Role distribution is a central issue for parents in the transition to parenthood, but little is known about the motivations in fathers to assume a specific role. Differences in work-family balance in each parent may be motivated by an individual choice mutually shared by both partners; however, in many couples, the parents may feel forced to adopt a traditional role distribution, either for financial reasons, or to comply with social expectations about what men and women should do when they are (...) parents. This feeling of being socially constrained to adopt a role distribution that is not congruent with intrinsic motivations can generate dissatisfaction and may jeopardize the development of the interparental relationship. Coparenting refers to the emotional and instrumental support parents bring to each other in their parental tasks. It has been shown to be central in family functioning and a powerful predictor of children’s emotional and cognitive development. In this study, we aimed to assess the extent to which different motivations for role distribution in fathers are predictive of the quality of the coparental relationship. A convenience sample of 144 fathers from the French-speaking part of Switzerland completed online questionnaires about their motivations, coparental relationship, and sociodemographic characteristics. Results showed that the reasons for role distribution were mainly economical, practical, and in order to meet personal expectations. Multivariate general linear modeling showed that role distribution that is constrained to meet social expectations and age were predictive of a less cohesive coparental relationship, whereas a deliberate choice in role distribution was linked to a more cohesive coparental relationship. (shrink)

ContextColon cancer is the 3rd most common cancer in the world. The diagnosis leads the patient and his relatives into a process of mourning for their health and previous life. The literature highlights the impact of the disease on couples. Cancer can either alter or strengthen the relationship. The disease will directly or indirectly affect both partners. Such impact starts with the diagnosis and lasts long after treatments. No study has analyzed both emotional and sexual interactions between partners throughout the (...) illness so far.ObjectiveThis research aims to identify and describe whether congruence within couples tends to improve emotional and sexual adjustment.MethodThirteen couples took part in this research by answering a set of questionnaires investigating, in particular, dyadic coping strategies, marital and sexual satisfaction. Non-parametric analyses were performed on the quantitative data.ResultsEmotional satisfaction is good among the couples in our study. There are important similarities in partners’ emotional adjustment. Patients who are most satisfied with their couple typically have a partner who is also satisfied. This was an expected result based on the literature. Overall, sexual satisfaction is described as average, which is either related to a low frequency of sexual intercourse, or a gap between the ideal and actual frequency of intercourse. In terms of dyadic coping, similarities within couples tend to improve emotional and sexual adjustment. Couples in which communication about stress between the patient and their partner is congruent tend to report good marital satisfaction. We found the same results for delegated coping of both the patient and the partner, and for negative coping of the partner. Sexual adjustment is linked to a similar perception within the couple of a common dyadic coping.ConclusionEmotional and sexual adjustment is largely linked to the quality of the partner’s support. The congruence of couple support strategies has been identified as an important factor in emotional satisfaction. In addition, the more couples implement joint stress management, the better their sexual satisfaction. (shrink)