Perceived Barriers to Postdivorce Coparenting: Differences Between Men and Women and Associations with Coparenting Behaviors

• Author: Marilyn Coleman,Lawrence Ganong,Jonathon J. Beckmeyer,Luke T. Russell
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12198
• Published date: 01 July 2016
• Date: 01 July 2016

L T. R University of Missouri

J J. B Indiana University

M C  L G University of Missouri

Perceived Barriers to Postdivorce Coparenting:

Differences Between Men and Women and

Associations with Coparenting Behaviors

Using data from 291 divorced mothers

and fathers, we compared their perceptions

of how much legal-nancial, time-logistics, and

parental tness barriers inuenced their post-

divorce coparenting, and we tested the asso-

ciations between these barriers to postdivorce

coparenting and self-reported coparenting

behaviors. Men perceived greater legal-

nancial and time-logistics barriers to post-

divorce coparenting than did women, but no

gender differences were found for perceived

parental tness barriers. In hierarchical regres-

sion analyses, perceived legal-nancial and

parental tness barriers were associated with

mothers’ coparenting behaviors; fathers’ post-

divorce coparenting behaviors were associated

only with perceived legal-nancial barri-

ers. Neither men’s nor women’s postdivorce

coparenting behaviors were associated with

time-logistics barriers to postdivorce copar-

enting. Family professionals could support

postdivorce coparents by reframing detrimental

perceptions, helping parents navigate economic

Department of Human Development and Family Science,

Universityof Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201 (ltrbqb@mail.

missouri.edu).

Key Words: Coparenting, divorce, genderdifferences.

challenges, and providing resources or coun-

seling for couples experiencing mental health

challenges or abuse.

B

Efforts to make the divorce process less acri-

monious have included the promotion of

cooperative coparenting relationships among

divorcing parents (Ahrons, 2007; Emery, 2012;

Sigal, Sandler, Wolchik, & Braver, 2011). In

cooperative coparenting relationships, divorced

parents frequently communicate about chil-

dren’s needs and experiences, minimize child-

rearing conicts, and cooperate in coordinating

children’s care and activities (Adamsons &

Pasley, 2006; Ahrons, 2007; Sobolewski &

King, 2005). Despite family professionals’ pro-

motion of these qualities in postdivorce families,

most divorced parents do not experience coop-

erative coparenting (Amato, Kane, & James,

2011; Beckmeyer, Coleman, & Ganong, 2014).

Rather, parents’ experiences tend to fall into

one of three alternative types: (a) parallel (i.e.,

less emotionally involved, more businesslike

or peerlike), (b) conicted (i.e., consistently

contentious and confrontational interactions),

and (c) uninvolved (i.e., one parent withdraws

from the relationship and cedes parenting to

the children’s primary caregiver; Ahrons, 2007;

450 Family Relations 65 (July 2016): 450–461

DOI:10.1111/fare.12198