Coparenting in English-Speaking and Chinese Families: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Using the Survey Tool CoPAFS

Abstract

While coparenting-related conceptual frameworks and empirical studies have received considerable attention in Western countries, there is far less attention on this topic in other regions. This study seeks to fill this gap by comparing coparenting dynamics between English-speaking and Chinese parents. This study begins by reviewing coparenting relationships in both Western and Chinese contexts. Study participants comprised 399 English-speaking parents living in the US and Canada and 534 Chinese parents living in Mainland China. There were several waves of participant recruitment by sending out the flyers online or utilizing the professional networks to invite eligible parents. The measurement tool CoPAFS (Coparenting across Family Structures), which has been validated in English-speaking culture, was used to compare the differences in coparenting constructs in two cultures. First, the model fit of CoPAFS within Chinese culture was examined with Cronbach Alpha values and relevant model fit indices such as Comparative Fit Index and Root Mean square Residual. As most of the statistics fell below the expected level of excellence, there is a need to locally adjust the entire model in order to better interpret Chinese parenting. The intensity of connection between each factor included in the model and the coparenting relationship as a whole was then investigated. Although most factors were endorsed similarly by Chinese and English-speaking parents, there were notable differences in their opinions regarding communication and trust. While English-speaking parents highly valued these two elements within the coparenting process, Chinese parents showed almost no attentiveness to them. In order to understand factors that may contribute to such a sharp contrast, two main variables, culture and gender, were tested. Through a series of multigroup invariance analyses assessing equivalence across groups, it was discovered that culture emerged as the more dominant determinant among the groups of participants. The implications of cross-cultural use of the CoPAFS tool and future research directions are discussed.