El ejercicio de la coparentalidad en padres casados y separados / divorciados en el contexto Ecuatoriano.

Abstract

Introduction: Co-parenting is the ability to effectively raise children while setting aside the marital relationship. It is influenced by parental qualities and family support, enhancing children’s development and cooperation between parents, even if separated. It is crucial to distinguish the romantic relationship from the parental role. Objective: To evaluate the practice of co-parenting considering the domains of parenting agreement, support or undermining of co-parenting, division of labor, and joint management of family dynamics among married, separated, or divorced parents in the Ecuadorian context. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional, non-experimental, quantitative study that is descriptive and correlational, with 208 participants: 126 married parents and 82 divorced parents with children aged 2 to 12 years. The Co-parenting Relationship Scale (CRS), comprising 35 items, was used to evaluate shared parenting and co-parental relationships. Descriptive statistics and frequency analysis were employed for the first two objectives. For the third objective, the Kolmogorov- Smirnov test and Pearson or Spearman correlation were used, employing SPSS version 25. Results: The study found no differences in the factors of shared parenting and division of labor; however, there were differences in support for shared parenting between the two groups. Conclusion: The study shows that co-parenting is easier when both parents live together, but children’s well-being is not affected if separated parents receive proper guidance; moreover, conflicts arise from lack of communication and difficulty in dividing co-parenting roles.