De Relatie tussen de Coparenting Kwaliteit en het Zelfbeeld van Kinderen na Scheiding en de Rol van de Moeder-Kind Relatie en Vader-Kind Relatie

Abstract

Every year, a lot of children are facing divorce of their parents. Previous studies showed that children with divorced parents are more likely to experience self-esteem issues compared to children whose parents are still together. Factors that might play a role in these associations could be the quality of the two parent-child relationships and the quality of the relationship of the parents. In order to reduce the problems that children experience after divorce, it is important to understand the nature and magnitude of these factors. The role that the quality of both father- and mother-child relationships might play in the relationship between coparenting quality and self-esteem of children after divorce has only been investigated minimally. Therefore, an answer is sought to the following research question: "Is there an association between co-parenting quality and self-esteem of children after divorce, and do father-child relationship and mother-child relationship play a mediating role in this association?" To answer this question, data of the first measuring moment from 'Family Relations after Divorce' was used, resulting in a sample of 131 children (51.1% boys) aged 8 to 16. No direct relationship was found between the coparenting quality and the self-esteem of children who are dealing with parental divorce. Neither the quality of the father-child relationship nor the mother-child relationship play any role in this regard. However, there was a relationship found between the coparenting quality and both father-child and mother-child relationship. Findings from present study strengthen perspectives useful for research and practice.