Browsing by Subject "Yhteisvanhemmuus"

Objective: Coparenting refers to co-operation and division of labour between parents in child rearing. The importance of coparenting for the well-being of whole family has been recognized in earlier studies, and interventions focusing on coparenting have been developed. However, the research on the effects of usual parenting interventions on coparenting is insufficient. The aim of the current study is to examine whether it is possible to support coparenting relationship between parents through usual parenting intervention that are municipally provided in Finland. In addition, the study focuses on the association between parents’ adverse childhood experiences (ACE), coparenting relationship and its possible change during interventions. There is widely demonstrated association between ACEs and worse overall well-being in adulthood. However, the research on the association between ACEs and coparenting is limited, and therefore that is investigated in this study. Methods: The current study is a part of a larger effectiveness study of Finnish community-based parenting interventions conducted by Tampere University in co-operation with University of Helsinki, and University of Turku. The study sample consisted of 245 mothers (having a baby younger than 1 year or expecting a baby) that participated in community-based parenting interventions in capital area of Finland (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa). 41 of the participants received practical support, 37 received short-term psychological services, and 83 intensive therapeutic support. Control group comprised 84 mothers recruited during routine visits to the child health clinics in the capital area of Finland. Coparenting difficulties were measured with Parenting Alliance Inventory in three measurement points: pre- and post-intervention and six months after the second measurement (control group was measured at the beginning of the study and six and twelve months after the first measurement). ACEs were measured by applying A Revised Inventory of Adverse Childhood Experiences at the beginning of the intervention (for control group at the beginning of the study). Changes in coparenting difficulties during the interventions and follow-up as well as the effect of ACEs on this change were evaluated using generalised linear mixed models and Gamma link function. The association between ACEs and coparenting difficulties at baseline was analysed using generalized linear model with Gamma link function. Results and conclusions: According to this study, coparenting difficulties declined during intervention and follow-up in all other groups except practical intervention group. Additionally, cumulative ACEs were associated with more coparenting difficulties at baseline. This is an important new finding that supports the previously observed association between ACEs and wide negative outcomes in adulthood. Furthermore, the effect of ACEs on the change of coparenting difficulties in control group was unlike that in therapeutic intervention group. In control group ACEs constituted a risk factor for coparenting difficulties, while therapeutic intervention seemed to protect from that risk. This result supports the above-mentioned association between ACEs and coparenting difficulties and suggests that ACEs also constitute a risk factor for the development of coparenting relationship. According to this study, especially therapeutic intervention seems to have potential supporting a coparenting relationship, which may be explained by the therapeutic elements. However, more research with larger sample sizes is needed to investigate different parenting interventions and their possibilities on supporting coparenting relationship, especially in risk groups like ACEs group.