Parenting together vs. individually: Do mothers and fathers differ?
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Date
2024-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
This study investigated the similarities and differences in mothers’ and fathers’ parenting behaviors when parenting their child individually (dyadic) or together (triadic). In addition, this study examined whether the quality of the coparenting relationship between parents is related to differences in parenting behavior across dyadic and triadic contexts. The sample consisted of 153 dual-earner couples from the New Parent Project and their 9-month-old infant. Parents were observed interacting separately with their infants for 5 minutes and together with their infants for 10 minutes. The interactions were coded for the quality of their parenting behavior (i.e., sensitivity, intrusiveness, detachment, positive regard, and negative regard). Both mothers and fathers also completed the Coparenting Relationship Scale to assess the quality of the interparental relationship. Paired t-tests indicated that mothers’ and fathers’ behavior significantly decreased when parenting together (except for mothers’ sensitivity). Differences were also found between mothers’ and fathers’ parenting behaviors when parenting individually versus together. Correlations revealed various associations between coparenting domains and parenting behavior when together versus individually. The most notable: mothers who reported more support from fathers demonstrated more intrusiveness when parenting together versus individually. In addition, mothers who endorsed their partner's parenting showed lower sensitivity and higher intrusiveness when parenting together versus individually. Taken together, these findings suggest that the coparenting relationship may influence mothers’ parenting behaviors more in dual-earner families.
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Keywords
Parenting, Coparenting, Dual-earner, Infant