COPARENTALIDADE E ALIENAÇÃO PARENTAL NUMA AMOSTRA DE MÃES/PAIS PORTUGUESES.

Positive co-parenting promotes creativity, curiosity and selfconfidence in children/youngsters, as well as an adjusted development, modeled by adults who value and respect children characteristics and interests (Dadam, 2011). However, some circumstances of family life (e.g., divorce) can lead to less adjusted parent behaviors (e.g., parental alienation) with the respective repercussions on child/adolescent development. We aim to explore co-parenting dimensions (cooperation, conflict and triangulation) and perceived parental alienation in married couples compared to divorced ones. The parents completed the Co-parenting Questionnaire (Pedro & Ribeiro, 2008) and a Parental Alienation Questionnaire constructed for this purpose. Statistical analysis (Mann-Whitney U) showed significant differences (p=.01) in all variables. Married couples revealed greater cooperation. In turn, higher levels of conflict, triangulation and parental alienation were found in divorced parents. It seems crucial to further investigate these parenting practices in divorce situation, attending its effects on child/youth development, given the growing number of families who experience this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]