Coparenting emerges across the transition to parenthood and refers to the way individuals coordinate, support each other in their parental roles and share responsibility in childrearing. Despite the increase in research on coparenting, relatively few studies have focused on non- North American or non-European families, which has hindered practice and policy targeting diverse countries. Likewise, qualitative research on coparenting is relatively rare, yet critical to shed light on details and complexities not well captured by other methods, including insights into sociocultural factors linked to coparenting in distinct contexts. Moreover, a qualitative longitudinal approach is particularly well suited to examine important life course transitions and turning points, such as the transition to parenthood. To address these gaps, we investigated coparenting across the transition to parenthood in South-Brazilian families, using a qualitative, longitudinal, multiple case study. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 first-time mother and fathers (six nuclear families altogether), at 6, 12, and 18 months postpartum (36 interviews altogether). In two families only the father was employed, with the mother caring for the child; in two families both parents were employed, and they hired a nanny to care for the child in their home; and, in two families both parents were employed, and the child started attending daycare at the end of maternity leave. Through the two articles that comprise the current doctoral dissertation, we explored three components of Feinberg’s (2003) coparenting framework: division of labor (how parents divide childcare tasks and household chores, as well as their satisfaction with this division); agreement/disagreement (e.g., regarding children’s emotional needs and discipline); and, support/undermining (appreciation and cooperation, or criticism and competition). The first article is focused on the division of labor, whereas the second is focused on agreement/disagreement and support/undermining. Deductive thematic analysis revealed similarities and singularities between families. As presented in the first article, we found weaker sharing of household chores over time, against greater sharing of childcare tasks during the first few days postpartum, followed by a downward tendency in the fathers’ contributions during the first few months postpartum. This more unequal division of labor remained stable over time only for families who had chosen maternal care, changing after the end of maternity leave for families who had chosen nanny care and daycare. Parental satisfaction regarding the division of labor remained relatively high over time only for families who had chosen nanny care, which suggests that counting on a domestic worker since the beginning of the transition to parenthood contributed to preventing parental feelings of overload or unfairness across the transition to parenthood. Findings were discussed in the 10 light of the role that instrumental and social support, as well as the prevailing Brazilian gender norms, may play in the division of labor for new parents. With respect to the second article, our findings showed that agreement among parents remained relatively stable during the first year, whereas disagreements concerning discipline demanded more parental negotiation as infants advanced toward toddlerhood. Support and undermining coexisted in the same families, although mothers and fathers expressed undermining differently. Aspects of the ecological context, such as family of origin, instrumental and social support, as well as labor market, also appeared to influence coparenting agreement/disagreement and support/ undermining. Following each article, we presented strengths, limitations, suggestions for future research, as well as implications for practice (e.g., counseling) and policy (e.g., childcare arrangements and parental leave).

