Longitudinal associations between father- and mother-child interactions, coparenting, and child cardiometabolic...

This study aimed to examine the longitudinal connections between early observed parenting and coparenting relationship quality and children's later cardiometabolic health outcomes.

Structural equation modeling was used to examine (a) the associations between fathers' and mothers' sensitive engagement with their children and competitive-withdrawn coparenting during infancy (10 months) and toddlerhood (24 months); (b) the extent to which these parenting and coparenting factors predicted four markers of children's cardiometabolic health in middle childhood (∼7 years); and (c) indirect pathways from parenting and coparenting at 10 months to cardiometabolic markers (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6, total cholesterol, and glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c]) at 7 years, via parenting and coparenting at 24 months, within a longitudinal, cross-lagged framework. The sample comprised 292 child-father-mother triads from a randomized trial of Family Foundations, a preventive intervention focused on enhancing coparenting interactions between first-time parents.

Fathers' sensitive engagement at 10 months was negatively associated with their competitive-withdrawn coparenting at 24 months, which subsequently predicted lower levels of child CRP and HbA1c. Furthermore, fathers' competitive-withdrawn coparenting at 24 months explained the association between their sensitive engagement at 10 months and later child CRP and HbA1c. These associations were not significant in a parallel model for mothers.

These findings highlight the influence of child-father interactions and coparenting dynamics on long-term child health. Promoting supportive coparenting and positive paternal involvement may represent valuable preventive strategies for reducing child cardiometabolic risk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).