The longitudinal and bidirectional relationships between cooperative coparenting and child behavioral problems in low-income, unmarried families.

Abstract

The coparenting subsystem is important for the psychosocial development of young children. In this article, we used cross-lagged structural equation modeling to assess the bidirectional relations between unmarried parents' cooperative coparenting and their children's behavioral problems. Using a subsample of 788 dyads of poor, unmarried parents and their children from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing data, we examined trends in coparenting and behavioral problems over time (in children ages 1, 3, 5, and 9 years) and the reciprocal effects between these 2 variables. All pathways from coparenting at 1 time point to the children's behavioral problems at the following time point were significant, indicating that cooperative coparenting at earlier time points is likely to result in fewer behavioral problems in children at later time points. A cross-lagged path from behavioral problems to coparenting in the preschool years was also statistically significant. Implications for interventions and next steps for further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).