Coparenting emerges across the transition to parenthood and refers to the way individuals coordinate, support each other in their parental roles and share responsibility in childrearing. Despite the increase in research on coparenting, relatively few studies have focused on non- North American or non-European families, which has hindered practice and policy targeting diverse countries. Likewise, qualitative research on coparenting is relatively rare, yet critical to shed light on details and complexities not well captured by other methods, including insights into sociocultural factors linked to coparenting in distinct contexts. Moreover, a qualitative longitudinal approach is particularly well suited to examine important life course transitions and turning points, such as the transition to parenthood. To address these gaps, we investigated coparenting across the transition to parenthood in South-Brazilian families, using a qualitative, longitudinal, multiple case study. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 first-time mother and fathers (six nuclear families altogether), at 6, 12, and 18 months postpartum (36 interviews altogether). In two families only the father was employed, with the mother caring for the child; in two families both parents were employed, and they hired a nanny to care for the child in their home; and, in two families both parents were employed, and the child started attending daycare at the end of maternity leave. Through the two articles that comprise the current doctoral dissertation, we explored three components of Feinberg’s (2003) coparenting framework: division of labor (how parents divide childcare tasks and household chores, as well as their satisfaction with this division); agreement/disagreement (e.g., regarding children’s emotional needs and discipline); and, support/undermining (appreciation and cooperation, or criticism and competition). The first article is focused on the division of labor, whereas the second is focused on agreement/disagreement and support/undermining. Deductive thematic analysis revealed similarities and singularities between families. As presented in the first article, we found weaker sharing of household chores over time, against greater sharing of childcare tasks during the first few days postpartum, followed by a downward tendency in the fathers’ contributions during the first few months postpartum. This more unequal division of labor remained stable over time only for families who had chosen maternal care, changing after the end of maternity leave for families who had chosen nanny care and daycare. Parental satisfaction regarding the division of labor remained relatively high over time only for families who had chosen nanny care, which suggests that counting on a domestic worker since the beginning of the transition to parenthood contributed to preventing parental feelings of overload or unfairness across the transition to parenthood. Findings were discussed in the 10 light of the role that instrumental and social support, as well as the prevailing Brazilian gender norms, may play in the division of labor for new parents. With respect to the second article, our findings showed that agreement among parents remained relatively stable during the first year, whereas disagreements concerning discipline demanded more parental negotiation as infants advanced toward toddlerhood. Support and undermining coexisted in the same families, although mothers and fathers expressed undermining differently. Aspects of the ecological context, such as family of origin, instrumental and social support, as well as labor market, also appeared to influence coparenting agreement/disagreement and support/ undermining. Following each article, we presented strengths, limitations, suggestions for future research, as well as implications for practice (e.g., counseling) and policy (e.g., childcare arrangements and parental leave).

Coparenting emerges across the transition to parenthood and refers to the way individuals coordinate, support each other in their parental roles and share responsibility in childrearing. Despite the increase in research on coparenting, relatively few studies have focused on non- North American or non-European families, which has hindered practice and policy targeting diverse countries. Likewise, qualitative research on coparenting is relatively rare, yet critical to shed light on details and complexities not well captured by other methods, including insights into sociocultural factors linked to coparenting in distinct contexts. Moreover, a qualitative longitudinal approach is particularly well suited to examine important life course transitions and turning points, such as the transition to parenthood. To address these gaps, we investigated coparenting across the transition to parenthood in South-Brazilian families, using a qualitative, longitudinal, multiple case study. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 first-time mother and fathers (six nuclear families altogether), at 6, 12, and 18 months postpartum (36 interviews altogether). In two families only the father was employed, with the mother caring for the child; in two families both parents were employed, and they hired a nanny to care for the child in their home; and, in two families both parents were employed, and the child started attending daycare at the end of maternity leave. Through the two articles that comprise the current doctoral dissertation, we explored three components of Feinberg’s (2003) coparenting framework: division of labor (how parents divide childcare tasks and household chores, as well as their satisfaction with this division); agreement/disagreement (e.g., regarding children’s emotional needs and discipline); and, support/undermining (appreciation and cooperation, or criticism and competition). The first article is focused on the division of labor, whereas the second is focused on agreement/disagreement and support/undermining. Deductive thematic analysis revealed similarities and singularities between families. As presented in the first article, we found weaker sharing of household chores over time, against greater sharing of childcare tasks during the first few days postpartum, followed by a downward tendency in the fathers’ contributions during the first few months postpartum. This more unequal division of labor remained stable over time only for families who had chosen maternal care, changing after the end of maternity leave for families who had chosen nanny care and daycare. Parental satisfaction regarding the division of labor remained relatively high over time only for families who had chosen nanny care, which suggests that counting on a domestic worker since the beginning of the transition to parenthood contributed to preventing parental feelings of overload or unfairness across the transition to parenthood. Findings were discussed in the 10 light of the role that instrumental and social support, as well as the prevailing Brazilian gender norms, may play in the division of labor for new parents. With respect to the second article, our findings showed that agreement among parents remained relatively stable during the first year, whereas disagreements concerning discipline demanded more parental negotiation as infants advanced toward toddlerhood. Support and undermining coexisted in the same families, although mothers and fathers expressed undermining differently. Aspects of the ecological context, such as family of origin, instrumental and social support, as well as labor market, also appeared to influence coparenting agreement/disagreement and support/ undermining. Following each article, we presented strengths, limitations, suggestions for future research, as well as implications for practice (e.g., counseling) and policy (e.g., childcare arrangements and parental leave).

