A Prenatal Coparenting Intervention and (the Absence of ... fathering (dyadic) and healthy marriage (dyadic) to focus on coparenting (triadic) ... how to call a truce so as to enable

A Prenatal Coparenting Intervention and (the Absence of) Maternal Gatekeeping

in Early Triangular Interactions of African American Fragile Families

James P. McHale, Ph.D.Director, Family Study Center

USF St. Petersburg, FL, USAwww.usfsp.edu/fsc

CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILY CONSORTIUM: Children in Common: Ensuring the emotional well-being of children when parenting apart

October 22, 2015, Minneapolis, MN

• National Institute of Child Health and Development R01 HD082211, “Randomized Controlled Trial of Prenatal Coparenting Intervention for African American Fragile Families”

• Brady Education Foundation Early Childhood Grant "Figuring it Out for the Child: Promoting coparenting alliances of expectant unmarried African American parents”

• Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County Seed Grant "Promoting coparenting alliances of expectant unmarried African American parents"

Work described in this report sponsored by:

Objectives• Make clear what is meant by the family

systems concept “coparenting”• Review Focused Coparenting Consultation,

and a prenatal variant of this intervention appropriate for use with unmarried African American parents

• Describe after-effects of the intervention in families, with specific focus on the triangular dynamic evolving between child, mother and father during early postpartum months

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1995

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Structural Family Theory

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Coparenting refers to the mutual, joint efforts of adults raising children for whom they share responsibility

Effectively functioning coparenting alliances catalyze healthy emotional growth of infants and toddlers --- if involved adults collaborate to create a context of:

✓ Support and solidarity between parenting figures✓ Consistency and predictability in the approaches

the different caregivers take in the child’s life ✓ Security and integrity of the family’s home base

(regardless of whether that home base is a single domicile or spans multiple residences)

✓ Accurate empathy and attunement to the child’s needs.

Coparenting is a triangular construct

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But…

Yet…

Still ascribing all the blame to mothers…

Yet Coparenting Interventions for Unmarried, Uncoupled Parents Are Rare

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Needed was an intervention reducing focus on responsible fathering (dyadic) and healthy marriage (dyadic) to focus on coparenting (triadic)

Focused Coparenting Consultation (FCC)3 stage process:

Stage 1: Heighten consciousnessStage 2: Selective skill building Stage 3: Guided enactments

Consciousness-raising (not simply “psychoeducation”): A crucial first step• FCC begins by raising consciousness and heightening

empathy for the child – in order that both parents can recognize and validate what children need

• Heightening consciousness demands creativity, audacity, and sensitivity by interventionists

• Parents are helped to recognize where their parenting biases come from and ways their impulses are consciously/unconsciously motivated by good intent

• Adults are helped to distinguish areas in which they share common desires for protecting the child and for helping her to adjust successfully

• Skills are built (coparents learn how to quell conflict, how to call a truce so as to enable communication, how to use reflective listening, how to sustain a dialogue)

• And finally, enactments (with consciousness having been raised and new skills having been learned and practiced, hot-button issues are raised, under the watchful eye and coaching of the interventionists)

• Creating a Shared Plan (using newly heightened awareness and newly honed communication skills, coparents intentionally co-create a shared long-term vision – without interventionist meddling)

With consciousness raised…

A Dyadic Coparenting Intervention for Never-Married Co-Residential and Non-Co-Residential Parents Expecting a Baby

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Intervention delivered -- with fidelity -- by supervised paraprofessionals

Feasibility Trial: 6-Session Intervention(with Booster) for Expectant Unmarried ParentsSession 1 (Consciousness-raising)• Mentors give parents an overview of why FIOC was

developed and how it is expected to affect the baby and family, and affirm parents’ commitments to program participation.

Session 2 (Consciousness-raising)• Trigger videos heighten parent awareness about how fathers

affect children. Parents discuss challenges facing African American children, and how their own experiences of having been fathered could influence the type of coparents they might themselves become.

Session 3 (Consciousness-raising, Skill-building)• Parents reflect on their ideas about parenting. Differences in

the two parents’ ideas are explicitly focused upon. Communication skills to resolve differences in parenting ideologies are introduced. Parents use active listening techniques with mentor coaching.

Feasibility Trial: 6-Session Intervention(with Booster) for Expectant Unmarried ParentsSession 4 (Skill-Building)• Mentors broach current life issues that provoke anger. They

teach parents a stylized way of communicating about situations that upset them, effectively managing anger and resolving conflict to create their wished-for positive coparenting alliance for their baby.

