Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T11:12:52.370Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The transition to coparenthood: Parents' prebirth expectations and early coparental adjustment at 3 months postpartum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2004

JAMES P. McHALE ,
CHRISTINA KAZALI ,
TAMIR ROTMAN ,
JEAN TALBOT ,
MEAGAN CARLETON  and
REBECCA LIEBERSON
JAMES P. McHALE
Affiliation:
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
CHRISTINA KAZALI
Affiliation:
University of California, San Francisco
TAMIR ROTMAN
Affiliation:
Clark University,
JEAN TALBOT
Affiliation:
University of Rochester Medical Center; and
MEAGAN CARLETON
Affiliation:
MCP Hahnemann University
REBECCA LIEBERSON
Affiliation:
Clark University,
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In the decade since the first observationally based empirical studies of coparenting process in nuclear families made their mark, most investigations of early coparenting dynamics have examined whether and how such dynamics drive child development trajectories, rather than identifying factors that may contribute to the differential development of such dynamics in the first place. In this prospective study, we examined both individual-representational and dyadic-interpersonal predictors of early coparental process. Fifty married couples expecting their first child portrayed their expectations and concerns about family life after the baby's arrival, and took part in a set of problem-solving tasks used to help evaluate marital quality. Both mothers' and fathers' prebaby expectations about the future family, and prenatal marital quality, predicted observed coparenting cohesion at 3 months postpartum. Maternal– and marriage–coparenting trajectories differed as a function of infant characteristics, with pathways most pronounced when infants were rated high in negative reactivity. Results reveal how the prenatal environment can come to shape early coparenting process, and indicate that family models must take into account the role that child characteristics can play in altering prebirth–postpartum pathways.This study was supported by National Institute of Child Health and Development Grant RO1 HD42179. We thank the families who contributed their time and effort to the investigation and our colleagues Regina Kuersten–Hogan, Wendy DeCourcey, Julia Berkman, Valerie Haskell, Meaghan DiLallo, Nina Olsen, Amy Alberts, Oliver Hartman, Stefanie Giampa, Eleanor Chaffe, and Kate Fish for their assistance with various aspects of this project.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , September 2004 , pp. 711 - 733
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allen, S., & Hawkins, A. (1999). Maternal gatekeeping: Mothers' beliefs and behaviors that inhibit greater father involvement in family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family 61, 199–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology Monographs 4, 1–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belsky, J., Crnic, K., & Gable, S. (1995). The determinants of coparenting in families with toddler boys: Spousal differences and daily hassles. Child Development 66, 629–642.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belsky, J., Lang, M., & Huston, T. (1986). Sex typing and division of labor as determinants of marital change across the transition to parenthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 50, 517–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belsky, J, Lang, M., & Rovine, M. (1985). Stability and change in marriage across the transition to parenthood: A second study. Journal of Marriage and the Family 47, 855–865.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belsky, J., Putnam, S., & Crnic, K (1996). Coparenting, parenting, and early family development. In J. P. McHale & P. A. Cowan (Eds.), Understanding how family-level dynamics affect children's development: Studies of two parent families. New directions for child development (Vol. 74, pp. 45–57). San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass.
Belsky, J., Spanier, G. B., & Rovine, M. (1983). Stability and change in the transition to parenthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family 45, 567–577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Block, J. (1971). Lives through time. Berkeley, CA: Bancroft Books.
Brody, G., & Flor, D. (1996). Coparenting, family interactions, and competence among African American youths. In J. McHale & P. Cowan (Eds.), Understanding how family-level dynamics affect children's development: Studies of two-parent families. New directions for child development (Vol. 74, pp. 77–91). San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass.
Carleton, M., Rotman, T., Fish, K., & McHale, J. (2001, April). Linking observational and narrative indices of coparental coordination and collaboration at 3 months postpartum. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN.
Carleton, M., Rotman, T., & McHale, J. (1999, August). Assessing early coparenting dynamics within families via observational, narrative, and self-report methods. Paper presented at the 106th annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Boston.
Carleton, M., Rotman, T., & McHale, J. (2000, July). Assessing the family's coparenting dynamic at infant age 3 months. Paper presented at the International Conference on Infant Studies, Brighton, UK.
