Chapter 1. Introduction: Observations of Family Dynamics During the Transition to Parenthood: The Emergence of the Family Triad.- Chapter 2. Harbingers of Prenatal Coparenting and Family Dynamics During Pregnancy.- Chapter 3. Maternal and Paternal Representations and Interactions During Pregnancy.- Chapter 4. Prenatal Marital Interaction: Relations with Later Parent-Child Interactions, Marital and Coparenting quality, Whole Family Dynamics, and Child Outcomes.- Chapter 5. Interpersonal Dynamics of Young Parenthood and Development of Secure Coparenting Relationships.- Chapter 6. Prenatal Coparenting Interactions: Two Contrasting Cases of Family Communication.- Chapter 7. Marital and Coparenting Harmony During Pregnancy: Forecasting Postpartum Family Dynamics Observed in First-Time Parents.- Chapter 8. Importance of Behavioral Coparenting Under High Arousal from Pregnancy to Early Childhood: Implications for Children’s Cognitive Development and Attachment Security.- Chapter 9. From Pregnancy to Toddlerhood: Does Gender Matter for the Development of Family Relationships?.- Chapter 10. Attachment Matching and Coparental Intuitive Interactions in Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Couples Planning Parenthood.- Chapter 11. From Infertility to Parenthood: The Influence of Partners’ Stress and Romantic Relationship on the Development of Family Dynamics.- Chapter 12. Coparenting the First Child While Expecting the Second.- Chapter 13. A Prenatal Intervention to Support Coparenting in Unmarried African American Family Systems.- Chapter 14. Continuity and Discontinuity from Early Caregiving Experiences to Adult Intimate and Parent-Child Relationships: Implications for Family-Centered Prevention and Early Intervention.- Chapter 15. Understanding Teen Parents in a Modern Context: Prenatal Hopes and Postnatal Realities.- Chapter 16. Future Directions in Research and Practice.
Regina Kuersten-Hogan, Ph.D., is a licensed Child Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Clinical Counseling Psychology Program at Assumption College and an Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA. Dr. Kuersten-Hogan’s research focuses on coparenting dynamics and family emotion expression during the transition to parenthood in nonclinical and high-risk families. She regularly presents her research at national as well as international conferences and has authored articles and book chapters on coparenting and family dynamics. Dr. Kuersten-Hogan also provides assessments and therapy with children and families in private practice and teaches courses in Developmental Psychology, Family Psychology, Cognitive-Behavioral Interventions, and Family Therapy.
James P. McHale, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology, Director of the USF St. Ptersburg Family Study Center and Executive Director of the USFSP Infant-Family Center. He was Founding Chair of USF St. Petersburg’s Department of Psychology, and past Director of Clinical Training at Clark University in Worcester, MA. He has published more than 100 articles, chapters, and books about coparenting in diverse family systems, and his research studies of coparenting and child development have been supported since 1996 by the National Institutes of Health. Among his seminal works are the books Coparenting: A Conceptual and Clinical Examination of Family Systems" (American Psychological Association, with Kristen Lindahl), and Charting the Bumpy Road of Coparenthood: Understanding the Challenges of Family Life (Zero to Three). Dr. McHale also developed the intervention, Focused Coparenting Consultation (FCC), to support coparenting in married, unmarried, divorced, and multigenerational families.