Parenting Styles, Coparenting, and Early Child Adjustment in Separated Families with Child Physical Custody Processes Ongoing in Family Court.

Mónica Pires,Mariana Martins

doi:10.3390/children8080629

Abstract

Coparenting conflict and triangulation after separation or divorce are associated with poorer child adjustment when parenting gatekeeping and conflict occur. Fewer studies reported psychosocial adjustment of children under three. We explored the effects of authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and negative coparenting on child adjustment in a purpose sample of 207 Portuguese newly separated/divorced parents (50.2% mothers/49.8% fathers) with sole or joint (49.8%/50.2%) physical custody processes ongoing in court. Parents filled out the Parenting Styles Questionnaire—Parents’ report, the Coparenting Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Parenting and coparenting moderations path analysis to predict child adjustment were tested for two groups (2/3-year-old child/>3-year-old-child) and showed a good fit, followed by multigroup path analysis with similarities. Findings suggest harsh parenting and interparental conflict and triangulation as predictors for poor early child adjustment. The ongoing custody process could contribute to increased interparental conflict. The families’ unique functioning, parenting, and conflict should be considered in young children custody decisions made in a particularly stressful period when the parental responsibilities’ process is still ongoing and conflict may increase to serve the best interest of the child and promote healthy development. Future directions and practical implications are discussed.

Highlights

Divorce or parents’ separation requires a multitude of family and individual adjustments to the new family configuration, structure, and roles on psychologic, social, and economic levels, often involving individual and family adjustments and changes at home, school, in relationships, and even community
We confirmed correlations between parenting styles and negative coparenting, higher permissiveness was associated with lower triangulating and higher interparental conflict
Within the scope of research on the impact of interparental conflict on child development, this study aimed to explore the combined predictive effects of authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and negative coparenting on psychosocial adjustment of young children of newly separated or divorced parents with an in-process child physical custody case in Family and Minors Court

Summary

Introduction

Divorce or parents’ separation requires a multitude of family and individual adjustments to the new family configuration, structure, and roles on psychologic, social, and economic levels, often involving individual and family adjustments and changes at home, school, in relationships, and even community. Previous studies focused on the aftermath of separation or divorce, but few examined new divorcees. They addressed individual adaptation, parenting, [1], and marital negotiation strategies as predictors of parental alliance [2], parenting time, interparental conflict, and quality of parenting [3]. No study focused on the transition period when the child physical custody process is still ongoing in court. This demanding, stressful phase is prone to lead to escalating interparental conflict, triangulation, and gatekeeping in parents with children at different developmental stages, in earlier development. This study aimed to test the association between parenting styles and negative coparenting covariates on a child’s adjustment in early development when the child physical custody process is still ongoing in the Family and Minors court

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