Carter, A., Little, L., Briggs–Gowan, M., & Kogan, N. (1999). The infant–toddler social and emotional assessment (ITSEA): Comparing parent ratings to laboratory observations of task mastery, emotion regulation, coping behaviors and attachment status. Infant Mental Health Journal 20, 375–392.3.0.CO;2-P>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cobb, C. (1996). Adolescent–parent attachments and family problem-solving styles. Family Process 35, 57–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohler, B., Grunebaum, H., Weiss, J., & Moran, D. (1971). The childcare attitudes of two generations of mothers. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly 17, 3–17.Google Scholar
Cohn, J., & Tronick, E. (1983). Three month old infants' reaction to simulated maternal depression. Child Development 54, 185–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coiro, M., & Emery, R. (1998). Do marriage problems affect fathering more than mothering? A quantitative and qualitative review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 1, 23–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowan, C., & Cowan, P. (1987). Men's involvement in parenthood: Identifying the antecedents and understanding the barriers. In P. Berman & F. Pedersen (Eds.), Men's transitions to parenthood: Longitudinal studies of early family experience (pp. 145–174). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Cowan, C. P., & Cowan, P. A. (1988). Who does what when partners become parents: Implications for men, women, and marriage. Marriage & Family Review 12, 105–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowan, C. P., & Cowan, P. A. (1992). When partners become parents: The big life change for couples. New York: Basic Books.
Cox, M., Tresch–Owen, M., & Lewis, J. (1989, April). Prebirth marital relationships and child development at age 2½. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development, Washington, DC.
Crouter, A. C., Perry–Jenkins, M., Huston, T. L., & McHale, S. M. (1987). Processes underlying father involvement in dual-earner and single-earner families. Developmental Psychology 23, 431–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deinhart, A., & Daly, K. (1997). Men and women cocreating father involvement in a nongenerative culture. In A. Hawkins & D. Dollahite (Eds.), Generative fathering: Beyond deficit perspectives (pp. 147–164). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
DeLuccie, M. (1995). Mothers as gatekeepers: A model of maternal mediators of father involvement. Journal of Genetic Psychology 156, 115–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deutsch, F. M., Lussier, J. B., & Servis, L. J. (1993). Husbands at home: Predictors of paternal participation in child care and house work. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65, 1154–1166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, D., Heinicke, C., & Mintz, J. (1996). Separation–individuation as a family transactional process in the transition to parenthood. Infant Mental Health Journal 17, 24–42.3.0.CO;2-1>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickstein, S., Seifer, R., Hayden, L., Schiller, M., Sameroff, A., Keitner, G., Miller, I., Rasmussen, S., Matzgo, M., & McGee, K. (1998). Levels of family assessment, II: Impact of maternal psychopathology on family functioning. Journal of Family Psychology 12, 23–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickstein, S., Seifer, R., & Magee, K. (1999, April). Maternal depression, family functioning, and infant development: A narrative assessment of birth stories. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development, Albuquerque, NM.
Ehrenberg, M. F., Gearing–Small, M., & Hunter, M. (2001). Childcare task division and shared parenting attitudes in dual-earner families with young children. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies 50, 143–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisler, I., Dare, C., Hodes, M., Russell, G., Dodge, E., & La Grange, D. (2000). Family therapy for adolescent anorexia nervosa: The results of a controlled comparison of two family interventions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines 41, 727–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emde, R. (1991). The wonder of our complex enterprise: Steps enabled by attachment and the effects of relationships on relationships. Infant Mental Health Journal 12, 164–173.3.0.CO;2-4>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erel, O., & Burman, B. (1995). Inter-relatedness of marital relations and parent–child relations. Psychological Bulletin 118, 108–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feinberg, M. E. (2002). Coparenting and prevention at the transition to parenthood. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 5, 173–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiese, B., Sameroff, A., Grotevant, H., Wamboldt, F., Dickstein, S., Fravel, D., Marjinsky, K., Gorall, D., Piper, J., St. Andre, M., Seifer, R., & Schiller, M. (1999). The stories that families tell: Narrative coherence, narrative interaction, and relationship beliefs. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 64, 1–162.Google Scholar
Fivaz–Depeursinge, E., & Corboz–Warnery, A. (1999). The Primary triangle. A developmental systems view of fathers, mothers and infants. New York: Basic Books.
Fivaz–Depeursinge, E, Frascarolo, F., & Corboz–Warnery, A. (1996). Assessing the triadic alliance between father, mother, and infant at play. In J. P. McHale & P. A. Cowan (Eds.), Understanding how family-level dynamics affect children's development: Studies of two parent families (pp. 27–44). San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass.
