Coparental Communication as a Mediator of Interparental Conflict and Young Adult Children's Mental Well-Being

Abstract

This study tested young adults’ perceptions of supportive and antagonistic coparental communication as mediators of interparental conflict (i.e., demand/withdraw patterns and aggression) and young adults’ mental well-being. Participants included 493 young adult children from intact and divorced families. Although young adults from divorced families reported higher levels of interparental conflict and antagonistic coparental communication than those from intact families, no significant differences emerged in the pattern of associations among the latent constructs in both groups. Bootstrapping analyses revealed that demand/withdraw patterns and mothers’ aggression had both direct effects and indirect effects on young adults’ mental well-being through antagonistic coparental communication. Consequently, coparental communication may function as a risk mechanism linking the adverse effects of witnessing interparental conflict to children's adjustment.