Mother-father relationships and child social-emotional adjustment: Mediation through maternal and paternal parenting

Abstract

Mother-father relationships are one of the most important contexts for children's social-emotional development during early childhood. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (family N = 1,438; child ages of 3, 5, and 9), we examined whether mother-father relationships influence child social-emotional adjustment through the mediating role of parenting. Maternal and paternal coparenting behaviors and maternal parenting stress mediated the association between mother-father relationships and child social-emotional adjustment. Dyadic data from mothers and fathers also revealed similarities and differences in how parents’ own and partner's perceptions of their marital relationships were associated with parenting between mothers and fathers. Findings underscore the importance of considering children's social-emotional adjustment from a family systems perspective.