Actor and partner effects of coparenting on marital quality: Mediating role of marital attachment

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to explore the actor and partner effects of coparenting on marital quality and the mediating role of marital attachment.

Background

Previous studies found that good marital quality could benefit both spouses' physical and psychological health, making the exploration of factors influencing marital quality and the development of recommendations to enhance it an important research question for ensuring the mental and physical well-being of both spouses.

Method

This study gathered dyadic data of 779 heterosexual married spouses through questionnaire survey. Measurements encompassed the Marriage Perception Scale, the Perceptions of the Coparenting Relationship Scale, the Experiences in Close Relationships–Relationship Structures Scale, and demographic information.

Results

The results revealed that coparenting among spouses could affect marital quality through both intrapersonal spillover effects and interpersonal crossover effects. Mediation analysis showed that the indirect effects of both attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety in the actor effects in wives, as well as in husbands, were significant. Moreover, in the partner effects and other effects, the indirect effects of attachment avoidance were more likely to exert their effect through crossover effects, whereas the indirect effects of attachment anxiety were more likely to do so through spillover effects.

Conclusion

Coparenting could affect marital quality through both intrapersonal spillover and interpersonal crossover effects, with marital attachment serving as a mediator in these effects.

Implications

These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of dyadic interactions between coparenting and marital quality, highlighting the unique role of marital attachment, and enriching family systems theory and attachment theory.