Parental gatekeeping and coparenting:
protective role of encouragement and coparental agreement on child behavior
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34019/1982-1247.2025.v19.42431Keywords:
family relations, childhood development, parentsAbstract
The perception of fathers and mothers about parental gatekeeping and coparenting, and their effects on children's behavior, is investigated. There were 447 participants. Multiple linear regression models pointed to parental gatekeeping and coparenting as predictors of the child's behavior. In parental gatekeeping, encouragement appears to promote pro-social behaviors and mitigate problems in relationships with peers, while Discouragement promotes internalizing problems. As for coparenting, the coparenting agreement mitigated externalizing problems and total difficulties. These results reiterate the impact of parental relationships on child development
Downloads
References
Allen, S. M., & Hawkins, A. J. (1999). Maternal gatekeeping: Mothers' beliefs and behaviors that inhibit greater father involvement in family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61(1), 199–212. https://doi.org/10.2307/353894
Altenburger, L. E. (2023) Similarities and differences between coparenting and parental gatekeeping: Implications for father involvement research. Journal of Family Studies, 29(3), 1403–1427. https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2022.2051725
Altenburger, L. E., & Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J. (2021). Infant negative affect moderates longitudinal associations between maternal gatekeeping and toddlers’ social–emotional difficulties. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 45(6), 513–523. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254211023971
Ambrós, T., Coltro, B., Vieira, M. L., & Lopes, F. (2022). Coparentalidade e comportamento da criança no contexto do divórcio: Uma revisão sistemática. Revista Psicologia: Teoria e Prática, 24(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.5935/1980-6906/ePTPHD14268.en Austin, W. G., Pruett, M. K., Kirkpatrick, H. D., Flens, J. R., & Gould, J. W. (2013). Parental gatekeeping and child custody/child access evaluation: Part I: Conceptual framework, research, and application. Family Court Review, 51, 485–501. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12045
Brown, T. (2015). Confirmatory for analysis for applied research. Guilford Publication.
Carvalho, T. R. D., Barham, E. J., Souza, C. D. D., Böing, E., Crepaldi, M. A., & Vieira, M. L. (2018). Adaptação transcultural de um instrumento para avaliar a coparentalidade: Coparenting Relationship Scale. Psico-USF, 23, 215-227. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-82712018230203
Choi, J. K., & Becher, E. H. (2019). Supportive coparenting, parenting stress, harsh parenting, and child behavior problems in nonmarital families. Family Process, 58(2), 404–417. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12373
Coltrane, S. (1996). Family man. Oxford University Press.
De Luccie, M. F. (1995). Mothers as gatekeepers: A model of maternal mediators of father involvement. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 156, 115–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.1995.9914811
Favez, N., Widmer, E. D., Frascarolo, F., & Doan, M. T. (2019). Mother‐stepfather coparenting in stepfamilies as predictor of child adjustment. Family Process, 58(2), 446–462. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12360
Feinberg, M. E. (2003). The internal structure and ecological context of coparenting: A framework for research and intervention. Parenting: Science and Practice, 3(2), 95–131. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327922PAR0302_01
Feinberg, M. E., Brown, L. D., & Kan, M. L. (2012). A multi-domain self-report measure of coparenting. Parenting: Science and Practice, 12(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2012.638870
Feliciano, A. R. M. (2022). Coparentalidade e Funcionamento familiar: Um estudo com pais de crianças em idade pré-escolar [Tese de Doutorado, Universidade da Beira Interior]. Repositório Digital da UBI. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.6/13164
Fleitlich, B., Cortázar, P. G., & Goodman, R. (2000). Questionário de capacidades e dificuldades (SDQ). Infanto-Revista de Neuropsiquiatria da Infância e Adolescência, 8(1), 44–50.
