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Bidirectional Associations between Youth Adjustment and Mothers’ and Fathers’ Coparenting Conflict

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Abstract

Research demonstrates significant associations between coparenting conflict and child adjustment problems. However, the implications of youth adjustment for coparenting, especially during youth’s adolescence, remain poorly understood. Addressing several gaps in the literature, this study examines the longitudinal trajectory of mothers’ and fathers’ reported coparenting conflict from youth ages 10–17 and tests bidirectional associations between youth social anxiety, hostility, risk-taking behaviors, and mothers’ and fathers’ coparenting conflict. Participants include 757 mothers, fathers, and youth in two-parent families (M youth age = 11.28, SD = 0.49; 53% female) who participated in 5 waves of data collection when youth were in the 6th to 9th grades. Multilevel growth curve models revealed significant non-linear change in mothers’ and fathers’ coparenting conflict, such that coparenting conflict declined through youth’s transition to adolescence, leveled off in early adolescence, and declined in the mid-late adolescent years. Cross-lagged models showed significant positive associations between youth social anxiety and hostility and coparenting conflict at the following time point, but coparenting conflict did not predict later youth adjustment problems in these domains. There were significant bidirectional associations between mother-reported coparenting conflict and youth risk-taking behaviors; the associations between coparenting conflict and risk-taking were not significant for fathers. The findings demonstrate that investigating longitudinal associations between youth adjustment and coparenting conflict may provide new insights into the role of child effects for mothers’ and fathers’ coparenting experiences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queens College, CUNY, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA

    Elizabeth M. Riina

  2. The Pennsylvania State University, 314 Biobehavioral Health Building, State College, PA, 16801, USA

    Jin-kyung Lee & Mark E. Feinberg

Authors
  1. Elizabeth M. Riina
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  2. Jin-kyung Lee
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  3. Mark E. Feinberg
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Contributions

E.R. conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination and drafted the manuscript; J.L. participated in statistical analysis and interpretation of the data; M.F. was co-PI on the original grant, participated in the design of the study and helped to interpret data and draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by grants DA 013709 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and from the Research Foundation of the City University of New York, 67286-00 45.

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Data from this manuscript is not available.

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Correspondence to Elizabeth M. Riina.

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All procedures described in the study were approved by the local IRB(s).

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All parent and youth study participants were provided with informed consent about the study as part of recruitment procedures.

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Riina, E.M., Lee, Jk. & Feinberg, M.E. Bidirectional Associations between Youth Adjustment and Mothers’ and Fathers’ Coparenting Conflict. J Youth Adolescence 49, 1617–1630 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01262-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01262-6

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