Abstract
The birth of an infant sibling is a normative life event for most young children and their parents. Prior research has indicated that coparenting the first child during the pregnancy with the second predicts the firstborn’s behavioral adjustment after the birth of their infant sibling. Using a latent dyad model (LDM), we tested the dyadic (variance shared across mothers and fathers) and individual (residual variance) contributions of mothers’ and fathers’ depression, parental efficacy, and parenting stress as predictors of undermining and cooperative coparenting with the first child during the last trimester of pregnancy with the second child. LDM revealed that it was the latent dyadic components of depression, efficacy, and parenting stress that couples shared that predicted coparenting relationship quality and not unique individual parent variability. Higher dyadic depression and lower dyadic parental efficacy predicted more undermining parenting, whereas higher dyadic efficacy predicted more cooperative coparenting of the first child before the birth of the second child. Further, children’s externalizing behaviors and marital conflict had effects on coparenting indirectly by decreasing parents’ sense of efficacy in managing difficult child behavior and increasing depressive symptoms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561–571. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004.
Braiker, H. B., & Kelley, H. H. (1979). Conflict in the development of close relationships. In R. L. Burgess & T. L. Huston (Eds.), Social exchange in developing relationships (pp. 135–168). New York: Academic.
Campis, L. K., Lyman, R. D., & Prentice-Dunn, S. (1986). The Parental Locus of Control Scale: Development and validation. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 15, 60–267. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp1503_10.
Chen, B. B. (2018). The relationship between Chinese mothers’ parenting stress and sibling relationships: A moderated mediation model of maternal warmth and co-parenting. Early Child Development and Care, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2018.1536048.
Cook, J. C., Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Buckley, C. K., & Davis, E. F. (2009). Are some children harder to coparent than others? Children’s negative emotionality and coparenting relationship quality. Journal of Family Psychology, 23(4), 606–610. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015992.
Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (2003). Understanding families as systems. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12(5), 193–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.01259.
Crnic, K. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (1990). Minor parenting stresses with young children. Child Development, 61, 1628–1637. https://doi.org.lib.assumption.edu/10.2307/1130770.
Durtschi, J. A., Soloski, K. L., & Kimmes, J. (2017). The dyadic effects of supportive coparenting and parental stress on relationship quality across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(2), 308–321. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12194.
Elliston, D., McHale, J., Talbot, J., Parmley, M., & Kuersten-Hogan, R. (2008). Withdrawal from coparenting interactions during early infancy. Family Process, 47(4), 481–499. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2008.00267.x.
Feinberg, M. E. (2003). The internal structure and ecological context of coparenting: A framework for research and intervention. Parenting: Science and Practice, 3(2), 95–131. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327922PAR0302_01.
Feinberg, M. E., & Kan, M. L. (2008). Establishing family foundations: Intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(2), 253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.2.253.
Feinberg, M. E., Jones, D. E., Hostetler, M. L., Roettger, M. E., Paul, I. M., & Ehrenthal, D. B. (2016). Couple-focused prevention at the transition to parenthood, a randomized trial: Effects on coparenting, parenting, family violence, and parent and child adjustment. Prevention Science, 17(6), 751–764. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-016-0674-z.
Goldberg, W., & Michaels, G. (1988). Conclusion: The transition to parenthood: Synthesis and future directions. In G. Michaels & W. Goldberg (Eds.), The transition to parenthood: Current theory and research (pp. 342–360). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gonzalez, R., & Griffin, D. (2002). Modeling the personality of dyads and groups. Journal of Personality, 70(6), 901–924. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.05027.
Holland, A. S., & McElwain, N. L. (2013). Maternal and paternal perceptions of coparenting as a link between marital quality and the parent–toddler relationship. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(1), 117–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031427.
Isacco, A., Garfield, C. F., & Rogers, T. E. (2010). Correlates of coparental support among married and nonmarried fathers. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 11(4), 262. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020686.
Jenkins, P. W. (1976). Conflicts of a secundigravida. Maternal-Child Nursing Journal, 5, 117–126.