[pt] A coparentalidade pode ser compreendida como a articulação dos papéis parentais em torno dos cuidados globais e da responsabilidade conjunta pelo bem-estar de uma criança. O presente estudo teve como objetivo central desenvolver uma investigação sobre como os pais que se mantém casados vivenciam a coparentalidade nos dias atuais. Especificamente, buscou-se investigar como são realizadas a transmissão conjunta de valores e princípios educativos na família, a divisão das tarefas parentais e a articulação das opiniões divergentes do casal em torno do tema. Realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas com quatro homens e quatro mulheres pais de pelo menos um filho entre dois e seis anos, pertencentes aos segmentos médios da população carioca. As entrevistas foram analisadas por meio do método de análise de conteúdo proposto por Bardin (2011) e do discurso dos sujeitos emergiram seis categorias de análise: um pai mais presente, divisão de tarefas e cuidados com os filhos, semelhanças e diferenças na educação dos filhos, resolução de conflitos, influências da família de origem e suporte coparental. A partir da análise do material coletado pode-se perceber que a partilha de responsabilidades e tarefas parentais entre os membros do casal é uma prática comum na atualidade. Os conflitos coparentais são percebidos como prejudiciais para a autoridade da díade parental e para o desenvolvimento saudável dos filhos sendo, portanto, evitados pelos casais. Há uma busca idealizada por uma relação coparental livre de conflitos e diferenças. / [en] Coparenting can be define as the articulation of parenting roles and the sharing responsibilities about a child. The main objective of this study was to develop an investigation about the coparental relationship. A qualitative analysis was carried out through semi-structured interviews with four men and four women. They were married, parents to at least one two-year-old to six-year-old child and belonged to segments of the middle class population of Rio de Janeiro. The interviews were analyzed through the content analysis method proposed by Bardin (2011) and from the subjects speech, six categories emerged: A more present father, Division of tasks and children s care, Resemblances and differences in raising practices, Conflict solving, Family of origin influence and coparental support. It s possible to notice the involvement of both parents on the childrearing tasks as a common practice. Coparental conflicts are seen as harmful to parent s authority and to children s development, being avoided by couples. There is an idealized search for a coparental relationship free of conflicts and differences.

[pt] Esta dissertação de mestrado pretende discutir a parentalidade após o divórcio e suas repercussões na vida dos filhos. A partir das transformações nas configurações da família contemporânea, investigaram-se as consequências psíquicas do fim da conjugalidade no sujeito, em relação ao seu narcisismo e à possibilidade de elaboração da separação. Desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa qualitativa com quatro pais e quatro mães separados, baseada na realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os resultados foram analisados de acordo com o método de análise de conteúdo. Verificou-se que a separação pode ser uma grande ferida no amor próprio dos membros do ex-casal, dificultando a vivência do luto pelo fim do casamento. Nesse contexto, as fronteiras entre a conjugalidade e a parentalidade ficam pouco delimitadas, afetando a relação com os filhos. Evidenciou-se que a forma na qual o divórcio foi vivido, individualmente, impacta as possibilidades de reorganização familiar após a ruptura. Nesse sentido, a coparentalidade se mostrou potencialmente difícil de ser exercida, implicando em grandes transformações na vida dos filhos. / [en] The purpose of this master s thesis is to discuss parenting after divorce and its repercussions in the children s lives. Taking into account the transformations in contemporary family settings, the study investigates the psychic consequences of the end of marital relations upon the subject, regarding his/her narcissism and the possibility of elaborating the separation. The author conducted a qualitative research with four fathers and four mothers, performing semi-structured interviews and studying the results using the content analysis method. Findings indicate that the separation may inflict a major wound in the self-love of former members of the couple, hindering the grieving process caused by the end of marriage. In this context, the boundaries between marital relations and parenting became unclear, affecting parent-child relations. Evidence shows that the way in which subjects experience divorce, individually, has an impact on the possibilities of family reorganization after the breakup. In this sense, co-parenting seemed potentially difficult, involving major transformations in the children s lives.

