Romantic relationship satisfaction and coparenting quality in families with children previously diagnosed with developmental delay

Abstract

Children with developmental delay (DD) are at increased risk for behavioral difficulties. Past research has indicated that behavioral problems can interact with other parental difficulties in families of children with DD. To date, no research has explored the moderating role of marital satisfaction in the relationship between child behavioral difficulties and coparenting quality in families of children with DD. The purpose of this study was to undertake such an examination in a sample of 56 families with school-aged children previously identified with DD. To test the hypothesis that marital satisfaction moderates the relation between child behavior problems and coparenting disagreement, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted for mothers and fathers, respectively. Results demonstrated child problem behaviors predicted coparenting problems for fathers only, and that child problem behaviors interacted with marital satisfaction to predict coparenting difficulties for fathers but not mothers. Findings suggest that marital satisfaction may attenuate the effects of behavior problems on the coparenting relationship for fathers. Study implications and future directions are discussed.