Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MA

College

College of Education and Human Services

Department

Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling & Counseling Psychology

Committee Chair

Amy E Root

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in parenting stress and parenting alliance following a military deployment as a function of the level of co-parenting exhibited during deployment. Two co-parenting groups (high and low) were formed based on co-parenting practices during the deployment. A total of 31 participants comprised the sample (High = 16 and Low = 15) and completed the anonymous online surveys including The Co-Parenting Scale, the Parenting Alliance Measure, and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. The groups did not differ in the levels of parenting alliance. Additionally, the low co-parenting group did not report significantly greater parenting stress following deployment when compared to the high co-parenting group. However, post-hoc analyses did indicate that the low co-parenting group reported greater parent-child dysfunctional interaction following deployment. This finding, while not significant, may indicate a subset of the population that may be at a greater risk for parenting stress. Future studies should be replicated with a larger sample size.

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