Understanding nonresidential father-child relationship processes during emerging adulthood

"May 2014."Dissertation Supervisor: Dr. Marilyn Coleman.Includes vita.The purpose of this study was to explore the processes by which emerging adults attempt to maintain or change their relationships with their nonresidential fathers. The present study focused on the relationships between 33 emerging adults and their nonresidential fathers. In-depth interviews revealed that some father-child relationships were unchanged by divorce, but most became distant immediately following the divorce. During emerging adulthood these relationships did not necessarily become closer, but communication often increased and stressful interactions decreased for some, especially when compared to childhood. The findings suggest that normative changes that accompany emerging adulthood (e.g., leaving their mother's home, gaining new insight about themselves and their families) may enable the renewal of connections between previously distant nonresidential fathers and children.Includes bibliographical references (pages 60-77)

Communication technology and post-divorce coparenting

Divorced individuals who share parenting responsibilities have to figure out ways to work together to raise their children. The purpose of this qualitative study of 49 divorced coparents was to examine how they used technology (e.g., cell phones, computers) to communicate. For parents in effective coparenting relationships, communication technologies made it easier for them to plan and make conjoint decisions about their children while living apart. Communication technology, however, did not necessarily make coparenting easier if parents were contentious. Contentious parents used communication technologies as tools to: (a) reduce conflicts, (b) withhold information, (c) limit the ability of the coparent to have input into child-rearing decisions, and (d) try to influence the behavior of the coparent

Transitioning to Postdivorce Family Life: A Grounded Theory Investigation of Resilience in Coparenting

Court-ordered shared physical and legal custody has led to greater numbers of couples that must coparent following divorce. We conducted a grounded theory study to examine resilience processes in postdivorce coparenting. Data were collected through in-depth interviews from 47 divorced mothers and fathers. The analysis revealed that successfully transitioning from married to divorced coparenting required intrapersonal changes (i.e., how participants thought and felt about their ex-partners) as well as behavioral changes (e.g., avoiding conflict). Parents who reported focusing on children, regulating their emotional responses, and choosing battles about time and money were more effective than those who had difficulty letting go of divorce anger or engaged in frequent conflicts. Implications for parent educators and clinicians are discussed

Divorced mothers’ coparental boundary maintenance after parents repartner.

When divorced parents remarry or cohabit with new partners, it is challenging to maintain functional postdivorce coparenting systems. In this grounded theory study of 19 divorced mothers, we examined the processes by which they maintained boundaries around coparental relationships after 1 or both coparents had repartnered. Mothers saw themselves as captains of the coparenting team, making decisions about who should play what roles in parenting their children. They viewed themselves as having primary responsibility for their children, and they saw their children’s fathers as important coparenting partners. Mothers used a variety of strategies to preserve boundaries around the coparental subsystem when either they or their ex-husbands repartnered. Stepparents became more active participants in coparenting when: (a) mothers perceived them to be adequate caregivers, (b) biological parents were able to cooperatively coparent, (c) mothers perceived the fathers as good parents and responsible fathers, and (d) mothers felt secure as the primary parents. When all 4 conditions were present, mothers were likely to expand the coparental subsystem to include new partners. If any of these conditions were not present, mothers resisted including stepparents as part of the child rearing team. The findings from this study highlight how coparental roles in a nonclinical sample of families develop and change; mothers often modify coparenting boundaries over time to include stepparents

Exploring the dimensionality of self-perceived performance assessment literacy (PAL)

Abstract Performance assessments attempt to provide a practical and authentic demonstration of students’ learning. Despite growing investments in performance assessments by states, as well as researchers’ theorized value of this type of assessment, the field has not developed a measure of assessment literacy specific to performance assessments that has sufficient psychometric evidence to support it. This study begins important research on developing a quantitative measure that can be used by educational practitioners to self-evaluate their own performance assessment literacy (PAL). Using the Quality Performance Assessment (QPA) framework from the Center for Collaborative Education as a foundation, this study explores and confirms the dimensionality of a 27-item survey instrument that assesses educational practitioners’ perceptions of their PAL using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Our findings provide evidence that the instrument captures five reliable dimensions of PAL: valid design, reliable scoring, data analysis, fair assessment, and student voice and choice