Family Communication, Adaptation to Divorce and Children’s Maladjustment: The Moderating Role of Coparenting

Abstract

ABSTRACTFamily communication is central to adjusted family functioning, which may be of special relevance to limit the impact of divorce on children. The present study aims to examine positive family communication as a facilitator of family adaptation to divorce, its impact on children’s maladjustment, and the role of coparenting. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 309 parents with high interparental-conflict. The expected model was tested using path analysis. We observed that: 1) positive family communication was related to parents’ greater psychological adjustment to the divorce and fewer socioeconomic consequences of the divorce on children and indirectly to children’s lower anxiety/depression and aggressiveness; 2) supportive coparenting was a protective factor against socioeconomic consequences, but a risk factor in situations of high conflict. These results highlight positive family communication in family adaptation and children’s well-being. Furthermore, findings differentiate the divorce conditions in which coparenting may or may not be appropriate.