[pt] O presente trabalho teve como objetivo investigar o sistema familiar recasado, a partir da perspectiva dos filhos do primeiro casamento. Buscou-se, com este estudo, compreender como as crianças vêem as relações familiares existentes entre elas e seus pais, mães, padrastos, madrastas, irmãos e avós. As transições pelas quais a família recasada passa, iniciadas por um processo de divórcio, seguido pela inclusão de novos membros através do novo relacionamento de um ou de ambos os pais, tornam o sistema familiar mais complexo, demandando de todos readaptações e ajustes. Os papéis dos membros da família de primeiro casamento não se ajustam aos deste novo arranjo, e cada membro precisa encontrar seu lugar para que se sinta pertencendo à família. Desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa de campo qualitativa, com entrevistas semiestruturadas realizadas com sete crianças de famílias recasadas, sendo elas filhas do primeiro casamento. Os entrevistados tinham entre dez e treze anos, todos residentes na cidade do Rio de Janeiro e pertencentes às classes média e média alta da população. Os dados foram analisados a partir do método da análise de conteúdo e, da fala dos entrevistados, emergiram cinco categorias: papel de pai e papel de mãe; participação da família ampliada; relacionamento com padrasto/madrasta; coparentalidade; e, relações de fratria. Ao olhar dos filhos, parece ser importante que as funções familiares sejam bem definidas, para que o relacionamento familiar seja visto de forma positiva. A partir dos resultados encontrados, pode-se sugerir que, na visão da criança, o modelo de família de primeiro casamento ainda é uma forte referência. Aponta-se também para o importante suporte oferecido pela família ampliada, para dificuldades no relacionamento coparental pós-divórcio e para a importância de incluir os novos membros da família recasada. / [en] This study aimed to investigate the remarried family system, from the perspective of the children from intact families. We have tried to understand how children see the relationships between them and their fathers, mothers, stepfathers, stepmothers, brothers and grandparents. The transitions in which the members from remarried family go through, begining with divorce, followed by the addition of new members through the new relationship of one or both parents, makes the system more complex, requiring adaptations from everyone involved. The roles of members from the traditional first marriage family do not fit this new arrangement, and each member needs to find their place and feel like they belong to the family. We have developed a qualitative research, with semi-structured interviews with seven children from remarried families, sons of the first marriage. The respondents were between ten and thirteen years old, residents in the city of Rio de Janeiro and belonging to the middle/upper classes of the population. The data was analyzed using content analysis method and from the speech of the interviewees, five categories emerged: the role of father and mother; participation of extended family; relationship with stepfather / stepmother; co-parenting; and, sibling relationships. In children s view, it seems important that family roles are well defined, so that the family relationship feels positive for them. From the results we found, we can suggest that, in the child s point of view, the traditional family model of first marriage is still a strong reference. The results also show the importance of the support provided by the extended family, of maintaining a cooperative coparental post-divorce relationship and of including the new members of the remarried family.

