Abstract
Coparenting between mothers and nonresident fathers is a consistent predictor of positive father involvement and is shown to have a direct positive impact on children’s behavioral outcomes. While many fatherhood programs attempt to improve coparenting relationships using father-only interventions, the information on their effectiveness is mixed. Couple interventions may be more effective than father-only approaches but are very hard to achieve with nonresident parents. Engaging mothers may be more practical and beneficial, although there is very little literature on the impact of mother-only interventions on coparenting relationships. The current study begins to address that gap. It presents qualitative reactions by mothers and fathers to a mother-only coparenting intervention and finds that a mother-only approach can achieve some important goals such as improved communication, reduced conflict, and mother’s understanding of the father’s point of view. Fathers whose parenting partners participated in the mother-only group agreed with mothers’ assessments and also reported less undermining.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 167-179 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Families in Society |
Volume | 101 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1 2020 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- coparenting
- evaluation/outcomes/accountability
- fatherhood
- intervention
- motherhood
- nonresident fathers
- parenting
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)