Previous studies have found evidence that interparental conflict, parents' coparenting behavior, and children's adjustment are reciprocally related. Most prior research, however, has failed to empirically distinguish between-family differences from within-family changes, limiting our understanding of how within-family fluctuations in each construct may be interrelated over time. In the present study, we focused on within-family associations among interparental conflict factors (i.e., verbal aggression and withdrawing), coparenting conflict, and children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Longitudinal data were drawn from 5 annual waves of survey data from 537 German families (i.e., mothers, fathers, and a focal child) in the German Family Panel (pairfam) study (Brüderl et al., 2015; Huinink et al., 2011). Data were analyzed with random intercept cross-lagged panel models, which partition variance into between- and within-person (or family) components in longitudinal data. Cross-lagged analyses of within-family variance revealed that fluctuations in interparental conflict did not predict child problems, but higher than typical child externalizing problems increased fathers' withdrawal and coparenting conflict in the future. Higher than average coparenting conflict within a given family predicted reductions in interparental verbal aggression, less maternal withdrawal, and fewer child externalizing problems. The findings demonstrate that analyses of within-family associations may provide new insights on mutual influences that unfold across time within families and are of particular importance for informing practice. (PsycINFO Database Record

Smartphone use among parents is rising sharply, as they seek connectedness with partners, friends and work during the sometimes detached times of parenthood. Since parents increasingly use smartphones while interacting with their children, there is growing research about the implications of parental smartphone for parent-child interactions. However, previous reviews have not examined whether the effects of parental smartphone use on parent-child interactions vary depending on children’s age. Additionally, no systematic review has summarized the potential benefits of parents’ smartphone use for parent-child interactions. Therefore, the goals of this systematic review were (1) to explore the role of children’s age in the link between parental smartphone use and parent-child interactions and (2) to summarize potential benefits of parental smartphone use for parent-child interactions. Following PRISMA guidelines, a total of k = 21 papers met all eligibility criteria and were included in this review. Results gest noteworthy effects of parental smartphone use on parent-child interactions across all age groups, but the foci and outcomes of the studies differed between them. Benefits were mostly perceived when people where relaxed and enjoying themselves, but only a few studies have focused on the potential positive impact of parental smartphone use on parent-child interactions. The review provides an overview about future areas of research to explore how smartphone changes family interactions. Families have to find adequate ways of dealing with new technology in everyday life, which inevitably affects the nature of their daily interactions.

Following the global outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, individuals report psychological distress associated with the “new normal”—social distancing, financial hardships, and increased responsibilities while working from home. Given the interpersonal nature of stress and coping responses between romantic partners, based on the systemic transactional model this study posits that perceived partner dyadic coping may be an important moderator between experiences of COVID-19 psychological distress and relationship quality. To examine these associations, self-report data from 14,020 people across 27 countries were collected during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic (March–July, 2020). It was hypothesized that higher symptoms of psychological distress would be reported post-COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19 restrictions (Hypothesis 1), reports of post-COVID-19 psychological distress would be negatively associated with relationship quality (Hypothesis 2), and perceived partner DC would moderate these associations (Hypothesis 3). While hypotheses were generally supported, results also showed interesting between-country variability. Limitations and future directions are presented.

Background: Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder primarily characterized by fine and gross motor coordination difficulties. Yet, many aspects remain unclear regarding the clinical presentation of secondary symptoms and their implications for Clinical Psychology. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to provide an update about the current understanding of DCD for clinical psychologists and psychotherapists across Europe, particularly based on new insights stemming from the last decade of research. Method: We provide a narrative review of articles published in the last decade on the topic of DCD, and relevant aspects to clinical psychologist, including lesser known aspects of DCD (e.g., executive functions, psychological consequences, and adult DCD). Results: DCD is a highly prevalent, disruptive, and complex disorder, which should be investigated further in many areas (e.g., co-occurrence to ADHD). Existing evidence points toward a key role of executive functioning difficulties at all ages. Most patients report secondary psychological problems, but little headway has been made in examining the effectiveness of psychotherapy for DCD. Conclusions: Insights and remaining research gaps are discussed. It is critical for psychologists and clinical researchers to raise awareness for DCD, take note of the growing literature, and foster continued interdisciplinary approaches to research and treatment of DCD.