<\/p>\n
Mothers who are prone to anxiety, nervousness, stress, guilt, frustration and anger are likely to be harsher parents to their children<\/span>\u00a0only<\/span>\u00a0if the father is not supportive<\/span>\u00a0of their parenting<\/span>, according to<\/span>\u00a0a study of 182 dual-earner couples in Ohio, USA.<\/span><\/p>\n This is perhaps not surprising. In the presence of an undermining coparent,\u00a0<\/span>an anxious and frustrated mother is unlikely to handle parenting well. Conversely, a supportive coparent can mitigate the impact of the mother\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>difficulties<\/span>, allowing her to parent without being harsh and intrusive.<\/span><\/p>\n The study did not find the influence the other way\u00a0<\/span>round<\/span>. There was no link between a father<\/span>\u00a0being prone to\u00a0<\/span>anxiety and stress\u00a0<\/span>and his parenting, either when the mother was supportive\u00a0<\/span>of him\u00a0<\/span>or not.<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier<\/span>\u00a0research shows that harsh parenting \u2013 angry, hostile, intrusive and controlling\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0is associated with poorer child development.\u00a0<\/span>On this basis, the researchers recommend that those who support families should address not only the mother\u2019s personality, but the coparenting relationships in her family. If a mother is\u00a0<\/span>prone to anxiety<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>her partner may need\u00a0<\/span>more help<\/span>\u00a0to perform a positive coparenting role.<\/span><\/p>\n The parents in this research, however, were a nonclinical sample, without high needs. The levels of undermining coparenting and harsh intrusive parenting among them were low, though there was ample variability\u00a0<\/span>o<\/span>n each measure. They were married, dual-earner, different-sex couples<\/span>\u00a0who were the<\/span>\u00a0biological parents of the children<\/span>;\u00a0<\/span>75% of the mothers and 65% of the fathers had a university degree<\/span>, and<\/span>\u00a086% were white.<\/span><\/p>\n Researchers use the term \u201cneuroticism\u201d to describe the combined tendencies towards anxiety, nervousness, stress, guilt, frustration and anger. N<\/span>euroticism was measured in\u00a0<\/span>both mothers and fathers during\u00a0<\/span>the third trimester of pregnancy. They were asked to rate statements like\u00a0<\/span>\u201cI feel inferior to other<\/span>s<\/span>\u201d, \u201cI often feel tense and jittery\u201d and \u201cI often feel helpless and want someone else to solve my problems\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Coparenting was assessed later, when the baby was\u00a0<\/span>three\u00a0<\/span>months old, by observing parents changing the baby\u2019s onesie together.\u00a0<\/span>The parents were asked to divide\u00a0<\/span>the task of\u00a0<\/span>removing the onesie and putting the new one on between them.\u00a0<\/span>Supportive\u00a0<\/span>c<\/span>oparenting<\/span>\u00a0was measured by the degree to which the parents helped each other with their respective tasks, displayed affection to each other and took pleasure in watching the other interact with the baby.\u00a0<\/span>Undermining<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>coparenting<\/span>\u00a0is characterized by\u00a0<\/span>the opposite:\u00a0<\/span>criticism, disparagement,\u00a0<\/span>competition<\/span>\u00a0for the child\u2019s attention and disregarding the other parent\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>competence or\u00a0<\/span>authority.<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, the quality of<\/span>\u00a0individual<\/span>\u00a0parenting was assessed when the baby was\u00a0<\/span>nine\u00a0<\/span>months old. Each parent was asked to play separately with the child for\u00a0<\/span>five\u00a0<\/span>minutes, using either a shape sorter or stacking rings. Intrusiveness is characterized by the parent being more\u00a0<\/span>self-centred<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>than child\u00a0<\/span>centred<\/span>, and by a failure to understand and recognize the child\u2019s effort to gain autonomy.\u00a0<\/span>Harshness is characterized by being abrupt with the child and calling the child names.<\/span><\/p>\n These findings did not fully back earlier research showing a direct association between a mother\u2019s neuroticism and her harsh intrusive parenting. There is much less research on\u00a0<\/span>fathers\u00a0<\/span>,<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0the results of earlier research on paternal neuroticism and harsh parenting are inconclusive \u2013 some finds a link, some does not.<\/span><\/p>\n This suggests more research is needed on fathers<\/span>, which could lead to a similar recommendation as for mothers: when services find a father prone to neuroticism, the mother should be given\u00a0<\/span>help\u00a0<\/span>to be a supportive coparent.<\/span><\/p>\n