Actor-Partner Interdependence Models of Coparental Communication, Relational Satisfaction, and Mental Health in Stepfamilies

• In Event: Top Four Papers in Family Communication

Abstract

This study tested a series of actor-partner interdependence models of coparental communication, relational satisfaction, and mental health in stepfamily dyads. Participants included 127 couples (N = 254). Results of structural equation modeling revealed two actor-oriented models whereby parents’ and stepparents’ reports of coparental communication quality positively predicted their own satisfaction and mental health. Importantly, parents’ reports of coparental communication produced an inverse, partner effect on stepparents’ mental health.

Authors

• Paul Schrodt, Texas Christian University

• Dawn O. Braithwaite, University of Nebraska, Lincoln