The Impact of Coparenting on Mothers’ COVID-19-Related Stressors

Marsha Kline Pruett, Jonathan Alschech and Michael Saini
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Marsha Kline Pruett: School for Social Work, Smith College, Northampton, MA 01060, USA
Jonathan Alschech: School of Social Work, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9, Canada
Michael Saini: Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1V4, Canada

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: To test and explore whether more positive coparenting will significantly predict lower COVID-19-related stress across family configurations and dynamics and across both higher- and lower-income mothers, we developed and circulated an online survey among mothers from the U.S. and Canada. Coparenting was measured using the Coparenting Across Family Structures (CoPAFS) short form (27 items) scale, comprised of factors representing five coparenting dimensions: communication, respect, trust, animosity, and valuing the other parent. Items specific to COVID-19 stressors assessed the types of stressors each parent faced. The sample consisted of 236 North American mothers, mostly white ( n = 187, 79.2%) and aged 30–50 years. The surveyed mothers reported a consistent and significant relation between more positive coparenting and less COVID-19-related stressors whether parents were living together or not, married or divorced, and with a lower or higher income level, suggesting the importance and centrality of positive coparenting as a key factor for family well-being. Coparenting was especially predictive among mothers who were never married and those with lower incomes.

Keywords: coparenting; COVID-19; mothers; stress; family structures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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