Associations between Interparental Conflict, Parenting Behaviors, and Parental and Child Self-Compassion: A Multi-Informant Approach

Background: Interparental conflict can have profound impacts on family well-being, yet the mechanisms linking it to self-compassion in parents and children remain underexplored. This study examined whether parent-reported parenting behaviors, specifically parental neglect and coparenting quality, mediate the associations between interparental conflict and self-compassion in both parents and children within a cross-informant dyadic framework.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 428 parent–child dyads in mainland China. Parents completed standardized measures of interparental conflict, parental neglect, and coparenting quality, while self-compassion was assessed separately for parents and children. A cross-informant mediation model was evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM). Standardized path coefficients were reported, and indirect effects were tested using 1000 bootstrap resamples.

Results: Interparental conflict was positively associated with parental neglect (β = 0.244, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with coparenting quality (β = −0.596, p < 0.001). Parental neglect was negatively associated with both parent self-compassion (β = −0.160, p < 0.001) and child self-compassion (β = −0.135, p < 0.05), whereas coparenting quality was positively associated with parent self-compassion (β = 0.224, p < 0.001) and child self-compassion (β = 0.178, p < 0.01). Direct associations between interparental conflict and self-compassion in parents and children were not significant. Bootstrap mediation tests revealed significant indirect effects of parental neglect and coparenting quality on the relationships between interparental conflict and self-compassion in both generations.

Implications: These findings suggest that interparental conflict undermines self-compassion in both parents and children primarily through its adverse effects on parenting behaviors. Interventions aimed at improving coparenting quality and reducing parental neglect may help protect self-compassion in families experiencing interparental conflict.