From couples to coparents in England: Factors that contribute to the process of change in coparents’ parenting practices

Abstract

Recently, interest in families has increased amongst researchers, practitioners and policymakers in England. This includes a renewed focus on understanding parenting and supporting families through parenting programmes. Many programmes demonstrate positive outcomes for mothers and children, but do not typically consider the coparenting between mothers and fathers. Additionally, most evaluations overlook the ‘process of change’ or ‘active ingredients’ for promoting change in parenting practices. Consequently, the current study investigates the process of change in coparenting practices, using a mixed-method design beginning with semi-structured interviews and followed by questionnaires. The study found that coparents were influenced by various elements, which were underpinned by the coparents’ perceptions of one another. These included the developing coparenting alliance, process-oriented parenting and parenting programme support for both parents. This study concludes that only through understanding how change occurs in families, can services be developed, designed and delivered to meet families’ needs.