Family change and co-parenting in resident couples and children’s behavioral problems

ABSTRACT

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (n = 1553), the present study examined whether father involvement and co-parenting quality mediated the association between union instability (number of residential romantic partner changes) over the first 5 years of life and children’s externalizing problem behaviors (EPB) at 5 years. The results indicate that only co-parenting support mediated the association between union instability and children’s EPB, controlling for known covariates of children’s EPB. The findings suggest that the union instability associated with romantic partner transitions has a deleterious effect on children’s behaviors because the change in union status decreases the quality of the co-parenting relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• Union instability
• externalizing problem behaviors
• co-parenting support
• father involvement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Although the year 3 questionnaire is used to construct both union instability variables, there is no overlap in the union changes measured with each variable because we are measuring changes between the waves. For example, a change in romantic, residential status when the child was 3 years old would be captured in the union instability between 0 and 3 variable, but would not be captured in the union instability between 3 and 5 years unless mothers reported another change in romantic, residential status when the child was 5 years old.

2 Models were run using untransformed and transformed union instability variables. The same variables were significant in each model.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a training grant (R01HD04121) from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The authors thank the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) [grant number R01HD36916], [grant number R01HD39135], [grant number R01HD40421], as well as a consortium of private foundations for their support of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study.