Poster #96 - Observed versus Reported Coparenting and their Linkages to Child Adjustment

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Family Context & Processes

Integrative Statement

There is extensive evidence linking family functioning to child socio-emotional outcomes (Van Schoors et al, 2017; Keller et al., 2008). However, this work is largely based on parent report measures and focuses on children at preschool-age or older. The influence of family processes during infancy and specifically on infant sleep is less often studied. Moreover, without objective assessments of the family environment, research is limited by parental perceptions and biases. The present study extends prior work by (1) focusing on coparenting, or how two caregivers work together in caring for their infant, because of increasing evidence linking coparenting to child outcomes beyond the influences of marital and parenting quality (Brown et al., 2010); (2) measuring coparenting quality at bedtime, a context specific to infant sleep; (3) comparing objective assessments and parent reports of coparenting and their role in infant’s behavioral and emotional outcomes.
167 families of healthy infants participated in a study of parenting, infant sleep, and infant development across the first two years. Assessments of bedtime coparenting began at 12 months, and this study focuses on coparenting, (observed and self-report), infant sleep data at 12 months and infant adjustment at 24 months. Actigraph assessments of infant sleep-wake activity were provided by AW-64 actiwatches (Philips/Respironics, Inc.), which the infants wore on their calves. In addition, one night of video-recording of bedtime and nighttime parenting of the infants was obtained and coded for the quality of bedtime coparenting (4-point rating scales) on the support parents directed toward each other, and on hostility and competitiveness between parents. Video recordings of daytime interactions provided data on child emotion regulation at 24 months following two episodes of Toy Removal. Parents also self-reported on general coparenting quality (Coparenting Relationship Scale -CRS; Feinberg et al., 2012) and their child’s externalizing and internalizing behaviors at 24 months (ITSEA).
Correlational analyses revealed that higher bedtime coparenting support observed at 12 months predicted longer sleep period duration and more minutes spent asleep for infants at 12 months (p < .05). Observed bedtime coparenting at 12 months was also associated with observed emotion regulation at 24 months such that more observed hostility and competitiveness at bedtime was linked with less competent emotion regulation at 24 months. Parent reports of coparenting were not significantly associated with child sleep outcomes at 12 months or child emotion regulation at 24 months. However, mother reports of coparenting at 12 months significantly predicted child externalizing behaviors at 24 months from parent reports. More positive coparenting (self-report) at 12 months was associated with fewer externalizing behaviors while more negative coparenting was associated with more externalizing behaviors at 24 months.
These results demonstrate that coparenting observed in the context of bedtime has immediate linkages to infant sleep outcomes as well as long-term linkages to child emotion regulation. Coparenting objectively measured is associated with objective measures of sleep (Actigraphy) and emotion regulation (assessments made by observers who were blind to other study variables). Discussion will focus on the relative benefits of observed versus parent-report measures of coparenting.

Authors

• Sabrina Voltaire, The Pennsylvania State University
  Presenting Author

• Brian Crosby, Pennsylvania State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brandon T. McDaniel, Illinois State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Douglas Teti, Pennsylvania State University
  Non-Presenting Author