Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Longitudinal Interrelations between Dyadic Coping and Coparenting Conflict in Couples

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Child and Family Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

During the past few decades, research has increasingly addressed the associations between the interparental relationship and coparenting. However, limited headway has been made to systematically examine the longitudinal and bidirectional effects in this link. In the present study we tested whether change in couples’ dyadic coping predicted the trajectory of coparenting conflict over 1 year, or the reciprocal pathway, drawing data from a RCT intervention study in 150 parental couples. Couples were randomly assigned to (1) a couple-focused program (CCET), (2) a parenting training (Triple P), or (3) an untreated control group. The parents’ perceptions of their dyadic coping skills and coparenting conflict were assessed by means of questionnaires 2 weeks prior to and 2 weeks after completion of the treatment, at 6-month, and at 1-year follow-up. Results indicated that for the total sample, independent of treatment, increase in mothers’, but not fathers’, reports of dyadic coping from pre- to post-assessment predicted their own decrease in coparenting conflict over time, after controlling for both partners’ baseline levels, average age of children per family, and problematic behavior of one target child reported by parents. In contrast, decrease in coparenting conflict from pre- to post-assessment was not related with the trajectory of dyadic coping. This pattern of findings suggests that enhancement of dyadic coping skills in parents may be a promising means to promote the parents’ intimate relationship and, as a result, their supportive coparenting.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adler-Baeder, F., Garneau, C., Vaughn, B., McGill, J., Harcourt, K. T., Ketring, S., & Smith, T. (2016). The effects of mother participation in relationship education on coparenting, parenting, and child social competence: Modeling spillover effects for low-income minority preschool children. Family Process, Advance online publication. doi:10.1111/famp.12267.

  • Allen, S. M., & Hawkins, A. J. (1999). Maternal gatekeeping: Mothers’ beliefs and behaviors that inhibit greater father involvement in family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 199–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., & Hsieh, K.-H. (1998). Patterns of marital change during the early childhood years: Parent personality, coparenting, and division-of-labor correlates. Journal of Family Psychology, 12(4), 511–528. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.12.4.511.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bodenmann, G. (1997). Dyadic coping: A systemic-transactional view of stress and coping among couples: Theory and empirical findings. European Review of Applied Psychology, 47, 137–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bodenmann, G. (2005). Dyadic coping and its significance for marital functioning. In T. A. Revenson, K. Kayser, & G. Bodenmann (Eds.), Couples coping with stress: Emerging perspectives on dyadic coping (pp. 33–50). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bodenmann, G. (2008). Dyadisches coping inventar: DCI. [Dyadic coping inventory: DCI]. Bern: Huber.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bodenmann, G., Cina, A., Ledermann, T., & Sanders, M. R. (2008). The efficacy of the Triple P-positive parenting program in improving parenting and child behavior: A comparison with two other treatment conditions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46(4), 411–427. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2008.01.001.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bodenmann, G., Meuwly, N., Bradbury, T. N., Gmelch, S., & Ledermann, T. (2010). Stress, anger, and verbal aggression in intimate relationships: Moderating effects of individual and dyadic coping. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27(3), 408–424. doi:10.1177/0265407510361616.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bodenmann, G., & Shantinath, S. D. (2004). The couples coping enhancement training (CCET): A new approach to prevention of marital distress based upon stress and coping. Family Relations, 53(5), 477–484. doi:10.1111/j.0197-6664.2004.00056.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolger, N., & Laurenceau, J.-P. (2013). Intensive longitudinal methods: An introduction to diary and experience sampling research (1st ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christopher, C., Umemura, T., Mann, T., Jacobvitz, D., & Hazen, N. (2015). Marital quality over the transition to parenthood as a predictor of coparenting. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(12), 3636–3651. doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0172-0.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (vol. 2). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, C. P., Cowan, P. A., & Barry, J. (2011). Couples’ groups for parents of preschoolers: Ten-year outcomes of a randomized trial. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(2), 240–250. doi:10.1037/a0023003.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, C. P., Cowan, P. A., Pruett, M. K., & Pruett, K. (2007). An approach to preventing coparenting conflict and divorce in low-income families: Strengthening couple relationships and fostering fathers’ involvement. Family Process, 46(1), 109–121. 13p.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, P. A., & Cowan, C. P. (2002). Interventions as tests of family systems theories: Marital and family relationships in children’s development and psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 14(4), 731–759. doi:10.1017/S0954579402004054.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, P. A., & Cowan, C. P. (2014). Controversies in couple relationship education (CRE): Overlooked evidence and implications for research and policy. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 20(4), 361–383. doi:10.1037/law0000025.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, P. A., Cowan, C. P., & Knox, V. (2010). Marriage and fatherhood programs. Future of Children, 20(2), 205–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowan, P. A., Cowan, C. P., Pruett, M. K., Pruett, K., & Gillette, P. (2014). Evaluating a couples group to enhance father involvement in low-income families using a benchmark comparison. Family Relations, 63(3), 356–370. doi:10.1111/fare.12072.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, E. M., Faircloth, W. B., Mitchell, P. M., Cummings, J. S., & Schermerhorn, A. C. (2008). Evaluating a brief prevention program for improving marital conflict in community families. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(2), 193–202. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.22.2.193.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dadds, M. R., & Powell, M. B. (1991). The relationship of interparental conflict and global marital adjustment to aggression, anxiety, and immaturity in aggressive and nonclinic children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19(5), 553–567. doi:10.1007/BF00925820.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doss, B. D., Simpson, L. E., & Christensen, A. (2004). Why do couples seek marital therapy? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35(6), 608–614. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.35.6.608.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyberg, S. M., & Pincus, D. (1999). Eyberg child behavior inventory and sutter-eyberg student behavior inventory-revised: Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falconier, M. K., Jackson, J. B., Hilpert, P., & Bodenmann, G. (2015). Dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 42, 28–46. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2015.07.002.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Feinberg, M. E. (2002). Coparenting and the transition to parenthood: A framework for prevention. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 5(3), 173–195. doi:10.1023/A:1019695015110.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Feinberg, M. E. (2003). The internal structure and ecological context of coparenting: A framework for research and intervention. Parenting: Science & Practice, 3(2), 95–131. doi:10.1207/S15327922PAR0302_01.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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, 751–764. 10.1007/s11121-016-0674-z