Frosch, C., Mangelsdorf, S., & McHale, J. (2000). Marital behavior and the security of preschooler–parent attachment relationships Journal of Family Psychology 14, 144–161.Google Scholar
Gable, S., Belsky, J., & Crnic, K. (1995). Coparenting during the child's second year: A descriptive account. Journal of Marriage and the Family 57, 609–616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, R., Christensen, A., & Margolin, G. (1984). Patterns of alliances in nondistressed and multiproblem families. Family Process 23, 75–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottman, J., Markman, H., & Notarius, C. (1977). The topography of marital conflict: A sequential analysis of verbal and nonverbal behavior. Journal of Marriage and the Family 39, 461–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grote, N. K., & Clark, M. S. (2001). Perceiving unfairness in the family: Cause or consequence of marital distress? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 80, 281–293.Google Scholar
Hackel, L. S., & Ruble, D. N. (1992). Changes in the marital relationship after the first baby is born: Predicting the impact of expectancy disconfirmation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 62, 944–957.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayden, L., Schiller, M., Dickstein, S., Seifer, R., Sameroff, A., Miller, I., Keitner, G., & Rasmussen, S. (1998). Levels of family assessment, I: Family, marital, and parent–child interaction. Journal of Family Psychology 12, 7–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinicke, C., & Lampl, E. (1988). Pre- and post-birth antecedents of 3- and 4-year-old attention, IQ, verbal expressiveness, task orientation, and capacity for relationships. Infant Behavior & Development 11, 381–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heming, G., Cowan, P. A., & Cowan, C. P. (1991). Ideas about parenting. In M. Touliatos & M. Perlmutter (Eds.), Handbook of family measurement techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Hinde, R. (1989). Reconciling the family systems and the relationships approaches to child development. In K. Kreppner & R. Lerner (Eds.), Family systems and life-span development (pp. 149–163). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hoffman, L. (1988). A constructivist position for family therapy. The Irish Journal of Psychology 9, 110–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffman, C., & Moon, M. (1999). Women's characteristics and gender role attitudes: Support for father involvement with children. Journal of Genetic Psychology 160, 411–418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jaccard, J., Turrisi, R., & Wan, C. (1990). Interaction effects in multiple regression. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Jones, C. W. &, Lindblad–Goldberg, M. (2002). Ecosystemic structural family therapy. In R. Massey & S. Massey (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychotherapy, Volume 3, Interpersonal/humanistic/existential. New York: Wiley.
Katz, L., & Woodin, E. (2002). Hostility, hostile detachment, and conflict engagement in marriages: Effects on child and family functioning. Child Development 73, 636–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, L. F., & Gottman, J. M. (1996). Spillover effects of marital conflict: In search of parenting and coparenting mechanisms. In J. P. McHale & P. Cowan (Eds.), Family-level dynamics and the developing child: New directions in child development (pp. 92–128). San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass.
Kerig, P. (1995). Triangles in the family circle: Effects of family structure on marriage, parenting, and child adjustment Journal of Family Psychology 9, 28–43.Google Scholar
Kitzmann, K. M. (2000). Effects of marital conflict on subsequent triadic family interactions and parenting. Developmental Psychology 36, 3–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kreppner, K. (2002). Retrospect and prospect in the psychological study of families as systems. In J. McHale & W. Grolnick (Eds.), Retrospect and prospect in the psychological study of the family (pp. 225–257). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Lamb, M. (1995). The changing roles of fathers. In J. Shapiro & M. Diamond (Eds.), Becoming a father: Contemporary, social, developmental, and clinical perspectives (pp. 18–35). New York: Springer.
Lamb, M., Pleck, J., & Levine, J. (1985). Effects of paternal involvement on fathers and mothers. Marriage & Family Review 9, 67–83.Google Scholar
Lamb, M., Pleck, J., & Levine, J. (1987). Effects of increased paternal involvement on fathers and mothers. In C. Lewis, M. O'Brien (Eds.), Reassessing fatherhood: New observations on fathers and the modern family (pp. 109–125). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lewis, J. M., Owen, M. T., & Cox, M. J. (1988). The transition to parenthood: III. Incorporation of the child into the family. Family Process 27, 411–421.Google Scholar
Lieberson, R., Rotman, T., Hartman, O., Giampa, S., Kuersten–Hogan, R., & McHale, J. (2004, January). A system for evaluating the coparenting dynamics of families with three-month-old infants. Paper presented at the World Association for Infant Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Lindahl, K. M., Clements, M., & Markman, H. (1997). Predicting marital and parent functioning in dyads and triads: A longitudinal investigation of marital process. Journal of Family Psychology 11, 139–151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Locke, J., & Wallace, K. (1959). Short marital-adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability and validity. Marriage and Family Living 21, 251–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luepnitz, D. (1988). The family interpreted: Feminist theory in clinical practice. New York: Basic Books.
