Exploring the Relationship between Coparenting Behaviours and Prosocial Behaviour in Infancy: Does Infant Gender Play a Role?

Abstract Objective: Previous work suggests that the coparenting relationship may be associated with the development of prosocial behaviour in young children, which is in turn associated with decreased externalising behaviours. Some evidence also suggests that male and female infants may be differentially impacted by coparenting. However, no study has examined the impact of a range of coparenting behaviours, both supportive and undermining, on the development of prosocial behaviour in children with behavioural difficulties, or determined whether infant gender might moderate this association. The primary aim of this study was to examine the association between supportive and undermining coparenting and the development of prosocial behaviour in young children with behavioural difficulties. The secondary objective was to determine whether child gender moderated the relationships between coparenting and child prosocial behaviour. Participants: Participants were 49 mother, father and child triads who lived in the United Kingdom. Mean age of participants was 34.4 years for mothers, 35.9 years for fathers and 24 months for children. Research design and methods: The current pilot study employed a cross-sectional design. Parents participating in a larger trial were video recorded taking part in two triadic interaction tasks with their child to assess coparenting behaviours. Parents also completed questionnaire measures relating to their child’s prosocial behaviour. Data was analysed using hierarchical regression to determine the direct association between coparenting behaviours and parental report of children’s prosocial behaviour. Moderation analysis was conducted to investigate if gender moderated the relationship between coparenting and infant prosocial behaviour. Results: Gatekeeping coparenting was positively correlated with child prosocial behaviour (rs = .403, p=.004). Coparenting behaviours were not found to be predictive of children’s prosocial behaviour after adjusting for all covariates (F(6, 42) = 2.156, p = 0.067). Child gender did not moderate the relationship between supportive (F(3, 45) = 2.30, p = 0.60) or gatekeeping (F(3, 45) = 3.22, p=0.23) coparenting and prosocial behaviour. Conclusion: This study does not support a direct relationship between supportive coparenting and the development of prosocial behaviour in young children with behavioural difficulties. Child gender did not moderate the relationship between coparenting and prosocial behaviour. Findings of a positive association between gatekeeping and children’s prosocial behaviour indicate the need for further research concerning the relationship between coparenting and prosocial development of children with behavioural difficulties