Psychological Distress, Parental Hostility, and Child Behavior Problems: The Gendered Moderating Role of Positive...

Parents who experience prenatal and early postnatal psychological distress are at higher risk of exhibiting parental hostility, which has an adverse impact on children's behavioral development. The current study investigated longitudinal associations between mothers' and fathers' early psychological distress and later parental hostility and children's behavior problems. The current study also examined whether perceptions of positive coparenting can serve as a haven of psychological safety to buffer the negative spillover from one's own and one's partner's psychological distress to one's later parental hostility. Data were drawn from the Building Strong Families project. Mothers and fathers (1998 families; 63% Black, 27% White; 16% Latinx; averaged 24 years old) reported their psychological distress during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth and reported their positive coparenting at 15 months. At 36 months, parental hostility was assessed via observations, and mothers reported children's behavior problems. The results showed that when parents perceived low positive coparenting, mothers' greater psychological distress was associated with higher fathers' hostility, whereas fathers' greater psychological distress was associated with lower mothers' hostility; these associations waned when parents perceived high positive coparenting. Both mothers' and fathers' hostility were positively associated with children's internalizing behavior problems, and fathers' hostility was positively associated with children's externalizing behavior problems. Strengthening coparenting relationships may be especially helpful for protecting children from elevated paternal hostility in contexts where mothers face elevated psychological distress.