Longitudinal Associations between Coparenting Quality, Sibling Relationship Quality, and Children’s Divorce-Specific Coping

Abstract

Background: A large amount of research showed that children who experienced their parents’ divorce have an increased risk for various longer term adjustment problems. However, the functioning of children after divorce in the shorter term, such as divorce-specific coping, has received much less attention. Divorce-specific coping – such as self-blame and acceptance – is important to examine as it relates to children’s everyday difficulties after divorce, is predictive of their long-term adjustment, and is often targeted in intervention programs aimed at divorced families. Aim: Based on a family systems perspective, we investigated the associations between different family subsystems, namely the quality of coparenting and sibling relationship quality after divorce, and children’s divorce-specific coping. Method: Dutch children (N = 135; Mage = 11.76) completed questionnaires to examine the associations of coparenting quality (CBQ) and sibling relationship quality (NRI) with self-blame and acceptance (PFAD). Multilevel structural equation modelling in Mplus was performed to investigate the proposed associations, and to examine the sibling relationship quality as a potential mediator in the association between coparenting and divorce-specific coping (i.e., acceptance and self-blame). Results: The association of neither coparenting nor sibling relationship quality with self-blame or acceptance was significant. Moreover, there was no mediation effect of sibling relationship quality. Conclusion: Previous research has shown the importance of divorce-specific coping on children’s longer term adjustment, but studies on its predictors is lacking. In the current study, coparenting quality and sibling relationship quality did not seem to be associated with acceptance or self-blame after divorce. Further research is needed, specifically on short-term processes in families after divorce and on child characteristics to identify factors that influence divorce-specific coping.