298). Maternal postpartum anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) at 13 weeks postpartum. Maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms at child age 5-6 years and parental anxiety and depressive symptoms at 11-12 years were assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Child emotional problems were reported by the child and a teacher using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Multivariable linear regression was conducted, adjusted for demographic, perinatal/obstetric confounders, and affective symptoms of the other family members at 11-12 years.

RESULTS

Neither maternal anxiety nor depressive symptoms were related to paternal depressive symptoms at child age 11-12 years, while maternal postpartum depressive symptoms, depressive symptoms at 5-6 years and maternal anxiety at 5-6 years were positively related to paternal anxiety at 11-12 years. However, effect sizes were small. Only maternal postpartum depression was positively but weakly associated with more child emotional problems at 11-12 years. Although paternal concurrent affective symptoms were positively related to more child emotional problems in early adolescence, they did not moderate the association between maternal symptoms and child emotional problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that fathers and children seem to be affected only to a small extent by maternal postpartum anxiety or depression.

Less efficient detection of positive facial expressions in parents at risk of engaging in child physical abuse

Background

Parental physical punishment (e.g., spanking) of children can gradually escalate into child physical abuse (CPA). According to social-information processing (SIP) models of aggressive behaviors, distorted social cognitive mechanisms can increase the risk of maladaptive parenting behaviors by changing how parents detect, recognize, and act on information from their social environments. In this study, we aimed to identify differences between mothers with a low and high risk of CPA regarding how quickly they detect positive facial expressions.

Methods

Based on their use of spanking to discipline children, 52 mothers were assigned to a low- (n = 39) or high-CPA-risk group (n = 13). A single-target facial emotional search (face-in-the-crowd) task was used, which required participants to search through an array of faces to determine whether a target emotional face was present in a crowd of non-target neutral faces. Search efficiency index was computed by subtracting the search time for target-present trials from that for target-absent trials.

Results

The high-CPA-risk group searched significantly less efficiently for the happy, but not sad, faces, than did the low-CPA-risk group; meanwhile, self-reported emotional ratings (i.e., valence and arousal) of the faces did not differ between the groups.

Conclusions

Consistent with the SIP models, our findings suggest that low- and high-CPA-risk mothers differ in how they rapidly detect positive facial expressions, but not in how they explicitly evaluate them. On a CPA-risk continuum, less efficient detection of positive facial expressions in the initial processes of the SIP system may begin to occur in the physical-discipline stage, and decrease the likelihood of positive interpersonal experiences, consequently leading to an increased risk of CPA.

Subclinical maternal depressive symptoms modulate right inferior frontal response to inferring affective mental states of adults but not of infants

BACKGROUND

Being a mother of young children increases the risk of depression characterised by deficits in inferring what a person is feeling, i.e., affective theory of mind (aToM). Despite the adverse consequences for mothers, children, families, and society as a whole, little is known of how the brain functions underlying aToM ability are affected by subclinical maternal depressive symptoms, and act as a risk indicator for major depressive disorders (MDD).

METHODS

Thirty healthy mothers with varying levels of depressive symptoms underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing mind-reading tasks based on the emotional expressions of adult eyes and infant faces.

RESULTS

In the adult eyes-based mind-reading task, mothers with more severe depressive symptoms showed less activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), a central part of the putative mirror neuron system (pMNS). This was unrelated to behavioural performance decline in the task. However, brain activation involved in the infant face-based mind-reading task was not affected by depressive symptoms.

LIMITATIONS

Although aToM ability, assessed by mind-reading tasks, can be distinguished from empathy, these can be interacting functions of the pMNS, wherein they could mutually affect each other.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that functional activation of the right IFG, which underlies aToM ability, has variable vulnerability to maternal depressive symptoms according to the type of social signal. This functional decline of the right IFG may be a risk indicator for clinical maternal depression, which is associated with impaired social functioning and communication conflicts with family members and other social supporters.

The Role of Family for Youth Friendships: Examining a Social Anxiety Mechanism

The quality of family relationships and youth friendships are intricately linked. Previous studies have examined different mechanisms of family-peer linkage, but few have examined social anxiety. The present study examined whether parental rejection and family climate predicted changes in youth social anxiety, which in turn predicted changes in friendship quality and loneliness. Possible bidirectional associations also were examined. Data for mothers, fathers, and youth (M _age at Time 1 = 11.27; 52.3% were female) from 687 two-parent households over three time points are presented. Results from autoregressive, cross-lagged analyses revealed that father rejection (not mother rejection or family climate) at Time 1 (Fall of 6th Grade) predicted increased youth social anxiety at Time 2 (Spring of 7th Grade), which in turn, predicted increased loneliness at Time 3 (Spring of 8th Grade). The indirect effect of father rejection on loneliness was statistically significant. Mother rejection, father rejection, and a poor family climate were associated with decreased friendship quality and increased loneliness over time. Finally, there was some evidence of transactional associations between father rejection and youth social anxiety as well as between social anxiety and loneliness. This study's findings underscore the important role of fathers in youth social anxiety and subsequent social adjustment.

State, trait, and dental anxiety in caregivers of individuals with disabilities

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to compare state anxiety, trait anxiety, and dental anxiety in caregivers of patients with special needs and caregivers of pediatric patients without special needs at dental clinics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted. Data were collected using a semistructured questionnaire. All respondents were older than 18 years of age. Individuals with cognitive impairment and those taking anxiolytics, antidepressants, or sleep-inducing medication were excluded from the study. The sample consisted of 55 caregivers of patients with special needs and 55 caregivers of pediatric dental patients. A questionnaire was administered to determine the sociodemographic profile of the patients based on the 2015 Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria. Anxiety regarding dental treatment was measured using the dental anxiety scale. The state-trait anxiety inventory was used to identify state and trait anxiety levels.