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-04-15T18:19:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Liana Pasinato.pdf: 907872 bytes, checksum: 1447050fc96055b4b8ee3443c770f9a8 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-15T18:19:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Liana Pasinato.pdf: 907872 bytes, checksum: 1447050fc96055b4b8ee3443c770f9a8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-21 / Nenhuma / Na atualidade, a entrada dos filhos à escola de educação infantil implica em inúmeros desafios. Devido às características de duplo-trabalho de um número cada vez maior de genitores, e a escassez de rede social de apoio, esse período tem sido adiantado cronologicamente, uma vez que as crianças estão ingressando logo após o término da licença maternidade às escolas. Os genitores precisam então, fazer frente a uma sobreposição de duas etapas do ciclo evolutivo familiar, que são a transição da conjugalidade à parentalidade e a coparentalidade e o ingresso dos filhos à escola de educação infantil. Portanto, a articulação entre estas relações pode se expressar em dificuldades dos filhos neste momento. Neste sentido, o objetivo desta dissertação foi o de compreender como se dá a coparentalidade em casais que os filhos ingressaram à escola de educação infantil, logo após o término da licença maternidade. Essa dissertação é composta por dois artigos empíricos, o primeiro intitulado ?A transição para a coparentalidade: casais que os filhos ingressaram à escola ao término da licença-maternidade? e o segundo ?A coparentalidade em famílias com bebês com indicativos de dificuldades de inserção escolar precoce?. Foi realizado um estudo exploratório descritivo, com quatro famílias nucleares, residentes em Erechim/RS, com idades entre 26 e 40 anos, e que os filhos haviam ingressado na escola de educação infantil, logo após o término da licença maternidade. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: questionário de dados sociodemográficos, roteiro e entrevista semiestruturada sobre coparentalidade. Os resultados deste estudo mostraram importantes aspectos da dinâmica familiar destes casais durante o período de inserção escolar precoce dos filhos. Algumas mudanças da atualidade têm reflexos neste momento, como o fato da família ter dificuldades para encontrar uma rede de apoio, e a valorização dos ingressos financeiros das mulheres, por isso inserem precocemente os filhos à escola. Estas características se expressam no fato da coparentalidade estar sendo desempenhada de forma mais igualitária pelos casais deste estudo, uma vez que o duplo-trabalho e a inserção escolar precoce dos filhos impõem essa dinâmica. Entretanto, no processo de inserção escolar, ainda são as mães as principais participantes, apontando uma heterogeneidade nestas dinâmicas. Assim como as tarefas domésticas ainda não são divididas igualitariamente, estando estas associadas aos papéis de gênero. / Nowadays, the entry of children in preschool involves numerous challenges. Due to the characteristics of double-work of a growing number of genitors, and the shortage of social support network, this period has was reduced, since children are going to schools right after the end of maternity leave. The parents need to tackle this overlapping of two stages of family life cycle, which are the transition from conjugality to parenting, and coparenting and children entering the kindergarten. Given that the articulation of these relationships might be expressed in difficulties for the children at this time. In this regard, the aim of this dissertation was to comprehend how the coparenting sets up in couples where the children were enrolled to the childhood education, right after the end of maternity leave. This dissertation is composed of 6 two empirical articles, the first titled "The transition to coparenting: couples where their children were enrolled to the school at the end of maternity leave " and the second "The coparenting in families with babies who have indicatives of early school insertion difficulties". An exploratory and descriptive study was made, with four nuclear families, living in Erechim / RS, aged between 26 and 40 years, and where the children had entered the kindergarten soon after the end of maternity leave. The instruments used were: sociodemographic questionnaire, semistructured script and interview about coparenting. The results of this study show important aspects in the family dynamics of these couples during the early school insertion of its children. The findings show changes of the present time that have an impact in this moment, such as the difficulty for the family to find a support network, the valuation of financial income of women, and for this reason enroll children to school earlier. These characteristics are expressed in the fact of the coparenting is performed more equally by the couples of this study, since double-work and the inclusion of children prematurely in school impose that dynamic. However, in the process of school integration, mothers are still the main participants, pointing a heterogeneity in these dynamics. Just as household tasks are not equally divided, and are associated with gender roles.

