Do psychological flexibility and interparental mutually responsive orientation reduce postpartum parenting stress and coparenting difficulties?

ABSTRACT: Coparenting is an essential skill, particularly during early childhood; however, increased parenting stress during the postpartum period may undermine parents' abilities to coparent effectively. Research examining protective factors that reduce parenting stress is critical for family well-being. The present study aimed to identify key intrapersonal and interpersonal resources during pregnancy, an ideal intervention period, that are associated with lower levels of postpartum parenting stress to promote adaptive coparenting. A total of 157 mixed-sex couples completed questionnaires and lab tasks during pregnancy and when their child was 1 and 2 years of age. A significant negative association was observed between prenatal parental psychological flexibility (i.e., the ability to accept distre

SUBMITTER: Beck RCB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12313257 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature