Longitudinal associations between coparenting and child adjustment among lesbian, gay, and heterosexual adoptive parent families.

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined coparenting and child adjustment during early and middle childhood (Ms = 3 and 8 years, respectively) among 106 lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent adoptive families. When children were in middle childhood, no differences emerged as a function of parental sexual orientation in observations or self-reports of coparenting; in addition, parents and teachers described children as well-adjusted overall. After controlling covariates, including couple relationship adjustment, more supportive coparenting in early childhood predicted fewer parent-reported child internalizing and externalizing problems in middle childhood. Within middle childhood, stronger parenting alliance was associated with fewer parent-reported child externalizing problems. These findings indicate the value of considering family processes among diverse families in contributing to child outcomes over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).