Coparental Communication with Nonresidential Parents as a Predictor of Couples' Relational Satisfaction and Mental Health in Stepfamilies

Abstract

This study tested the degree to which coparental communication with nonresidential parents predicted couples' relational satisfaction and mental health in stepfamilies. Participants included 127 stepfamily dyads. Results revealed that stepparents' coparental communication with nonresidential parents positively predicted their satisfaction with their current partners (i.e., with residential parents). For mental health, stepparents' coparental communication with nonresidential parents reduced their mental health symptoms, but positively predicted their partner's mental health symptoms (i.e., indicating poorer mental health). Consequently, the results highlight the ambivalence residential parents may experience as they manage the tensions associated with having their new partners coparent with their ex-spouses.

Keywords:

• Coparental Communication
• Mental Health
• Nonresidential Parents
• Satisfaction
• Stepfamilies
• Stepparents

Notes

Note. COPAR = Quality of coparental communication. NRP = Nonresidential parent. Means and standard deviations (in parentheses) are for (step)parents. Correlations for residential parents are in the lower diagonal and correlations for stepparents are in the upper diagonal. Correlations in the diagonal represent estimates of nonindependence.

^a Responses solicited using a 5-point Likert scale.

^b Responses solicited using a 7-point Likert scale.

^c Responses solicited using a 4-point frequency scale that ranged from (0) Never to (3) Three or more times.

†p = .06. *p < .05. **p < .01.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul Schrodt

Paul Schrodt (PhD, University of Nebraska, Lincoln) is the Philip J. and Cheryl C. Burguières Professor, Graduate Director, and Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Texas Christian University.