Abstract
The relation between divorce, co-parenting conflicts, and children’s adjustment problems has been well established. An unresolved question for research and clinical interventions, however, is how conflicts between parents are maintained and/or escalate. This cross-sectional research tested the hypothesis that co-parenting conflicts in divorced couples are associated with perceived social network disapproval and that this relation is mediated by parents’ tendency to forgive each other. In Study 1, a convenience sample of 136 divorced parents recruited via online forums, we showed that perceived social network disapproval was indeed positively related to co-parenting conflicts and that parents’ tendency to forgive the other parent—albeit partly—explained this relationship. Strength of our research is that in Study 2, 110 parents referred to children’s mental health care because the wellbeing of the children was severely compromised by the severity of the conflicts between parents, we replicated these results. In both studies perceived social network disapproval and co-parenting conflicts were positively related and this link was mediated by forgiveness: perceived social network disapproval was negatively related to forgiveness, which in turn was negatively related to more parental conflicts.
Highlights
Living in divorced families is common (Spruijt and Kormos 2010) and may be harmful for children (Amato 2001)
Extending previous research on social network disapproval and forgiveness to co-parenting conflicts between divorced parents, we predicted that forgiveness mediates the link between perceptions of network disapproval and conflict
We predicted, and found, an indirect relation between perceived social network disapproval and co-parenting conflicts through parents’ tendency to forgive the other parent, but the direct effect remained. These findings are encouraging, Study 1 included a convenience sample of divorced parents recruited via online forums, thereby reducing the generalizability of our findings
Summary
Living in divorced families is common (Spruijt and Kormos 2010) and may be harmful for children (Amato 2001). One of the most challenging tasks for parents after divorce is to establish a high quality co-parenting relationship. This is crucial, for parental adjustment and wellbeing (Katz and Woodin 2002), and because co-parenting quality is essential to ensure children’s healthy and smooth adaptation to divorce (Amato 2005; Bronstein et al 1993; Nunes-Costa et al 2009; Whiteside 1998) and prevent developmental decrements in the long-run (Cabrera et al 2012; Levine and Painter 1998; Prevoo and Ter Weel 2014).
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