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School adjustment of left-behind children (LBC) is a significant public health issue that may affect their well-being and mental health. In China, most left-behind children have a family structure in which the father goes out to work and the mother stays at home to take care of the children. As the sole caregiver in the family, a mother who shows support or destruction to the father's parenting goals or behaviors in the process of raising children may affect the LBC's school adjustment. However, the relationship between mothers' co-parenting and LBC's school adjustment and its mechanisms are unclear. This study aimed to explore the longitudinal influence of mothers' co-parenting on school adjustment of father-absent LBC, and the mediating roles of paternal and maternal attachment. 284 father-absent LBC (177 boys and 107 girls) aged 8–11 (Mage = 8.43, SDage = 0.73) from Anhui Province completed questionnaires about mothers' co-parenting, paternal and maternal attachment, and children's school adjustment at two time. The results showed that (1) mothers' positive co-parenting positively predicted LBC's social competence, and mothers' negative co-parenting positively predicted LBC's antisocial behaviors; (2) Maternal attachment mediated the relationship between mothers' co-parenting and LBC's social competence, while paternal attachment mediated the association between mothers' positive co-parenting and LBC's antisocial behaviors. This study reveals the effect of mothers' co-parenting on the school adjustment of father-absent LBC, and the unique mediating role of paternal and maternal attachment. Moreover, this research suggested that encouraging mothers to exhibit more positive co-parenting behaviors, reducing conflict and disparaging fathers, may be an effective way to promote LBC's school adjustment. Highlights: Mothers' positive co-parenting promotes the development of father-absent LBC's social competence, while mothers' negative co-parenting promotes the occurrence of father-absent LBC's antisocial behaviors. Maternal attachment mediated the relationship between mothers' co-parenting and LBC's social competence, while paternal attachment mediated the association between mothers' positive co-parenting and LBC's antisocial behaviors. This research suggested that encouraging mothers to show more positive co-parenting behaviors, reducing conflict and disparaging fathers, is beneficial to the development of maternal and paternal attachment, and further promotes father-absent LBC's school adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abundant research has shown that self‐compassion robustly contributes to adults' psychological well‐being. Meanwhile, a few studies have shown that self‐compassion is rooted in early experiences with parents. However, it is unclear whether interactions with partners and children affect adults' self‐compassion, and the role of their self‐compassion in interactions with significant others. This study examined bidirectional longitudinal relationships between Chinese parents' marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and self‐compassion following a three‐wave longitudinal design. A sample of 322 Chinese father–mother dyads (father's Mage = 35.84, SDage = 5.76; mother's Mage = 34.32, SDage = 5.46) completed a set of questionnaires at three time points. The results showed that marital satisfaction positively predicted the fathers' and mothers' self‐compassion, while parenting stress did not significantly predict the parents' self‐compassion; In contrast, parents' self‐compassion did not significantly predict marital satisfaction or parenting stress. Additionally, there was a bidirectional relationship between marital satisfaction and parenting stress in fathers and mothers. Finally, mothers' marital satisfaction positively mediated the relationship between parenting stress and self‐compassion/next‐stage parenting stress. This study revealed that adults' self‐compassion can develop from caring and supportive relationships, including marital relationships. Highlighting key mechanisms of marital satisfaction, such as increasing self‐compassion and reducing parenting stress, may contribute to the improvement of adults' mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have shown that co-parenting plays an important role in marital and parent-child interactions. However, little is known about the bidirectional associations between positive co-parenting and marital and parent-child factors, as well as the dynamic underlying mechanisms. This study used cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) to explore the bidirectional longitudinal relationship between positive co-parenting, marital satisfaction, and parental involvement among Chinese parents from a positive family multiple systems perspective. A sample of 668 father-mother dyads (father's M age = 36.47, SD age = 5.34; mother's M age = 35.45, SD age = 5.07) completed a series of questionnaires at three time points (approximately spaced 1 year between each time point). The results showed that positive co-parenting positively predicted marital satisfaction and parental involvement and that marital satisfaction positively influenced parents' positive co-parenting, whereas the effect of parental involvement on positive co-parenting was significant among fathers. Additionally, fathers' marital satisfaction can affect their involvement, but this effect is negligible among mothers. Finally, parental marital satisfaction mediated the relationship between positive co-parenting and the next stage of positive co-parenting. This study provided new ideas and interventions to strengthen family cohesion and harmony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]