RESULTS

Caregivers of individuals with disabilities had a similar level of anxiety as caregivers of pediatric dental patients. Most caregivers of individuals with disabilities were mothers with an older age and a greater frequency of trait anxiety, especially when these mothers had health problems. State anxiety was associated with a lower education level.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher dental anxiety levels were found among caregivers with a higher level of trait anxiety, independently of the type of patient to which care was given.

Motivations and Features of Co-Parenting an Infant With Complex Congenital Heart Disease

This study described co-parenting motivations and quality of co-parenting features for parents of infants with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD), including differences over time by illness severity. Existing transcripts of parenting experience at infant age 1 and 12 months for 23 parent couples were analyzed using directed content analysis. Data were quantitized for additional description. Six co-parenting motivations and five co-parenting features were identified. Two co-parenting motivations had not been previously described: Developing the Co-Parenting Relationship and Maintaining the Couple Relationship. Variability in quality of co-parenting features was evident. However, the majority of parents showed high ratings. Motivations and quality of co-parenting features changed over time and were related to illness severity. Our findings increase the understanding of what parents are working on as a couple to parent an infant with CCHD and the quality of this co-parenting. Several questions for further study are presented.

Typologies of Post-divorce Coparenting and Parental Well-Being, Parenting Quality and Children's Psychological Adjustment

The aim of this study was to identify post-divorce coparenting profiles and examine whether these profiles differentiate between levels of parents' well-being, parenting practices, and children's psychological problems. Cluster analysis was conducted with Portuguese heterosexual divorced parents (N = 314) to yield distinct post-divorce coparenting patterns. Clusters were based on parents' self-reported coparenting relationship assessed along four dimensions: agreement, exposure to conflict, undermining/support, and division of labor. A three cluster solution was found and replicated. Parents in the high-conflict coparenting group exhibited significantly lower life satisfaction, as well as significantly higher divorce-related negative affect and inconsistent parenting than parents in undermining and cooperative coparenting clusters. The cooperative coparenting group reported higher levels of positive family functioning and lower externalizing and internalizing problems in their children. These results suggested that a positive coparenting alliance may be a protective factor for individual and family outcomes after parental divorce.

Coparenting after marital dissolution and children's mental health: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Research has shown that coparenting is a vital family mechanism in predicting mental health in children and adolescents. Considering the increasing prevalence of marital dissolution in Western societies, the objective of this systematic review was to summarize the key results of empirical studies that tested the association between mental health of children and coparenting after marital dissolution.

DATA SOURCE

The studies were obtained from three databases (PsycInfo, PubMed, and Web of Knowledge), published between January 2000 and October 2014. The titles, abstracts, and key words of the generated citations were independently reviewed by two investigators to consensually select the articles that met the inclusion criteria. Articles that used psychometrically valid tools to measure at least one mental health indicator and at least one dimension of coparenting in samples with divorced parents were included in the review.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Of the 933 screened articles, 11 met the inclusion criteria. Significant positive associations were found between coparental conflict and behavioral problems and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and somatization. Significant positive associations were also found between other specific dimensions of coparenting (coparental support, cooperation, and agreement), overall mental health, self-esteem, and academic performance.

CONCLUSIONS

The integrated analysis of these studies suggests that coparenting is a key mechanism within the family system for the prediction of child mental health after marital dissolution, and thus, it is recommended that pediatricians, psychologists, and other health professionals consider coparenting as a psychosocial variable for children's mental health assessment and diagnosis.

The role of co-parenting alliance as a mediator between trait anxiety, family system maladjustment, and parenting stress in a sample of non-clinical Italian parents

This study investigated the role of co-parenting alliance in mediating the influence of parents’ trait anxiety on family system maladjustment and parenting stress. A sample of 1606 Italian parents (803 mothers and 803 fathers) of children aged one to 13 years completed measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory—Y), co-parenting alliance (Parenting Alliance Measure), family system maladjustment (Family Assessment Measure—III), and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Inventory—Short Form). These variables were investigated together comparing two structural equations model-fitting including both partners. A model for both mothers and fathers was empirically devised as a series of associations between parent trait anxiety (independent variable), family system maladjustment and parenting stress (dependent variables), mediated by co-parenting alliance, with the insertion of cross predictions between mothers and fathers and correlations between dependent variables for both parents. Results indicated that the relation between mothers and fathers’ trait anxiety, family system maladjustment and parenting stress was mediated by the level of co-parenting alliance. Understanding the role of couples’ co-parenting alliance could be useful during the family assessment and/or treatment, since it is an efficient and effective tool to improve the family system maladjustment and stress.

Can parent training for parents with high levels of expressed emotion have a positive effect on their child's social anxiety improvement?

The role that parents' involvement may play in improving their child's social anxiety is still under debate. This paper aimed to investigate whether training parents with high expressed emotion (EE) could improve outcomes for adolescent social anxiety intervention. Fifty-two socially anxious adolescents (aged 13-18 years), whose parents exhibited high levels of expressed emotion, were assigned to either (a) a school-based intervention with an added parent training component, or (b) a school-based program focused solely on intervening with the adolescent (no parental involvement). Post-treatment and 12-month follow-up findings showed that school-based intervention with parent training was superior to the adolescent-specific program, yielding significant reductions in diagnosis remission, social and depressive symptomatology, particularly when the EE status of parents changed. Overall, the findings suggest that high-EE parents of children with social anxiety need to be involved in their child's therapy.