Co-Parenting Disagreement and Marital Detachment: The Mediating Role of Perceived Injustice
Keywords:
Co-parenting disagreement, perceived injustice, marital detachmentAbstract
This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of perceived injustice in the relationship between co-parenting disagreement and marital detachment among married individuals actively involved in childrearing. A descriptive correlational research design was employed, involving a sample of 405 married participants from Hungary, selected using Krejcie and Morgan’s sample size determination table. Data were collected using standard questionnaires: the Co-Parenting Relationship Scale (Disagreement subscale), the Injustice Experience Questionnaire (IEQ), and the Marital Disaffection Scale. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS-27 for descriptive and Pearson correlation statistics and AMOS-24 for structural equation modeling (SEM). Model fit was evaluated using multiple indices, and the significance of mediation was tested using the bootstrap method. Pearson correlation results indicated that co-parenting disagreement was significantly and positively associated with both perceived injustice (r = .53, p < .001) and marital detachment (r = .48, p < .001), while perceived injustice was also positively correlated with marital detachment (r = .56, p < .001). SEM results showed that the model had an acceptable fit (χ²/df = 2.04, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.051). Co-parenting disagreement significantly predicted perceived injustice (β = 0.53, p < .001), and perceived injustice significantly predicted marital detachment (β = 0.56, p < .001). A significant partial mediation effect was observed, with an indirect path from co-parenting disagreement to marital detachment through perceived injustice (β = 0.30, p < .001), and a total effect of β = 0.66 (p < .001). The results highlight the central role of perceived injustice as a cognitive mechanism that links co-parenting conflict to emotional detachment in marriage. Addressing justice appraisals in couple and family interventions may be critical in mitigating relational disengagement.
Downloads
References
Alizadehfard, S. (2020). Predicting Pain Catastrophizing of Women With Breast Cancer Based on Perceived Injustice and Past Time Perspective. International Journal of Cancer Management, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.5812/ijcm.98949
Baert, F., McParland, J., Miller, M., Hirsh, A. T., Wallace, E., Dickson, A., Trost, Z., & Vervoort, T. (2020). Mothers’ Appraisals of Injustice in the Context of Their Child’s Chronic Pain: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. European Journal of Pain, 24(10), 1932-1945. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejp.1642
Bohmann, S., & Kalleitner, F. (2023). Subjective Inequity Aversion: How Unfair Inequality Affects Subjective Well-Being. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/g8arw
Dupré, K. E., Barling, J., Turner, N., & Stride, C. (2010). Comparing Perceived Injustices From Supervisors and Romantic Partners as Predictors of Aggression. Journal of occupational health psychology, 15(4), 359-370. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020520
Emmelkamp, J., Asscher, J. J., Wissink, I. B., & Geert Jan, J. M. S. (2020). Risk Factors for (Violent) Radicalization in Juveniles: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 55, 101489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101489
Navarro‐Carrillo, G., Beltrán-Morillas, A. M., Valor‐Segura, I., & Expósito, F. (2018). The Pernicious Effects of Malicious Versus Benign Envy: Perceived Injustice, Emotional Hostility and Counterproductive Behaviors in the Workplace. The Spanish journal of psychology, 21. https://doi.org/10.1017/sjp.2018.49
Nijs, J., Roose, E., Lahousse, A., Mostaqim, K., Reynebeau, I., Couck, M., Beckwée, D., Huysmans, E., Bults, R., Wilgen, C. P. V., & Leysen, L. (2021). Pain and Opioid Use in Cancer Survivors: A Practical Guide to Account for Perceived Injustice. Pain Physician, 309-317. https://doi.org/10.36076/ppj.2021.24.309
Pavilanis, A., Truchon, M., Achille, M., Côté, P., & Sullivan, M. (2022). Perceived Injustice as a Determinant of the Severity of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms Following Occupational Injury. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 33(1), 134-144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-022-10056-5
Qin, G., & Zhang, L. (2022). Perceived Overall Injustice and Organizational Deviance—Mediating Effect of Anger and Moderating Effect of Moral Disengagement. Frontiers in psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1023724
Roshdy, R. S., & Zhou, E. (2020). Perceived Value of Ride-Hailing Providers. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), 9(7), 53-65. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v9i7.960
Sarwar, A., & Muhammad, L. (2020). Impact of Employee Perceptions of Mistreatment on Organizational Performance in the Hotel Industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(1), 230-248. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-01-2019-0046
Secinti, E., Wu, W., Krueger, E., Hirsh, A. T., Torke, A. M., Hanna, N. H., Adra, N., Durm, G. A., Einhorn, L. H., Пили, Р., Jalal, S. I., & Mosher, C. E. (2022). Relations of Perceived Injustice to Psycho‐spiritual Outcomes in Advanced Lung and Prostate Cancer: Examining the Role of Acceptance and Meaning Making. Psycho-Oncology, 31(12), 2177-2184. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.6065
Sullivan, M., Wideman, T. H., Gauthier, N., Thibault, P., Ellis, T., & Adams, H. (2022). Risk-Targeted Behavioral Activation for the Management of Work-Disability Associated With Co-Morbid Pain and Depression: A Feasibility Study. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1211828/v1
Trost, Z., Scott, W., Buelow, M. T., Nowlin, L., Turan, B., Boals, A., & Monden, K. R. (2017). The Association Between Injustice Perception and Psychological Outcomes in an Inpatient Spinal Cord Injury Sample: The Mediating Effects of Anger. Spinal Cord, 55(10), 898-905. https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.2017.39
Trost, Z., Sturgeon, J. A., Guck, A., Ziadni, M. S., Nowlin, L., Goodin, B. R., & Scott, W. (2019). Examining Injustice Appraisals in a Racially Diverse Sample of Individuals With Chronic Low Back Pain. Journal of Pain, 20(1), 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2018.08.005
Villanueva-Flores, M., Cabrera, R. V., & Bornay‐Barrachina, M. (2017). Perceptions of Discrimination and Distributive Injustice Among People With Physical Disabilities. Personnel Review, 46(3), 680-698. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-04-2015-0098
Woine, A., Szczygieł, D., Roskam, I., & Mikolajczak, M. (2023). An Experimental Manipulation of Cognitive Appraisals in Parental Burnout. Scientific reports, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38587-8
Ysidron, D. W., Slepian, P. M., Ankawi, B., Himawan, L. K., & France, C. (2020). Pain Acceptance Partially Mediates the Relationship Between Perceived Injustice and Pain Outcomes Over 3 Months. Clinical Journal of Pain, 36(11), 868-873. https://doi.org/10.1097/ajp.0000000000000872
Zechmann, A., Paul, K. I., & Moser, K. (2019). Unfairness During Unemployment – How Perceived Injustice Affects Mental Health Among Unemployed People. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/f48pz
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
