Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the mediating and moderating effects of parenting alliance on the relationship between marital adjustment, as represented by the dimensions dyadic consensus, dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion, and affectional expression, and maternal and paternal stress. Self-report data were gathered from 236 Italian families (236 mothers:M= 40.9;SD= 4.4 and 236 fathers:M= 42.9;SD= 4.8) of children aged 6–11 years (M= 8.6;SD= 1.7). A set of regression analyses were conducted to examine whether parenting alliance mediates or moderates the relationship between marital adjustment and parenting stress. Regression analyses were consistent with a model of coparenting as a mediator but not as a moderator of the relationship between marital adjustment and parenting stress. In the case of mothers, parenting alliance mediates the relationships between two dimensions of marital adjustment (dyadic consensus and dyadic cohesion) on parenting stress; in the case of fathers, parenting alliance serves as a mediator of the relationship between the marital adjustment (in terms of dyadic satisfaction) and parenting stress. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.
Highlights
Psychological stress has been conceptualized as an experience arising from continuous interactions and adjustments between a person and his environment (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)
We explored the role of parenting alliance as a mediator or a moderator of the relation between marital adjustment and parenting stress
Our results support the hypothesis that parenting alliance could function as a link in the relationship between marital adjustment and parenting stress for both mothers and fathers but did not sustain the moderating role of parenting alliance for both parents
Summary
Psychological stress has been conceptualized as an experience arising from continuous interactions and adjustments between a person and his environment (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Because high levels of stress that arises from the demands of parenthood has been shown to impact several areas of family life, including both the quality of parent-child relationship and child adjustment (Östberg & Hagekull, 2013), it is important to understand which factors may predict this parental condition. At this regard, the attention to the quality of marital functioning and coparenting relationship may be valuable
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