[pt] A presente dissertação teve como objetivo identificar e analisar as variáveis relacionadas e preditoras da coparentalidade de mães e pais brasileiros no contexto da pandemia do COVID-19. Foram realizados um estudo teórico e dois estudos empíricos para cumprir esse objetivo. O artigo teórico buscou discutir a relação das variáveis relacionadas à coparentalidade por meio do Modelo Bioecológico do Desenvolvimento Humano no contexto pandêmico. Já o primeiro artigo empírico demonstrou o processo de adaptação e as provas iniciais de validade da Coparenting Questionnaire (CQ) para o contexto brasileiro, no qual participaram 590 mães e pais brasileiros, em sua maioria mulheres (n = 532; 90,02 por cento). A adaptação do instrumento para a língua portuguesa aconteceu em cinco etapas. Após análises fatoriais confirmatórias, o instrumento apresentou índices de ajuste satisfatórios para o modelo multifatorial proposto. Foi identificado que o instrumento também pode ser utilizado como escore geral de coparentalidade de forma cautelosa por meio de uma análise bifactor. O segundo artigo empírico teve como objetivo identificar, a partir de análises de correlação, diferenças de grupo e regressão múltipla, as variáveis biopsicossociais relacionadas com a coparentalidade no contexto pandêmico. Participaram deste estudo 300 mães e pais brasileiros casados ou em união estável, em sua maioria mulheres (n = 277; 92,33 por cento). Diversas variáveis apresentaram correlações com a coparentalidade e satisfação com o relacionamento amoroso foi a variável com maior peso de predição. Algumas variáveis contextuais da pandemia apresentaram diferenças significativas de média quanto a coparentalidade, sendo que a mais forte delas foi o aumento de problemas comportamentais dos filhos. Os dados gerais deste estudo sugerem que a coparentalidade é um construto complexo e multideterminado e sustentam dados da literatura sobre seus múltiplos preditores biopsicossociais. A presente pesquisa fornece um novo instrumento para uso em pesquisas sobre a coparentalidade, além de auxiliar a compreensão de como este construto se comportou em famílias brasileiras durante o período de vulnerabilidade da pandemia. Por fim, também contribui com futuros direcionamentos de estudos empíricos sobre a coparentalidade em outros contextos e com outras populações, além de fornecer informações sobre para elaboração de intervenções focadas em atenuar os efeitos negativos pandêmicos nas famílias. / [en] The present dissertation s objective was to identify and analyze coparent related and predictable variables of brazilian mothers and fathers in the COVID19 pandemic context. One theoric study and two empirical studies were conducted to fulfill this objective. The theoric article aimed to discuss the relation between the coparent related variables through the lens of Bioecological Human Development Model in pandemic context. The first empirical article showed the adaptation process and the initial validity proofs of the Coparenting Questionnaire (CQ) for brazilian context, in which 590 mothers and fathers participated, majoritarily women (n = 532; 90,02 percent). Instrument s adaptation for Portuguese language was made in five steps. After confirmatory factor analysis, the instrument adjusted indices were satisfactory for the proposed multifactor model. It was also identified by a bifactor analysis that a total score of the instrument can be used with wariness. The second empirical article s objective was to identify, from correlation, mean differences and multiple regression analysis, the biopsychosocial variables that were related with coparenting in a pandemic context. 300 mothers and fathers, married or enrolled in stable unions, participated in this study, majoritarily women (n = 277; 92,33 percent). Several variables presented correlation with coparenting and conjugal relationship satisfaction was the variable with the highest predictive load. Some pandemic contextual variables showed significant differences in means regarding coparenting, in which the strongest was the increase in children s behavioral problems. The general data from this study suggest that coparenting is a complex and multidetermined construct, supporting literature studies on its multiple biopsychosocial predictors. The present research provides a new coparenting instrument for research use, in addition to help understanding how this construct presented itself on Brazilian families during the pandemic vulnerability period. Finally, it also contributes to future directions for empirical studies on coparenting in other contexts and with other populations, in addition to providing information on interventions focused on mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic on families.