Coparenting, Parenting Stress, and Child Social Skills: Exploring Dyadic Relationships in the Family System

Though Family System Theory supported that function of members in the family are shaped by their interactions with all members in the family unit, many previous studies have often focused on the perspective of only one parent without considering the dynamics between both parents. This study investigates the effects of positive coparenting perceptions on child social skills via parenting stress within the framework of the dyadic family system. Utilizing the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study included 3,003 fathers and mothers who were interviewed when the focal child was 3 years old. An actor–partner interdependence model was employed to include both actor and partner effects. Results indicate a negative association between positive coparenting perceptions and parental stress for both mothers and fathers, with no significant partner effects observed. Further analysis using actor–partner interdependence model mediation models revealed that maternal parenting stress mediated the relationship between mother’s perception of positive coparenting and child social skills, while no direct or indirect effects were found for father’s perception of positive coparenting. These findings identify the role of positive coparenting on parenting stress within a dyadic family system and highlight roles of maternal factors in child social skills. Implications for family therapy and intervention programs are discussed. Future research is needed to deepen our understanding of coparenting dynamics and their impact on child development.