Shared parenting in dual earner families : a psychological rather than task-oriented approach
Date
1995
Authors
Gearing-Small, Margaret Anna
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Abstract
In the present study it was proposed that shared parenting in intact dualĀ-earner families is less about task equality in family work, and more about a process of interparental cooperation involving mutual support, flexibility in the allocation of family responsibilities, and similarity in parenting goals. It was expected that couples who score high on these dimensions of shared parenting would also exhibit enhanced feelings of parental competence, and be more satisfied with their roles as parents and their relationships with each other. It was not expected that the division of child care among mothers and fathers would have a significant influence on couples' levels of satisfaction with parenting and marital relationships. Fifty-eight couples, where both parents were employed on a full- or part-time basis and had at least one child under the age of ten participated in the study. Participating parents completed a battery of self-report measures designed to evaluate shared parenting, marital satisfaction, and proportional division of child care tasks.
The first set of analyses used the average of mothers' and fathers' scores on outcome variables to determine whether couples' overall ratings on outcome measures were related to shared parenting predictors. Contrary to expectations, the results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that couples' feelings of parental competence, extent of closeness felt with their child, and satisfaction in their parental roles and with parenting relationships were not significantly predicted by shared parenting variables. However, shared parenting variables as a set did predict couples' satisfaction with their marriages. On the individual variable level, the findings indicated that couples reported higher marital satisfaction as a result of receiving more frequent expressions of support from their partners. Consistent with the final hypothesis, the division of child care among mothers and fathers did not exert a significant influence on any of the outcome measures.
The second set of analyses used difference scores in order to determine whether discrepancies in scores within parent pairs on outcome measures could be predicted by shared parenting variables. Differences in couples' ratings of their parenting and marital satisfaction were not significantly predicted by shared parenting variables. However, shared parenting variables and proportional division of child care tasks did predict differences between mothers and fathers in their feelings of competence as parents and how close they felt to their children. Specifically, mothers reported greater parental competence and stronger feelings of closeness with their children when they felt supported by their partners and when they were estimated to be responsible for the greater proportion of the daily child care chores.
The results are discussed with reference to family systems theory. It is concluded that the dimensions of shared parenting, including expressions of support for one's partner, a willingness to take over a partner's role when necessary, and sharing similar parenting goals serve to enhance couples' marital and spousal relationships. The discussion also outlines limitations of the present study, suggests practical implications of the current findings, and offers directions for future research.