The Role of Reflective Functioning in Predicting Marital and Coparenting Quality

Reflective functioning (RF) is a measure of mentalization—the capacity to think about one’s own and others’ thoughts and feelings and to understand the connections between mental states and behaviors. Previous research indicates a decline in marital quality across the transition to parenthood, and some studies have found that parents are less happy than non-parents. Thus, researchers have called for research into possible moderators of these patterns. RF may help couples navigate this transition by more easily taking each other’s (and the infant’s) perspective and understanding each other’s behaviors. Much of the research on RF has focused on mothering behavior; research has not yet examined associations between RF and other family interactions. We examined associations between RF and marital and coparenting quality for both wives and husbands. Reflective functioning was coded from Adult Attachment Interviews conducted during pregnancy. We assessed marital quality at 3.5 months, and coparenting quality at 13 months, after the birth of the target child. Wives’ higher RF was associated with higher levels of positive—and lower levels of negative—marital and coparenting interactions. Wives who were better able to reflect on their early experiences with their parents were involved in marital interactions that were more positive and supportive and less conflicted and undermining. Husbands’ RF did not predict marital or coparenting quality. These findings highlight the importance of reflective functioning in understanding family functioning.     

New Fathers’ Perceptions of Dyadic Adjustment: The Roles of Maternal Gatekeeping and Coparenting Closeness

Although the association between maternal gatekeeping and relationship functioning has been explored by a few studies, none of these have focused on fathers’ perceptions of these constructs. Given that today's new fathers are challenged by elevated expectations for active parenting and coparenting even as most new mothers remain primary caregivers of infant children, this is a critical omission. This study examined the associations between new fathers’ perceptions of maternal gatekeeping and change in dyadic adjustment as mediated through coparenting closeness. Maternal gatekeeping was reported by 182 fathers at 3 months postpartum, coparenting closeness was reported at 3 and 6 months postpartum, and dyadic adjustment was reported during the third trimester of pregnancy and at 9 months postpartum. Fathers’ perceptions of relative change in coparenting closeness from 3 to 6 months mediated associations between fathers’ perceptions of maternal gatekeeping at 3 months and relative change in dyadic adjustment from the third trimester to 9 months postpartum. In particular, findings indicate that greater perceived maternal gate opening was associated with higher levels of dyadic adjustment through higher levels of coparenting closeness, whereas greater perceived maternal gate closing was associated with lower levels of dyadic adjustment through lower levels of coparenting closeness. This study highlights the importance of studying fathers in the context of the family system and the role of the coparenting relationship at the transition to parenthood in couple relationship functioning.     

Maternal gatekeeping, coparenting quality, and fathering behavior in families with infants

The present study examined the role of maternal gatekeeping behavior in relation to fathers' relative involvement and competence in child care in 97 families with infant children. Parents' beliefs about fathers' roles were assessed prior to their infant's birth. Parents' perceptions of maternal gatekeeping behavior (encouragement and criticism) and coparenting relationship quality were assessed at 3.5 months postpartum. The authors assessed fathers' relative involvement and competence in child care using a combination of parent report and observational measures. Results suggest that even after accounting for parents' beliefs about the paternal role and the overall quality of the coparenting relationship, greater maternal encouragement was associated with higher parent-reported relative father involvement. Moreover, maternal encouragement mediated the association between coparenting quality and reported relative father involvement. With respect to fathers' observed behavior, fathers' beliefs and parents' perceptions of coparenting relationship quality were relevant only when mothers engaged in low levels of criticism and high levels of encouragement, respectively. These findings are consistent with the notion that mothers may shape father involvement through their roles as "gatekeepers."     

Parenting stress,general distress,and coparenting quality: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Moderation Model

Mothers and fathers who experience parenting stress are more likely to show symptoms of distress, such as elevated levels of anxiety and/or depression. Identifying the buffering or exacerbating factors that might moderate the association between parenting stress and general distress can help inform theoretical models aimed at better understanding the reality faced by parents during challenging times, as well as improve intervention strategies. The objective of this study was to examine whether coparenting quality plays a moderating role in the association between parenting stress and general distress in parents of children in middle childhood. Eighty-one couples were asked to complete questionnaires pertaining to their levels of parenting stress, the quality of their coparenting relationship, and their symptoms of distress. Using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Moderation Model, our results revealed that elevated levels of parenting stress were associated with elevated levels of general distress, whereas higher scores of coparenting quality were associated with fewer symptoms of distress. Our results also showed a moderating role for coparenting quality in the association between actor parenting stress and actor/partner distress. These findings highlight the importance of pursuing the investigation of dyadic effects within personal relationships.     

Goodness-of-fit in family context: Infant temperament, marital quality, and early coparenting behavior

This study examined the contributions of infant temperament and marital relationship quality to the quality of the early coparenting relationship for couples parenting 3.5-month-old infants. Marital quality was assessed observationally during the third trimester of pregnancy. When infants were 3.5 months old, infant temperamental characteristics (fussiness and unadaptability) were rated by parents and observers and coparenting behavior was assessed observationally in play and child care contexts. Results indicated that associations between infant temperament and coparenting behavior depended on marital quality: couples with high marital quality showed more optimal coparenting behavior when faced with a challenging infant, whereas couples with low marital quality showed less optimal coparenting behavior when caring for a challenging infant.     

Parenting Perfectionism and Parental Adjustment

The parental role is expected to be one of the most gratifying and rewarding roles in life. As expectations of parenting become ever higher, the implications of parenting perfectionism for parental adjustment warrant investigation. Using longitudinal data from 182 couples, this study examined the associations between societal- and self-oriented parenting perfectionism and new mothers’ and fathers’ parenting self-efficacy, stress, and satisfaction. For mothers, societal-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with lower parenting self-efficacy, but self-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with higher parenting satisfaction. For fathers, societal-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with higher parenting stress, whereas higher levels of self-oriented parenting perfectionism were associated with higher parenting self-efficacy, lower parenting stress, and greater parenting satisfaction. These findings support the distinction between societal- and self-oriented perfectionism, extend research on perfectionism to interpersonal adjustment in the parenting domain, and provide the first evidence for the potential consequences of holding excessively high standards for parenting.     

Father Involvement and Coparenting Behavior: Parents' Nontraditional Beliefs and Family Earner Status as Moderators

This study investigated relations between father involvement in caregiving and play and coparenting behavior using self-report and observational data from 80 two-parent families of preschool-aged children, and examined parents' nontraditional beliefs about fathers' roles and family earner status as moderators of these relations. Results indicated that greater father involvement in caregiving and play was associated with less observed undermining coparenting behavior in dual-earner families. Conversely, greater father involvement in caregiving was associated with less perceived supportive and greater perceived undermining coparenting behavior in single-earner families. Father involvement in play was not related to coparenting behavior among single-earner families. This study highlights the importance of considering parental employment patterns and the multidimensional nature of fathering behavior when studying fathering and coparenting.     

Parents’ differential susceptibility to the effects of marital quality on sensitivity across the first year

The current investigation examined the differential susceptibility of parents to the effects of marital quality on changes in parenting. We predicted that parents who were high on the personality constructs Negative Affect and Constraint would be more susceptible to the effects of marital quality on their level of sensitivity. Sensitivity was assessed at 3.5 and 13 months for both mothers and fathers during a triadic interaction. Consistent with the differential susceptibility theory, results suggested that when mothers were high on Negative Affect and when fathers were high on Constraint, their marital quality was associated with changes in sensitivity. This investigation suggests that personality factors may create “vulnerabilities” in parents that make them differentially susceptible to the effects of the family environment on parenting.     

Adult attachment as a predictor of maternal gatekeeping among new parents

This study examined the associations between expectant couples' adult attachment styles and new mothers' gatekeeping (i.e., maternal behaviors that may inhibit or encourage father involvement in parenting) at the transition to parenthood. Data were drawn from a study of 182 different-gender dual-earner couples followed from the third trimester of pregnancy through 3 months postpartum. In the third trimester, expectant parents reported their attachment anxiety and avoidance. At 3 months postpartum, mothers and fathers reported on mothers' gate opening and gate closing behaviors. Also, at 3 months postpartum, maternal gate opening and gate closing were coded during mother–father–infant interactions in play and caregiving. Actor–Partner Interdependence Models were conducted in IBM SPSS AMOS 21.0. Findings indicated that higher maternal anxiety predicted higher mother-reported maternal gate closing, whereas higher paternal avoidance and higher paternal anxiety predicted lower father-reported maternal gate opening. During caregiving, higher paternal anxiety predicted higher observed maternal gate closing, and higher maternal anxiety predicted lower observed maternal gate opening. Findings reveal the importance of attachment in coparenting relationships among new parents, as attachment anxiety and avoidance may shape maternal behaviors encouraging or hindering father involvement in parenting.     

Relations between coparenting and father involvement in families with preschool-age children

A sample (N = 112) composed primarily of European American and middle-class two-parent families with a resident father and a 4-year-old child (48% girls) participated in a longitudinal study of associations between coparenting and father involvement. At the initial assessment and 1 year later, fathers reported on their involvement in play and caregiving activities with the focal child, and coparenting behavior was observed during triadic family interactions. Structural equation modeling was used to test cross-lagged associations between coparenting behavior and father involvement. Overall, paths from father involvement to coparenting behavior were significant, but paths from coparenting behavior to father involvement were not. Specifically, greater father involvement in play was associated with an increase in supportive and a decrease in undermining coparenting behavior over time. In contrast, greater father involvement in caregiving was associated with a decrease in supportive and an increase in undermining coparenting behavior. Multigroup analysis further showed that these cross-lagged relations did not differ for dual-earner families and single-earner (father) families, but these relations appeared to differ for families with focal daughters and families with focal sons. These findings highlight the potential for fathering to affect coparenting and the importance of the role of contextual factors in coparenting-fathering relations.