Knox, D., & Wilson, K. (1978). The differences between having one and two children. The Family Coordinator, 27(1), 23–25. https://doi.org/10.2307/582722.
Kolak, A. M., & Volling, B. L. (2013). Coparenting moderates the association between firstborn children’s temperament and problem behavior across the transition to siblinghood. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(3), 355–364. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032864.
Kreppner, K. (1988). Changes in parent-child relationships with the birth of a second child. Marriage and Family Review, 12, 157–181. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v12n03_09.
Kuo, P. X., Volling, B. L., & Gonzalez, R. (2017). His, hers, or theirs? Coparenting after the birth of a second child. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(6), 710–720. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000321.
Kuo, P. X., Volling, B. L., & Gonzalez, R. (2018). Gender role beliefs, work–family conflict, and father involvement after the birth of a second child. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 19(2), 243–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000101.
Latham, R. M., Mark, K. M., & Oliver, B. R. (2018). Coparenting and children’s disruptive behavior: Interacting processes for parenting sense of competence. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(1), 151–156. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000362.
Le, Y., McDaniel, B. T., Leavitt, C. E., & Feinberg, M. E. (2016). Longitudinal associations between relationship quality and coparenting across the transition to parenthood: A dyadic perspective. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(8), 918–926. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000217.
Ledermann, T., & Kenny, D. A. (2012). The common fate model for dyadic data: Variations of a theoretically important but underutilized model. Journal of Family Psychology, 26(1), 140–148. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026624.
Letourneau, N. L., Dennis, C. L., Benzies, K., Duffett-Leger, L., Stewart, M., Tryphonopoulos, P. D., et al. (2012). Postpartum depression is a family affair: Addressing the impact on mothers, fathers, and children. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 33(7), 445–457. https://doi.org/10.3109/01612840.2012.673054.
Margolin, G., Gordis, E. B., & John, R. S. (2001). Coparenting: A link between marital conflict and parenting in two-parent families. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.15.1.3.
McConnell, M., Khazan, I., Lauretti, A., & McHale, J. (2003, April). Time to expand: Studying coparenting in families with multiple children. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development, Tampa, FL.
McHale, J. P. (1995). Coparenting and triadic interactions during infancy: The roles of marital distress and child gender. Developmental Psychology, 31(6), 985–996. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.31.6.985.
McHale, J. P. (2007). When infants grow up in multiperson relationship systems. Infant Mental Health Journal, 28, 370–392. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.20142.
McHale, J. P., Kazali, C., Rotman, T., Talbot, J., Carleton, M., & Lieberson, R. (2004). The transition to co-parenthood: Parents’ pre-birth expectations and early coparental adjustment at three months post-partum. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 711–733. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579404004742.
Mercer, R. T. (1979). Having another child: She’s a multip….She knows the ropes. MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 4, 301–304.
Merilo, K. F. (1988). Is it better the second time around? MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, 13, 200–204.
Murphy, S. E. (2018). We can work it out: Mothers’ and fathers’ coparenting of two children (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Murphy, S. E., Jacobvitz, D. B., & Hazen, N. L. (2016). What’s so bad about competitive coparenting? Family-level predictors of children’s externalizing symptoms. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(5), 1684–1690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0321-5.
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2017). Mplus user’s guide. Eighth edition. Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.
Paulson, J. F., & Bazemore, S. D. (2010). Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association, 303(19), 1961–1969. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2010.605.
Pinto, T. M., Figueiredo, B., Pinheiro, L. L., & Canário, C. (2016). Fathers’ parenting self-efficacy during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 34(4), 343–355. https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2016.1178853.
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/brm.40.3.879.
Schoppe, S. J., Mangelsdorf, S. C., Frosch, C. A., & McHale, S. (2001). Coparenting, family process, and family structure: Implications for preschoolers’ externalizing behavior problems. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(3), 526–545. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.15.3.526.
Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., & Mangelsdorf, S. C. (2013). Parent characteristics and early coparenting behavior at the transition to parenthood. Social Development, 22(2), 363–383. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12014.
Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Mangelsdorf, S. C., & Frosch, C. A. (2004). Associations between coparenting and marital behavior from infancy to the preschool years. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(1), 194–207. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.18.1.194.
Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Weldon, A. H., Cook, J. C., Davis, E. F., & Buckley, C. K. (2009). Coparenting behavior moderates longitudinal relations between effortful control and preschool children’s externalizing behavior. Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(6), 698–706. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02009.x.
Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Altenburger, L. E., Lee, M. A., Bower, D. J., & Kamp Dush, C. M. (2015). Who are the gatekeepers? Predictors of maternal gatekeeping. Parenting Science and Practice, 15, 166–186. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2015.1053321.
Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Settle, T., Lee, J., & Kamp Dush, C. M. (2016). Supportive coparenting relationships as a haven of psychological safety at the transition to parenthood. Research in Human Development, 13(1), 32–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2016.1141281.
Solmeyer, A. R., & Feinberg, M. E. (2011). Mother and father adjustment during early parenthood: The roles of infant temperament and coparenting relationship quality. Infant Behavior and Development, 34(4), 504–514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2011.07.006.
Song, J.-H., & Volling, B. L. (2015). Coparenting and children’s temperament predict firstborns’ cooperation in the care of an infant sibling. Journal of Family Psychology, 29(1), 130–135. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000052.
Stewart, R. B. (1990). The second child: Family transition and adjustment. Newbury Park: Sage.
Szabó, N., Dubas, J. S., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2012). And baby makes four: The stability of coparenting and the effects of child temperament after the arrival of a second child. Journal of Family Psychology, 26(4), 554–564. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028805.
Teti, D. M., O’Connell, M. A., & Reiner, C. D. (1996). Parenting sensitivity, parental depression and child health: The mediational role of parental self-efficacy. Early Development and Parenting, 5(4), 237–250. https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-0917(199612)5:4<237::Aid-edp136>3.0.Co;2-5.
Teubert, D., & Pinquart, M. (2010). The association between coparenting and child adjustment: A meta-analysis. Parenting: Science and Practice, 10(4), 286–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2010.492040.
Tissot, H., Favez, N., Frascarolo, F., & Despland, J. N. (2016). Coparenting behaviors as mediators between postpartum parental depressive symptoms and toddler’s symptoms. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1912.
Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Foster, C. A. (2003). Parenthood and marital satisfaction: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(3), 574–583. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00574.x.
Volling, B. L., & Elins, J. L. (1998). Family relationships and children’s emotional adjustment as correlates of maternal and paternal differential treatment: A replication with toddler and preschool siblings. Child Development, 69(6), 1640–1656. https://doi.org/10.2307/1132137.
Volling, B. L., Yu, T., Gonzalez, R., Tengelitsch, E., & Stevenson, M. M. (2018). Maternal and paternal trajectories of depressive symptoms predict family risk and children’s emotional and behavioral problems after the birth of a sibling. Development and Psychopathology, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579418000743.
Volling, B. L., Steinberg, E. J., & Kuo, P. X. (in press). Is it easier the second time around? Fathers roles across the transition from one child to two. In H. E. Fitzgerald, K. von Klitzing, N. Cabrera, T. Skjøthaug, & J. de Scarano, Mendonça (Eds.), Handbook of fathers and child development: Prenatal to preschool. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG.
World Bank. (2019, June 21). Fertility rate, total (births per woman). Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/sp.dyn.tfrt.in
Acknowledgments
The research reported was supported by grants R01HD042607 and K02HD047423 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. We are grateful to the parents and children of the Family Transitions Study and the many research staff who helped with data collection and coding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Volling, B.L., Tan, L., Gonzalez, R., Bader, L.R. (2021). Coming Together or Falling Apart: Coparenting the First Child While Expecting the Second. In: Kuersten-Hogan, R., McHale, J.P. (eds) Prenatal Family Dynamics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51988-9_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51988-9_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-51987-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-51988-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)