Session 5 (Skill-Building and Enactment)• Parents confront real-life conflicts (e.g., gatekeeping, children

from prior relationships, concerns with child safety around in-laws). Mentors coach parents in use of new skills and validate and reinforce parents’ commitment to figure it out for the child.

Session 6 (Enactment, Wrapup)• Parents complete the session largely on their own, using skills

acquired to develop a single common set of goals for the child and a commitment statement. Mentors coach only as needed.

Demographic Mothers Fathers

Age Average 22 y/o 26 y/o

Range 14-35 y/o 14-53 y/o

Race Black 17 19

White 1 -

Bi-Racial 2 1

Income *Below Poverty

100% 100%

Other Children

From 1+ Previous Relationships

35% 18%

Length of Relationship

Average 3.7 years

Range 0.7– 15.0 years

Living Situation

Co-Resident Living Apart

53%47%

Participant families in the Brady feasibility trial:

Impact of the Intervention: Significant Changes in Rapport, Problem-Solving and Communication

Impact of the Intervention: Significant Changes in Rapport, Problem-Solving and Communication

An example of the transformation

At 3 Months Post-partum, the Lausanne Trilogue Play (LTP) was administered to all FIOC families

We Evaluated Father’s Behavior Preceding the Infant’s Looks Toward Him• C1: His focus was not on the baby• C2: He was watching, but with no animation,

talking, touch or play (“Watches – Not Engaged” in Lieberson, McHale et al’s CFRS micro-codes)

• C3: He was watching with animation, verbal, or affective engagement (“Watches – Engaged”; “Vocalizes,” “Engages Affectively” in Lieberson et al. micro-system

• C4: He was engaged with the baby through touch and/or play (Touch, Engagement Codes in Lieberson et al. micro-system)

Then, we coded his behavior following the baby’s look toward him…• He withdraws• He shows no adjustment in prior behavior

(continues with focus not on baby or continues watching but with no animation, or continues talking, touching or playing but with no acknowledgement baby has “joined” with him)

• He amplifies his affective engagement (Responds to baby by varying his behavior to become more animated or engaged affectively)

• He amplifies his behavioral engagement (Responds to baby by varying his behavior to show greater touch or play, usually with affective displays)

Example of Father’s Response Following Baby’s Bid to Him

How Did Mothers Respond Following Baby’s Bids Toward Father?

• C1: Did They Reinforce and Encourage?– Mom smiles, watches with interest, joins in the

activity dad initiated (Part 3)• C2: Did They Interfere and Restrict the Baby?

– Mom interferes, distracts or reorients baby, Objects to the interaction

• C3: Did They Just Disregard or Ignore?– Mom continues the behavior she was engaging in

prior to the father-child interaction

Example of Mother’s Response Following Baby’s Bid to Father

Mom Reinforced Baby’s Bids to Dad 48% of the Time Across the 4 LTP Parts

By LTP Part: What Happened When MomWas in the Role of Active Parent?

Vs…What Happened When Dad Was in the Role of Active Parent

And What Happened During the Three Together?

Finally, When Baby was Third Party

The Big Picture When Mom Was Active Parent and in Part 4…

Vs…The Big Picture When Dad Was Active Parent and in Three Together

Mom Reinforced Baby’s Bids to Dad 87% When Dad was Active Parent

Our scheme for understanding families focuses on cooperative or competitive coparenting rather than theorizing gatekeeping

It is possible to describe the triadic family dynamic without imputing more or less control and authorship to one parent

• Degree of disparity in levels of engagement

by the child’s parents

• Rhythmic patterning of the family interaction

(Child- or adult-driven)

• Degree of inter-adult cohesion and harmony

• Presence of inter-adult interference/antagonism

Conclusions• Following Focused Coparenting Consultation,

mothers and fathers in “fragile families” join together for LTP interactions with no unease

• Infants show interest in and affinity for fathers and their signals catalyze father responsivity

• Mothers show negligible evidence of restrictive, negative gatekeeping – they support and frequently take delight in father-baby play

• Foundations of triangular systems are clear• Unclear yet what relevance in families who

have not taken part in coparenting intervention

We see what we look for – a triangular rather than 2+1 frame changes everything

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Discussion PointsCoparenting is a verb, not a noun. Coparents co-construct triangular and family-level dynamics

Fathers will bond with their babies if they know their babies. They will know their babies if they are around their babies. They will be around their babies if they and their babies’ mothers collaboratively figure it out for the child.

QUESTIONS?

Presenter Contact InformationJames P. McHale, Ph.D..Professor of PsychologyDirector, Family Study CenterUSF St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg, FL 33701727-873-4848; www.usfsp.edu/fsc