Frosch, C. A., Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., & O’Banion, D. D. (2019). Parenting and child development: A relational health perspective. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 15(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827619849028
Goodman, R. (1997). The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(5), 581–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x
Harold, G. T., & Sellers, R. (2018). Annual research review: Interparental conflict and youth psychopathology: An evidence review and practice focused update. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(4), 374–402. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12893
Karberg, E., & Cabrera, N. J. (2020). Children’s adjustment to parents’ breakup: The mediational effects of parenting and coparenting. Journal of Family Issues, 41(10), 1810–1833. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X19894347
Katz, L. F., & Low, S. M. (2004). Marital violence, co-parenting, and family-level processes in relation to children's adjustment. Journal of Family Psychology, 18(2), 372–382. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.18.2.372
Lam, C. B., Tam, C., Chung, K. K. H., & Li, X. (2018). The link between coparenting cooperation and child social competence: The moderating role of child negative affect. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(5), 692. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000428
Machado, M. R., & Mosmann, C. P. (2019). Dimensões negativas da coparentalidade e sintomas. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 35 (e35nspe12), 1–9. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e35nspe12
Matos, T. D., Bossardi, C. N., Souza, C. D., Portes, J. R. M., & Menezes, M. (2019). Percepções parentais sobre coparentalidade e comportamento infantil: Um estudo com famílias homoafetivas. Nova Perspectiva Sistêmica, 28(65), 51–67. https://doi.org/10.38034/nps.v28i65.537
McDaniel, B. T., Teti, D. M., & Feinberg, M. E. (2018). Predicting coparenting quality in daily life in mothers and fathers. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(7), 904–914. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000443
Meteyer, K., & Perry-Jenkins, M. (2010). Father involvement among working-class, dual-earner couples. Fathering, 8(3), 379. https://doi.org/10.3149/fth.0803.379
Mosmann, C., Costa, C. B. D., Silva, A. G. M. D., & Luz, S. K. (2018). Filhos com sintomas psicológicos clínicos: Papel discriminante da conjugalidade, coparentalidade e parentalidade. Trends in Psychology, 26, 429–442. https://doi.org/10.9788/TP2018.1-17Pt
Pekel-Uludağlı, N. (2019). Are uninvolved fathers really incompetent and unsatisfied? Testing the mediator role of father involvement from fathers’ perspectives. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 16(5), 538–551. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2018.1472077
Pekel-Uludağlı, N. (2023). The role of the father involvement in child development: The relationships with maternal, paternal, and child characteristics. Current Psychology, 43, 4085–4097. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04649-3 Pinho, M., & Gaunt, R. (2021). Biological essentialism, gender ideologies, and the division of housework and childcare: Comparing male carer/female breadwinner and traditional families. The Journal of Social Psychology, 164(1), 59–75.https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2021.1983508
Puhlman, D. J., & Pasley, K. (2013). Rethinking maternal gatekeeping. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 5(3), 176–193. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12016
Puhlman, D. J., & Pasley, K. (2017). The maternal gatekeeping scale: Constructing a measure. Family Relations, 66, 824–838. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12287
Roseiro, C. P., Paula, K. M. P. D., & Mancini, C. N. (2020). Estresse e enfrentamento infantil no contexto do divórcio parental. Arquivos Brasileiros de Psicologia, 72(1), 55–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.36482/1809-5267.ARBP2020v72i2p.55-71
Saini, M. A., Drozd, L. M., & Olesen, N. W. (2017). Adaptive and maladaptive gatekeeping behaviors and attitudes: Implications for child outcomes after separation and divorce. Family Court Review, 55(2), 260–272. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12276 Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., & Altenburger, L. E. (2019). Parental gatekeeping. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting. Volume 3: Being and Becoming a Parent (3th ed., pp. 167–198). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429433214
Schoppe-Sullivan, S. J., Brown, G. L., Cannon, E. A., Mangelsdorf, S. C., & Sokolowski, M. S. (2008). Maternal gatekeeping, coparenting quality, and fathering behavior in families with infants. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(3), 389–398. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.3.389 Schrodt, P., & Afifi, T. D. (2018). Negative disclosures and feeling caught mediate coparental communication and mental health. Personal Relationships, 25, 480–496. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12256 Scrimgeour, M. B., Blandon, A. Y., Stifter, C. A., & Buss, K. A. (2013). Cooperative coparenting moderates the association between parenting practices and children's prosocial behavior. Journal of Family Psychology, 27(3), 506–511. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032893
Thomas, C. R., & Holmes, E. K. (2020). Are father depression and masculinity associated with father perceptions of maternal gatekeeping? Journal of Family Psychology, 34(4), 490. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000604
Tiedje, L. B., & Darling-Fisher, C. (1996). Fatherhood reconsidered: A critical review. Research in Nursing and Health, 19, 471–484. Vian, M., Mosmann, C. P., & Falcke, D. (2018). Repercussões da conjugalidade em sintomas internalizantes e externalizantes em filhos adolescentes. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 34, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102.3772e34431
Wang, X., Yu, Y., Zhu, R., & Ji, Z. (2021). Linking maternal gatekeeping to child outcomes in dual-earner families in China: The mediating role of father involvement. Early Child Development and Care, 191(2), 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1611568
Zhao, F., Wu, H., Li, Y., Zhang, H., & Hou, J. (2022). The association between coparenting behavior and internalizing/externalizing problems of children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610346