MacDermid, S. M., Huston, T. L., & McHale, S. M. (1990). Changes in marriage associated with the transition to parenthood: Individual differences as a function of sex-role attitudes and changes in the division of household labor. Journal of Marriage & the Family 52, 475–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McConnell, M., & Kerig, P. (2002). Assessing coparenting in families of school-age children: Validation of the coparenting and family rating system. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science 34, 44–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McHale, J. P. (1995). Coparenting and triadic interactions during infancy: The roles of marital distress and child gender. Developmental Psychology 31, 985–996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McHale, J., & Alberts, A. (2003). Thinking three: Coparenting and family-level considerations for infant mental health professionals. The Signal 11, 1–11.Google Scholar
McHale, J., Berkman, J., Kavanaugh, K., Carleton, M., & Alberts, A. (in press). Discovery and construction: Uncovering early family–infant dynamics through the use of observational methodologies. In C. Lightfoot, M. Lyra, & J. Valsiner (Eds.), Challenges and strategies for studying human development in cultural contexts. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
McHale, J., & Cowan, P. (Eds.). (1996). Understanding how family-level dynamics affect children's development: Studies of two-parent families. New directions for child development (Vol. 74). San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass.
McHale, J., & Fivaz–Depeursinge, E. (1999). Understanding triadic and family group process during infancy and early childhood. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 2, 107–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McHale, J., Johnson, D., & Sinclair, R. (1999). Family-level dynamics, preschoolers' family representations, and playground adjustment. Early Education and Development 10, 373–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McHale, J., Kavanaugh, K., & Berkman, J. (2003). Sensitivity to infants' signals: As much a mandate for family researchers as for parents. In A. Booth & A. Crouter (Eds.), Children's influence on family dynamics: The neglected side of family relationships (pp. 91–108). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
McHale, J., Khazan, I., Erera, P., Rotman, T., DeCourcey, W., & McConnell, M. (2002). Coparenting in diverse family systems. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (2nd ed., pp. 75–107). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
McHale, J., Kuersten, R., & Lauretti, A. (1996). New directions in the study of family-level dynamics during infancy and early childhood. In J. McHale & P. Cowan (Eds.), Understanding how family-level dynamics affect children's development: Studies of two-parent families. New directions for child development (Vol. 74, pp. 5–26). San Francisco, CA: Jossey–Bass.
McHale, J., Kuersten–Hogan, R., & Lauretti, A. (2000). Evaluating coparenting and family-level dynamics during infancy and early childhood: The coparenting and family rating system. In P. Kerig & K. Lindahl (Eds.), Family observational coding systems: Resources for systemic research (pp. 151–170). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
McHale, J., Kuersten–Hogan, R., Lauretti, A., & Rasmussen, J. (2000). Parental reports of coparenting and observed coparenting behavior during the toddler period. Journal of Family Psychology 14, 220–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McHale, J., Lauretti, A., Talbot, J. A., & Pouquette, C. (2002). Retrospect and prospect in the psychological study of coparenting and family group process. In J. McHale & W. Grolnick (Eds.), Retrospect and prospect in the psychological study of families (pp. 127–165). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
McHale, J., Pouquette, C., Carleton, M., Khazan, I., & DeCourcey, W. (2002, July). Do prebirth expectancies about coparenting foreshadow post-birth coparenting dynamics? Paper presented at the World Association for Infant Mental Health, Amsterdam.
McHale, J., & Rasmussen, J. (1998). Coparental and family group-level dynamics during infancy: Early family precursors of child and family functioning during preschool. Development and Psychopathology 10, 39–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minuchin, P. (1985). Families and individual development: Provocations from the field of family therapy. Child Development 56, 289–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minuchin, S., & Nichols, M. (1993). Family healing: Tales of hope and renewal from family therapy. New York: Free Press.
