Coparenting and Mental Health: A Multi‐Country Analysis of Mother's and Father's Stress and Depressive Symptoms
Michael B. Wells, Weiman Xu, Mark E. Feinberg, Elizabeth Barham, Elena Camisasca, Thaís Carvalho, Bárbara Figueiredo, Sarah Galdiolo, Diogo Lamela, Yasuka Nakamura, Tiago Miguel Pinto, Yoko TakeishiABSTRACT
Objective
To examine the associations between coparenting quality and parental mental health (depressive symptoms and stress) among mothers and fathers across seven culturally diverse countries.
Background
Coparenting plays a critical role in shaping family dynamics and individual wellbeing. While prior research has linked coparenting to parental mental health, cross‐national comparisons remain limited.
Methods
This secondary analysis was conducted in a merged dataset from eight independently collected samples (2463 fathers and 2437 mothers) from seven countries (Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, United States). Coparenting quality was assessed using the Coparenting Relationship Scale. Parental depressive symptoms and stress were measured using validated scales, with z‐score standardization applied across studies. Multigroup path analyses were conducted to examine associations between coparenting and parental mental health, controlling for parent and child age. Model comparisons explored cross‐country differences.
Results
Higher coparenting quality was mostly consistently associated with lower depressive symptoms among both fathers and mothers. Higher coparenting quality was associated with lower parenting stress for both mothers and fathers in the three countries studied (Brazil, Italy, United States). Model comparisons revealed limited cross‐national differences, with Portugal showing the most distinct patterns.
Conclusion
Supportive coparenting relationships are linked to improved mental health outcomes for both mothers and fathers across most countries studied. These findings suggest that coparenting quality is linked to parental well‐being across diverse settings, while also indicating potential contextual variation.
Implications
This study underscores the importance of culturally sensitive family policies and interventions that promote cooperative coparenting as a strategy to support parental mental health globally.