Predictors of coparenting quality among first time parents during toddlerhood

This study examined individual, parenting context, and child characteristics associated with mothers' and fathers' perceptions of coparenting after accounting for the prenatal marital relationship among first-time parents. Seventy-eight mothers and forty-nine fathers participated by completing a variety of questionnaires during the prenatal period and again at 6 and 16 months after the birth of their first child. Multiple hierarchical regressions showed that for mothers, positive and undermining coparenting was primarily a function of prenatal marital functioning. For fathers, the parenting context and child characteristics predicted positive and undermining coparenting even after accounting for prenatal marital functioning, which was also a significant predictor. How parents interact with one another in their marriage before the infant's birth may set the context for whether they are able to create a positive coparenting relationship in the future. Implications for future research and intervention efforts are discussed.