Nichols, M., & Schwartz, R. (2001). Family therapy: Concepts and methods (5th ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Nicholson, P. (1990). A brief report of women's expectations of men's behavior in the transition to parenthood: Contradictions and conflicts for counseling psychology practice. Counseling Psychology Quarterly 3, 353–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parke, R., Ornstein, P., Rieser, J., & Zahn–Waxler, C. (1994). The past as prologue: An overview of a century of developmental psychology. In R. Parke, P. Ornstein, J. Rieser, & C. Zahn–Waxler (Eds.), A century of developmental psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Pouquette, C., Talbot, J., Berkman, J., Jacob, K., Fulton, S., & McHale, J. (2001, April). Preparedness for coparenting: Prenatal triadic statements and discrepancies in parenting philosophies. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development, Minneapolis, MN.
Radloff, L. (1977). The CES-D Scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement 1, 385–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reiss, D. (1989). The represented and practicing family: Contrasting visions of family continuity. In A. Sameroff & R. Emde (Eds.), Relationship disturbances in early childhood (pp. 191–217). New York: Basic Books.
Rollins, B., & Bahr, C. (1976). A theory of power relationships in marriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family 38, 619–627.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothbart, M. (1981). Measurement of temperament in infancy. Child Development 52, 569–578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rothbart, M. (1986). Longitudinal observation of infant temperament. Developmental Psychology 22, 356–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sagrestano, L., Christensen, A., & Heavey, C. (1998). Social influence techniques during marital conflict. Personal Relationships 5, 75–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanson, A. & Rothbart, M. (1995). Child temperament and parenting. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Vol. 4. Applied and practical parenting (pp. 299–321). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Schoppe, S., Mangelsdorf, S., & Frosch, C. (2001). Coparenting, family process, and family structure: Implications for preschoolers' externalizing behavior problems. Journal of Family Psychology 15, 526–545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seifer, R., Schiller, M., Sameroff, A., Resnick, S., & Riordan, K. (1996). Attachment, maternal sensitivity, and infant temperament during the first year of life. Developmental Psychology 32, 12–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shrout, P. E., & Fleiss, J. L. (1979). Intraclass correlation: Uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychological Bulletin 86, 420–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simpson, L. (1991). The comparative efficacy of Milan family therapy for disturbed children and their families. Journal of Family Therapy 13, 267–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sroufe, L.A. & Fleeson, J. (1986). Attachment and the construction of relationships. In W. Hartup & Z. Rubin (Eds.), Relationships and development (pp. 51–71). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Sroufe, L. A., & Fleeson, J. (1988). The coherence of family relationships. In R. Hinde & J. Stevenson–Hinde (Eds.), Relationships within families: Mutual influences (pp. 27–47). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Sroufe, L. A., Jacobvitz, D., Mangelsdorf, S., DeAngelo, E., & Ward, M. (1985). Generational boundary dissolution between mothers and their preschool children: A relationship systems approach. Child Development 56, 317–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stright, A., & Neitzel, C. (2003). Beyond parenting: Coparenting and children's classroom adjustment. International Journal of Behavioral Development 27, 31–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Talbot, J. A., & McHale, J. P. (2003). Family-level emotional climate and its impact on the flexibility of relationship representations. In P. Erdman & T. Caffery (Eds.), Attachment and family systems: Conceptual, empirical, and therapeutic relatedness (pp. 31–64). New York: Brunner–Routledge.
Talbot, J. A., & McHale, J. P. (2004). Individual parental adjustment as a moderator of the relationship between marital and coparenting quality. Journal of Adult Development 11, 221–234.Google Scholar
Umbarger, C. (1983). Structural family therapy. New York: Grune & Stratton.
Van Egeren, L. A. (2001). Le rôle du père au sein du partenariat parental [The father's role in the coparenting relationship]. Santé Mentale au Québec 26, 134–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Egeren, L. A. (2003). Prebirth predictors of coparenting experience trajectories in early infancy. Infant Mental Health Journal 24, 278–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Klitzing, K., Simoni, H., Amsler, F., & Bürgin, D. (1999). The role of the father in early family interactions. Infant Mental Health Journal 20, 222–237.3.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Klitzing, K., Simoni, H., & Bürgin, D. (1999). Child development and early triadic relationships. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 80, 71–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watzlawick, P. (1984). The invented reality. New York: Norton.
White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative means to therapeutic ends. New York: Norton.
Wille, D. E. (1995). The 1990s: Gender differences in parenting roles. Sex Roles 33, 803–817.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yahav, R., & Sharlin, S. (2002). Blame and family conflict: Symptomatic children as scapegoats. Child and Family Social Work, 7, 91–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar