Maternal positive coparenting and adolescent ego-identity: the chain mediating role of fathers’ marital satisfaction and adolescent peer relationships

Family therapy suggests a reformulation of concept and method in studying the family and individual development: to regard the family as an organized system and the individual as a contributing member, part of the process that creates and maintains the patterns that regulate behavior. In this review, the theories and clinical experiences of family therapists are regarded as a resource for developmental psychology, and particular attention is paid to those aspects that challenge traditional formulations in the developmental field. The review focuses on systems theory as the paradigm underlying family therapy and considers the implications of this framework for conceptions of the individual, the study of parent-child interaction, and new research formulations and areas of study. It also considers trends in the developmental field that move toward such formulations.

Research on coparenting has grown over the past decade, supporting a view of coparenting as a central element of family life that influences parental adjustment, parenting, and child outcomes. This article introduces a multi-domain conception of coparenting that organizes existing research and paves the way for future research and intervention. This article advances a conceptualization of how coparenting domains influence parental adjustment, parenting, and child adjustment. An ecological model that outlines influences on coparenting relationships, as well as mediating and moderating pathways, is described. Areas of future research in the developmental course of coparenting relationships are noted.