  • 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), 253–263. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.22.2.253.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gabriel, B., & Bodenmann, G. (2006). Elterliche Kompetenzen und Erziehungskonflikte. Eine ressourcenorientierte Betrachtung von familiären Negativdynamiken [Parental competencies and conflicts related to parenting: A resource-oriented view of negative dynamics in families]. Kindheit Und Entwicklung, 15(1), 9–18. doi:10.1026/0942-5403.15.1.9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinrichs, N., Bussing, R., Henrich, E., Schwarzer, G., & Briegel, W. (2014). Die Erfassung expansiven Verhaltens mit der deutschen Version des Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI). [The assessment of expansive behavior with the German version of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI)]. Diagnostica, 60(4), 197–210. doi:10.1026/0012-1924/a000115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, J. M., Simpson, A., Dunn, J., Rasbash, J., & O’Connor, T. G. (2005). Mutual influence of marital conflict and children’s behavior problems: Shared and nonshared family risks. Child Development, 76(1), 24–39. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00827.x.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, L. F., & Gottman, J. M. (1996). Spillover effects of marital conflict: In search of parenting and coparenting mechanisms. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 1996(74), 57–76. doi:10.1002/cd.23219967406.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Newton, T. L. (2001). Marriage and health: His and hers. Psychological Bulletin, 127(4), 472–503. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.127.4.472.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kitzmann, K. M. (2000). Effects of marital conflict on subsequent triadic family interactions and parenting. Developmental Psychology, 36(1), 3–13. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.36.1.3.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger, C., Hahlweg, K., Heinrichs, N., Döpfner, M., & Plück, J. (2009). Erziehungskonfliktskala (EKS): Reliabilität und Validität [The German version of the Parent Problem Checklist: Reliability and validity]. Diagnostica, 55(4), 201–210. doi:10.1026/0012-1924.55.4.201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundquist, E., Hsueh, J., Lowenstein, A., Faucetta, K., Gubits, D., Michalopoulos, C., & Knox, V. (2014). A family-strengthening program for low-income families: Final impacts from the Supporting Healthy Marriage evaluation. OPRE Report 2013-49A. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Mahoney, A., Jouriles, E. N., & Scavone, J. (1997). Marital adjustment, marital discord over childrearing, and child behavior problems: Moderating effects of child age. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26(4), 415–423. doi:10.1207/s15374424jccp2604_10.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Margolin, G., Gordis, E. B., & Richard, S. J. (2001). Coparenting: A link between marital conflict and parenting in two-parent families. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(1), 3–21. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.15.1.3.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McHale, J. P. (1995). Coparenting and triadic interactions during infancy: The roles of marital distress and child gender. Developmental Psychology, 31(6), 985–996. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.31.6.985.

