Coparenting

James P. McHale, PhD, is chair of the Psychology Department at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. He received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and trained as a family therapist in both Palo Alto, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  His research studies of early infant, child, and family adjustment, grant-supported by the National Institutes of Health since 99 , have investigated the nature of children's interpersonal experiences in their families. His theoretical contributions have sought to instigate fresh, inclusive dialogues about how adults in diverse family systems collaborate to support children's care and upbringing.  In 2 4, Dr. McHale's Decade of Behavior Lecture for the World Association for Infant Mental Health, amp quot When Infants Grow Up in Multiperson Relationship Systems amp quot (published in Infant Mental Health Journal, 2 7), championed a paradigm shift in the field of infant mental health, and in 2 7 his book Charting the Bumpy Road of Coparenthood received the Irving B. Harris National Book Award of the Zero-to-Three Press.  Professionally, he has provided coparenting trainings for the judiciary, physicians, child care professionals, child welfare advocates and professionals, Healthy Start and Early Head Start care coordinators, foster parents, postdivorce parenting coordinators, statewide fatherhood programs, and other contingents that serve infants and toddlers.  Dr. McHale directs the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg's Family Study Center and is a member of the boards of directors for the Florida Association for Infant Mental Health and the Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas, Inc.  Kristin M. Lindahl, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami, Florida. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology, specializing in child clinical psychology, from the University of Denver, Colorado. After completing her internship at Children's Hospital Boston, she accepted a faculty position at the University of Miami, which she has held since 992.  Her research focuses on systemic family functioning and the impact of difficulties in marital and parent amp ndash child subsystems, as well as the whole family, on child adaptation. She has been a principal investigator or coprincipal investigator on several National Institute of Mental Health-funded studies examining how family subsystems are interrelated, including how marital conflict is related to family cohesion and parenting strategies, and the role of family functioning on parent and child adaptation to a son or daughter's disclosure of gay or lesbian identity.  She has published and presented widely on topics related to coparenting, observational coding of family interactions, and dyadic and triadic family dynamics as they relate to child functioning.

• ContributorsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: What Is Coparenting? James P. McHale and Kristin M. LindahlI. Theory and Empirical ResearchCoparenting in Diverse Family Systems James P. McHale and Karina IraceCoparenting in Two-Parent Nuclear Families Sarah C. Mangelsdorf, Daniel J. Laxman, and Allison JesseeCoparenting in Extended Kinship Systems: African American, Hispanic, Asian Heritage, and Native American Families Deborah J. Jones and Kristin M. LindahlCoparenting in Fragile Families: Understanding How Parents Work Together After a Nonmarital Birth Marcia J. Carlson and Robin S. H amp ouml gn amp auml sCoparenting in Families With Adolescent Mothers Laura D. Pittman and Rebekah Levine ColeyCoparenting Among Lesbian and Gay Couples Charlotte J. Patterson and Rachel H. FarrII. Applications: Assessment and Interventions to Promote CoparentingAssessing Coparenting James P. McHaleCoparenting Interventions for Expecting Parents Mark E. Feinberg and Kari-Lyn SakumaCoparenting Interventions for Unmarried Parents Francesca Adler-Baeder and Karen A. ShirerCoparenting in Family amp ndash Infant Triads: The Use of Observation in Systemic Interventions France Frascarolo, Elisabeth Fivaz, and Nicolas FavezCoparenting After Divorce: Paving Pathways for Parental Cooperation, Conflict Resolution, and Redefined Family Roles Marsha Kline Pruett and Tracy DonskyCoparenting Practices Among Families in the Foster Care System Daniela Montalto and L. Oriana LinaresCoparenting in Multigenerational Family Systems: Clinical and Policy Implications James P. Gleeson, Anne L. Strozier, and Kerry A. LittlewoodAfterword: Coparenting as Paradigm James P. McHaleIndexAbout the Editors