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Coparenting as a mediator between physical custody arrangements and children's mental health

Anja Steinbach1

  • 1University of Duisburg-Essen, Department of Sociology, Duisburg, Germany.

Family Process
|January 17, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Joint physical custody (JPC) arrangements benefit children's mental health more than sole physical custody (SPC) due to superior coparenting support. This support specifically improves internalizing and externalizing behaviors post-divorce.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Family Studies

Background:

  • Parental breakup negatively impacts children's mental health.
  • Joint physical custody (JPC) arrangements are linked to better child outcomes than sole physical custody (SPC).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mediating role of coparenting support in children's mental health across JPC and SPC arrangements.
  • To understand differences between JPC and SPC that explain variations in child well-being.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the 2019 Family Models in Germany (FAMOD) study.
  • Employed structural equation models (SEM) with 465 JPC and 652 SPC families (children aged 2-14).
  • Analyzed the impact of coparenting support on children's internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors.

Main Results:

  • Coparenting support fully mediated the positive effects of JPC on children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors compared to SPC.
  • No significant differences in prosocial behavior were found between JPC and SPC arrangements.
  • Supportive coparenting is crucial for children's mental health regardless of custody arrangement.

Conclusions:

  • Enhanced coparenting support in JPC arrangements contributes to better child mental health outcomes, particularly for behavioral issues.
  • Interventions like coparenting counseling and psychoeducation can improve parental engagement and child well-being after family dissolution.

Keywords:
child well‐beingcoparentingdivorcejoint physical custodyseparationsole physical custody

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