    Google Scholar 

  • McHale, J. P., & Lindahl, K. M. (2011). Coparenting: A conceptual and clinical examination of family systems (vol. xii). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • McHale, J. P., Salman-Engin, S., & Coovert, M. D. (2015). Improvements in unmarried African American parents’ rapport, communication, and problem-solving following a prenatal coparenting intervention. Family Process, 54(4), 619–629. doi:10.1111/famp.12147.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbeck, F. W., & Jackson, J. B. (2016). Measuring dyadic coping across cultures. In M. K. Falconier, A. K. Randall, & G. Bodenmann (Eds.), Couples coping with stress - A cross-cultural perspective (pp. 36–53). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petch, J. F., Halford, W. K., Creedy, D. K., & Gamble, J. (2012). A randomized controlled trial of a couple relationship and coparenting program (Couple CARE for Parents) for high- and low-risk new parents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80(4), 662–673. doi:10.1037/a0028781.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, M. R. (1999). Triple P-Positive Parenting Program: Towards an empirically validated multilevel parenting and family support strategy for the prevention of behavior and emotional problems in children. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2(2), 71–90. doi:10.1023/A:1021843613840.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Mangelsdorf, S. C., Brown, G. L., & Szewczyk Sokolowski, M. (2007). Goodness-of-fit in family context: Infant temperament, marital quality, and early coparenting behavior. Infant Behavior and Development, 30(1), 82–96. doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2006.11.008.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Mangelsdorf, S. C., Frosch, C. A., & McHale, J. L. (2004). Associations between coparenting and marital behavior from infancy to the preschool years. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(1), 194–207. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.18.1.194.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, M. S., Cowan, P. A., Pape Cowan, C., & Brennan, R. T. (2004). Coming home upset: Gender, marital satisfaction, and the daily spillover of workday experience into couple interactions. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(1), 250–263. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.18.1.250.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stroud, C. B., Durbin, C. E., Wilson, S., & Mendelsohn, K. A. (2011). Spillover to triadic and dyadic systems in families with young children. Journal of Family Psychology, 25(6), 919–930. doi:10.1037/a0025443.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., Klein, L. C., Lewis, B. P., Gruenewald, T. L., Gurung, R. A. R., & Updegraff, J. A. (2000). Biobehavioral responses to stress in females: Tend-and-befriend, not fight-or-flight. Psychological Review, 107(3), 411–429. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.107.3.411.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Teubert, D., & Pinquart, M. (2010). The association between coparenting and child adjustment: A meta-analysis. Parenting: Science & Practice, 10(4), 286–307. doi:10.1080/15295192.2010.492040. 22p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, R. G., Moore, Q., Clarkwest, A., & Killewald, A. (2014). The long-term effects of building strong families: A program for unmarried parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(2), 446–463. doi:10.1111/jomf.12094.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zemp, M., Bodenmann, G., Backes, S., Sutter-Stickel, D., & Revenson, T. A. (2016a). The importance of parents’ dyadic coping for children. Family Relations, 65, 275–286. doi:10.1111/fare.12189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zemp, M., Bodenmann, G., & Cummings, E. M. (2016c). The significance of interparental conflict for children: Rationale for couple-focused programs in family therapy. European Psychologist, 21(2), 99–108. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zemp, M., Milek, A., Cummings, E. M., Cina, A., & Bodenmann, G. (2016b). How couple- and parenting-focused programs affect child behavioral problems: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(3), 798–810. doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0260-1.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study has been funded by a grant of the Gebert Ruef Foundation.

Author Contributions

M.Z.: assisted with the data analyses and wrote the paper. A.M.: analyzed the data, wrote part of the results and method section, and collaborated in the editing of the final manuscript. E.M.C.: collaborated in the writing and editing of the final manuscript. G.B.: designed and executed the study, collaborated in the editing of the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, L13, 15-17, Mannheim, 68131, Germany

    Martina Zemp

  2. University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Anne Milek

  3. University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA

    E. Mark Cummings

  4. University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Guy Bodenmann

Authors
  1. Martina Zemp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anne Milek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. Mark Cummings
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Guy Bodenmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martina Zemp.

Ethics declarations

Compliance with Ethical Standards

We have complied with APA ethical standards in this research.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Informed Consent

All participants received informed consent prior to study participation.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zemp, M., Milek, A., Cummings, E.M. et al. Longitudinal Interrelations between Dyadic Coping and Coparenting Conflict in Couples. J Child Fam Stud 26, 2276–2290 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0742-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0742-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation