Assessing coparenting in families of school-age children: Validation of the Coparenting and Family Rating System.

Abstract

Abstract This study aimed to expand research on coparenting to include families of school-age children by investigating the psychometric properties of an observational coparent- ing measure, and by examining relations between copar- enting and child adjustment in this population. Participants included 67 couples and a first-born, 7- to 11- year-old child. Family interactions were coded with the Coparenting and Family Rating System (CFRS; McHale, Kuersten-Hogan, & Lauretti, 2000). For boys, Hostility- Competitiveness (i.e., coparental competition, coparental verbal sparring, and child-centredness) correlated with anxiety on the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (Reynolds & Richmond, 1978) and with mother-reported Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991a). For girls, Parenting Discrepancy (i.e., mother-father differ- ences in parent-child warmth and investment) correlated with mother-reported CBCL Internalizing. Results demon- strate the utility of the CFRS with school-age children and suggest that coparenting-adjustment linkages may differ by child gender. R6sum6 Cette 6tude avait pour but d'61argir la recherche sur la coparentalit6 en tenant compte de familles d'enfants d'age scolaire lorsqu'on examine les caract6ristiques psy- chom6triques de la mesure d'observation de la coparentalit6 et lorsqu'on 6tudie les relations qui pr6va- lent, dans cette population, entre coparentalit6 et adapta- tion des enfants. On comptait parmi les participants 67 couples et les premiers n6s de la famille ag6s de 7 h 11 ans. Les interactions familiales ont 6t6 cod6es h l'aide du