A Network Approach to Understanding Parenting: Linking Coparenting, Parenting Styles, and Parental Involvement in Rearing Adolescents in Different Age Groups

Prior research has used several indicators to represent parenting, from dyadic interactions between mothers/fathers and children (e.g., parenting styles, parental involvement) to triadic mother-father-child interactions (e.g., coparenting). This study applies network analysis to explore the interrelations between maternal and paternal coparenting, parenting styles, and parental involvement in families with adolescents in early (10-12 years), middle (13-15 years), and late (16-18 years) stages. Network analysis was used to identify central nodes (i.e., central parenting components) and central mechanisms (i.e., relations between central parenting variables) underlying the parenting network, providing a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of parenting. This study included 4,852 adolescents aged from 10 to 18 (M-age = 13.80, SD = 2.38, 51.5% females) in two-parent families across different regions of China. The results indicated that both maternal and paternal coparenting integrity and warm parenting style served as important bridges to connect the whole network; their integrity and emotional involvement were closely linked to other parenting variables. Also, the intrapersonal and interpersonal effects between mothering and fathering as well as adolescent developmental differences were found. If it is assumed that the parenting network is causal, the results suggest that supportive parenting should be considered the prime target for enhancing parenting systems. Adolescent developmental stages appear to be a vital factor influencing parenting intercorrelations, and interventions should be designed based on children's age groups. Public Significance Statement This study suggests that mothers' and fathers' coparenting integrity, warm parenting style, and emotional involvement are particularly important to the parenting system, which encourages interventions on supportive parenting to maximize the effectiveness and benefit the family system. Additionally, it highlights the complementary effects between mothers and fathers in the family, and the developmental characteristics of and differences in parenting early, middle, and late adolescents.