Using an Initial Clinical Interview to Assess the Coparenting Relationship: Preliminary Examples From the Supporting Father Involvement Program

ABSTRACT

The current study uses an initial intake interview as an assessment tool in the Supporting Father Involvement (SFI) intervention and considers it from a family systems theoretical perspective. SFI includes a 32-hour group for parents with young children that aims to reduce child abuse and promote family well-being through a curriculum focused on enhancing positive father involvement and coparenting. For this study, the initial clinical interview assessed partners’ synchronies and dissonance in parenting, coparenting, and relationship satisfaction domains. Using thematic analysis, we qualitatively analyzed interviews with 15 committed, heterosexual couples, exploring themes that correspond with higher versus lower couple satisfaction measured by the Quality of Marital Satisfaction Index. Results showed a strong concordance between partners’ satisfaction scores, with fathers less satisfied than mothers. Thematic differences between higher and lower satisfaction parents centered on approach to discipline, coparenting communication, and quality of support systems. The importance of father involvement and fathers as “learning” parents and coparents were recurring themes for mothers and fathers, especially among higher satisfaction couples. Higher substance abuse and employment/financial stress were indicative of lower satisfaction couples. Discussion reflects on the utility of an initial clinical interview as an assessment and intervention planning tool and future directions for research.

KEYWORDS:

• Initial clinical interview
• family systems
• coparenting
• couple satisfaction
• father involvement

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the work of David Strauss in designing the initial clinical interview coding scheme and the editing support of Smith College student Agus Bozzano.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marsha Kline Pruett

Marsha Kline Pruett, PhD., MSL, ABPP is the Associate Dean forAcademic Affairs and Maconda Brown O'Connor Chair at the SmithCollege School for Social Work. She maintains a clinical practicefocused on parenting issues, groups couples and families. A prolificwriter, speaker, and consultant, Dr. Kline Pruett specializes in familyissues pertaining to coparenting, father involvement, life transitions,early development, conflict and family law.

Ora Nakash

Ora Nakash is a senior faculty member at the rank of professor. She will serve as the chair of Human Behavior in the Social Environment Sequence. She is an internationally recognized scholar of clinical practice. Throughout her career, she has focused on integrating her clinical and research interests to advance theoretical knowledge and generate innovative research to decrease mental health service disparities with the goal of improving the access, equity, and quality of care, for disadvantaged and minority populations.

Elizabeth Welton

Elizabeth Welton, associate clinical social worker, is the counselor at Orinda Academy. Liz is coming into her second year in this position and brings over a decade of experience in working with young people in a variety of clinical settings, including university counseling centers, wilderness therapy, residential settings, and a family help center. In addition to her work at Orinda Academy, Liz serves adolescents and their families through individual, family, and group therapy at Coyote Coast Counseling Center. Liz completed her graduate studies at Smith College School for Social Work and enjoys working to promote personal and systemic change across communities of young people.

Carolyn Pape Cowan

Carolyn Pape Cowan does research and clinical work with couples making the transition to parenthood and children making the transition to elementary and high school. She focuses on couple relationships during adult life transitions, marital distress, parenting issues, and supporting fathers’ involvement.

Philip A. Cowan

Philip A. Cowan designed couples group interventions to strengthen family relationships, guided by a family systems model in which intergenerational attachment patterns and couple relationship quality provide the contexts in which effective parenting leads to positive cognitive, social, and emotional outcomes for children.

Peter Gillette

Peter Gillette is a Data Manager and Project Coordinator in the Institute of Human Development at U.C. Berkeley. He lectures on the History of Psychology, and consults on data management for several ongoing programs. He has published articles on topics ranging from cognitive development, marriage, fatherhood, and developmental psychopathology.