Predicting divorce in parents: the relationship between coparenting and divorce proneness
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Kiyara J. Leis (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Cheryl Buehler
Abstract: The longitudinal association between couples’ coparental disagreement and coparental support and wives’ and husbands’ individual divorce proneness was examined in a sample of 416 families. Both dimensions of coparenting were completed when the couples’ children were in sixth grade (wave 1, W1). Divorce proneness, conceptualized as the consideration or taking of steps towards divorce (Moore & Buehler, 2011; Whitton, Stanly, Markman, & Johnson, 2013), was measured both when children were in sixth and ninth grade (wave 4, W4). The present study also examined how W1 spousal negative marital communication moderated the association between W1 coparental disagreement and support with changes in wives’ and husbands’ W4 divorce proneness. Controlling for initial levels of divorce proneness and couples’ education, the present study examined three hypotheses. The first hypothesis postulated that W1 coparental disagreement and W1 coparental support each uniquely predicted changes in both wives’ and husbands’ perceptions of divorce proneness three years later (at wave 4, W4). Hypothesis 1 also predicted that W1 coparental disagreement was associated with increases in both wives’ and husbands’ W4 divorce proneness, whereas W1 coparental support was associated with decreases in both wives’ and husbands’ W4 divorce proneness. The second hypothesis postulated that W1 husbands’ negative marital communication moderated the associations between both W1 coparental disagreement and W1 coparental support with changes in W4 wives’ divorce proneness. Hypothesis 2 also predicted that W1 husbands’ negative marital communication exacerbated the unique association between W1 coparental disagreement and increases in W4 wives’ divorce proneness, whereas W1 husbands’ negative marital communication mitigated the unique association between W1 coparental support and decreases in W4 wives’ divorce proneness. The third hypothesis postulated that W1 wives’ negative marital communication moderated the associations between both W1 coparental disagreement and W1 coparental support with changes in W4 husbands’ divorce proneness. Hypothesis 3 also predicted that W1 wives’ negative marital communication exacerbated the unique association between W1 coparental disagreement and increases in W4 husbands’ divorce proneness, whereas W1 wives’ negative marital communication mitigated the unique association between W1 coparental support and decreases in W4 husbands’ divorce proneness. The study found evidence of a main effect for W1 coparental disagreement on increases in husbands’ W4 divorce proneness. W1 wives’ negative marital communication was also found to significantly moderate the association between coparental disagreement and increases in W4 husbands’ divorce proneness.
Predicting divorce in parents: the relationship between coparenting and divorce proneness
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Created on 12/1/2018
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2018
- Keywords
- Communication, Coparenting, Disagreement, Divorce proneness, Marital processes, Support
- Subjects
- Parenthood
- Communication in marriage
- Marital conflict
- Marital quality
- Divorce