Relationship Quality and Parental Satisfaction among Mothers and Fathers of Children with Disabilities: The Mediating Role of Coparenting

The study aimed to assess the extent to which partner relationship quality predicts parental satisfaction among parents raising children with disabilities, and to determine whether coparenting functions as a mediator in these associations. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design using validated measures of partner relationship quality, coparenting, and parental satisfaction among mothers and fathers raising children with disabilities. Marital conflict directly predicted lower parental satisfaction in both mothers and fathers, indicating a spillover from partner relationship dynamics into parental experiences. In contrast, support and relationship depth were linked to parental satisfaction only indirectly through coparenting—particularly among mothers—while higher child functional independence consistently corresponded with greater satisfaction for both parents. The findings demonstrate the usefulness of incorporating coparenting into analyses that capture interactions between the partner and parental subsystems. The significance of cooperative parenting is particularly pronounced in contexts where parents must undertake numerous additional tasks related to meeting the special developmental needs of a child with a disability, as well as navigating potential difficulties in carrying them out and monitoring the child's developmental progress.