Typologies of coparenting in Chinese families and adolescents’ adjustment

The significance of coparenting has been demonstrated for a variety of adolescents’ adjustment outcomes. The current study examined the associations between coparenting patterns and adolescents’ adjustment by adopting a person-oriented perspective. The Coparenting Relationship Scale was used to investigate both fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of coparenting in 1707 intact Chinese families. Adolescents ( M age = 11.04) reported their emotional (subjective well-being, loneliness), behavioral (pathological gaming, aggression), and academic adjustment (attitudes toward learning, academic performance) through a series of questionnaires. Three distinct coparenting typologies were identified using latent profile analysis: cooperative coparenting, conflictual coparenting, and mixed coparenting. Within the three typologies, gender differences between parents in coparenting dimensions also emerged. Adolescents in cooperative coparenting families reported the most positive adjustment outcomes, whereas those in mixed coparenting families reported the most negative. These findings provided valuable insights into how coparenting characteristics may relate to adolescents’ outcomes. Implications for research and practice were discussed.