Chapter 1: Coparenting a Child with Disabilities: Selected Determinants

Coparenting is a complex construct showing the quality of parental beliefs, motives, and actions related to cooperation in the child-rearing process. Its important role has been proven in child development and in shaping parents’ quality of life outcomes or marital satisfaction. This chapter presents the results of a study aimed at exploring the significance of selected parenting and child-related variables for the various components of coparenting in families with a child with disabilities. Material was collected in a group of 118 parenting couples using The Coparenting Relationship Scale. It was found that fathers scored higher in Coparenting Undermining and Endorse Partner Parenting. The variable of education was significant: parents with higher education showed the highest parental compatibility, and mothers also showed relatively highest satisfaction with the division of responsibilities. Parental age, age, and gender of the child with a disability were not significant. Difficult behaviors in the child correlated negatively with favorable coparenting components in parents and positively with unfavorable ones. Functional status was negatively associated with Coparenting Agreement and Endorse Partner in fathers. The complementarity of parental roles must be taken into account in the process of specialized support from psychologists, school counselors, social workers, etc.