Coparenting and Well-Being in Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The practical goal of the study was to determine if coparenting is a viable target for interventions to promote well-being among parents of children with ASD and, if so, to isolate the crucial elements of coparenting. To achieve this goal, the study examined associations between coparenting and well-being in a sample of couples that were the parents of a child aged 3-17 with ASD in the U.S. using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model with dyadic data. Both members of the couple independently used an online survey on Qualtrics to independently complete self-report measures. Three research aims were explored. The first research aim was to see if actor and partner overall coparenting were associated with hedonic and eudemonic well-being. The second research aim was to determine if some dimensions of coparenting are more important to adult adjustment than other coparenting dimensions. The third research aim was to see if there were significant parent role differences in the actor and partner coparenting variables and both indicators of well-being. Overall, several dimensions of coparenting had both actor and partner effects for well-being, but these effects were mainly for fathers and mainly with eudemonic well-being. Support was found for the importance of using a dyadic data analysis strategy such as the APIM since many of the results found to support that partners' coparenting perceptions influence both their own and sometimes their partners' well-being. The full model analyses showed that coparenting undermining and exposure of the child to the conflict were the most critical coparenting dimensions for hedonic well-being. The full model also showed that endorsement of partner parenting, coparenting support, and coparenting closeness were the most vital dimensions for eudemonic well-being. Lastly, it was found that there were gender differences in the experience of coparenting and well-being for parents of children with ASD. The results collectively contribute to the different components of the literature, and the study provided a strong foundation for moving my research career forward in this domain.