The impact of the coparenting relationship in heterosexual couples on the stability of infant difficult temperament

Understanding how the environment exerts an influence on infants' temperamental difficulty is important particularly because this style has been found to predict later emotional and behavioral problems. The current study investigated the unique role of the coparenting relationship on the stability of infant difficult temperament across the first 15 months postpartum. Three hundred fifty-nine heterosexual married and/or cohabiting couples reported on their coparenting relationship quality and their infant's temperamental difficulty at 0-3 and 8 months, and temperamental reactivity was assessed via an observational measure at 15-months postpartum. Evidence for a relationship between negative coparenting quality and difficult temperament over the first few months postpartum was obtained. Parent report of early infant difficult temperament and concurrent couple satisfaction was mildly predictive of infant temperamental reactivity at 15 months. However, coparenting relationship quality, both positive and negative in nature', did not affect the stability of difficult temperamental quality over the first 15 months. Infants' temperamental reactivity was relatively stable and resilient to positive and negative qualities of the coparenting relationship. Early assessment and intervention with mothers and fathers should focus on enhancing the strength of the coparenting relationship as the first several months postpartum appears to be a challenging time for coparents facing infant difficult temperament.