Coparenting Behavior, Parent-Adolescent Attachment, and Peer Attachment: An Examination of Gender Differences

From parents to peers! Social support and peer attachment as mediators of parental attachment and depression: A Chinese perspective

BACKGROUND

Secure attachment has been associated with a lower incidence of depressive symptoms in adolescents. Adolescence is an important period for attachment development as it shapes future attachment patterns. This study adopts a social support perspective to explore the transition from parental attachment to peer attachment, and its impact on reducing depression.

METHODS

A sample of 7792 students from China, aged 11 to 19 years (mean = 15.19, SD = 2.564), completed three questionnaires: the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, the Social Support Scale, and the Self-Depression Scale. SEM was used to analyze the mediating and moderating role of social support and peer attachment in the relationship between parental attachment and depression with gender as covariates.

RESULTS

Peer attachment partially mediated the relationship between parental attachment and depression among Chinese adolescents (β = -0.17, p < 0.001). Social support moderated the association between parental attachment and depression, indicating that higher levels of social support mitigate the negative influence of insecure parental attachment on adolescent depression (β = -0.02, p < 0.05). Furthermore, social support mediated the relationship between peer attachment and parental attachment, suggesting that secure peer attachment and good social support jointly buffer against depressive symptoms in adolescents (β = -0.077, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight important implications for developing targeted interventions to reduce adolescent depression. By recognizing the power of social support, we hope to provide valuable insights into practical strategies for addressing and alleviating adolescent depression.

Parent-Child Relationships and Adolescents' Non-Cognitive Skills: Role of Social Anxiety and Number of Friends

This study aimed to examine the association between parent-child relationships and adolescents' non-cognitive skills, while also investigating the mediating effect of social anxiety and number of friends. A survey was conducted with 773 students, ranging from grade 4 to 9, in five public schools of Guangdong Province of China (49.9% male), with a mean age of 12.20 years old. Latent mediation structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that (1) the father-child relationship and mother-child relationship both had a positive influence on grit, innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; (2) social anxiety had a negative effect on adolescent non-cognitive skills including innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; (3) the number of positive friends was found to be positively associated with the development of non-cognitive skills in adolescents, whereas the presence of negative friends correlated negatively with grit but positively with innovation; (4) social anxiety emerged as a significant mediating variable between parent-child relationships and adolescents' non-cognitive skills, including innovation, conscientiousness, and hope; and (5) the mediating effect of the number of positive friends on the relationship between parent-child relationships and grit, innovation, conscientiousness, and hope was also found to be significant. Educational programs and family interventions should take these factors into account, providing a more holistic approach to supporting adolescent growth.

Unveiling the hidden connections: network analysis of depressive symptoms, internet addiction, and attachment in Chinese children and adolescents

Background

Children and adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) often grapple with significant non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), linked to interpersonal challenges, insecure attachment, and internet addiction. This study explores these relationships in children and adolescents using network analysis, drawing data from seven hospitals in China.

Results

The study included 162 youths with depressive disorder and 102 healthy controls from seven hospitals. The MDD + NSSI group exhibited severe internet addiction, heightened depressive symptoms, and insecure attachment. Network analysis identified central symptoms (compulsive use) and key bridge symptoms (tolerance symptoms) in the networks related to depressive symptoms, internet addiction, and attachments. These findings suggest potential targets for intervention among children and adolescents at risk for or suffering from depression.

Conclusions

This study sheds light on the intricate relationship between NSSI, attachment issues, and internet addiction in Chinese adolescents with MDD. The network analysis pinpointed central and key bridge symptoms, offering valuable insights for targeted interventions in children and adolescents at risk for or experiencing depression and associated challenges.

Discrepancies in Mate Preferences among Chinese Families between Fathers, Mothers, and Children: A Latent Profile Analysis

Parents develop their own preferences regarding prospective in-laws, which influence their children's mate selection processes and outcomes. From an evolutionary perspective, fathers, mothers, and their offspring have partially divergent genetic interests, potentially leading to conflicts in mate preferences. Currently, the characteristics of discrepancy profiles in mate preferences within Chinese families and their influencing factors remain unclear. Adopting an individual-centered perspective, this study examined the profiles of discrepancies in mate preferences between fathers, mothers, and children across a diverse set of Chinese families, along with their associations with family relations and evaluations of children. This study recruited 337 complete families. The results revealed three distinct profiles of father-mother mate preference discrepancies in families with sons and four profiles in families with daughters. Additionally, both families with sons and daughters displayed three profiles of discrepancies in parent-child mate preferences. Parental perceptions of marital relationships and their evaluations of children were linked to diverse father-mother discrepancy profiles in both families with sons and daughters. The father-son relationship was associated with the profiles of parent-child discrepancies in families with sons, while maternal evaluations of children and daughters' self-evaluations were related to the profiles of parent-child discrepancies in families with daughters. This study provides insights into understanding the conflict patterns and underlying reasons regarding mate preference between Chinese parents and their children within family settings.

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among parents and adolescents following Typhoon Lekima: Examination of the mother-daughter sex matching effect

This study aimed to examine the same-sex matching effect of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms from parents to children and the mediating role of children' sense of security and catastrophization. Longitudinal data from 447 parent-child dyads were acquired using self-report scales. Parents (77.0% mothers; Mage = 40.15 years old) reported their PTSD symptoms 3 months after Super Typhoon Lekima, and children (55.9% girls; Mage = 13.40 years old) reported their PTSD symptoms, sense of security, and catastrophization 3 months and 15 months after the typhoon. Results showed that intrusion in mothers predicated intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms in daughters, while avoidance and hyperarousal in mothers predicted the same symptoms in daughters. This was not observed in any other parent-child dyads. Moreover, mothers' intrusion positively predicted daughters' PTSD symptoms via daughters' sense of security and then catastrophization, while mothers' hyperarousal showed the opposite prediction. These findings suggest that a same-sex matching effect occurs from mothers to daughters in terms of intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD. Thus, clinical interventions that target daughters' PTSD symptoms should also consider mothers' intrusion and avoidance symptoms. Moreover, it may be possible to develop interventions to improve daughters' sense of security.

The Relationship Between Overparenting and Social Avoidance Among Emerging Adults: Mediating Role of Peer Attachment and Gender Differences

Purpose

We aim to explore the relationship between overparenting and social avoidance among emerging adults, and the mediating effects of peer attachment and gender differences.

Participants and Methods

A total of 1161 Chinese college students completed the questionnaire. The structural equation model was established to validate the main effect model and the mediation model.

Results

The results found that both paternal and maternal overparenting positively predicted social avoidance among emerging adults. Both attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety played a significant mediating role in the relationship between paternal overparenting and social avoidance. Attachment anxiety played a significant mediating role in the relationship between maternal overparenting and social avoidance, while, the mediating effect of attachment avoidance was not significant. In addition, gender differences were found in the mediating effects of peer attachment. The mediating effect of attachment anxiety in males' families had an opposite-gender matching effect, while in females' families, the mediating effect of attachment avoidance had an opposite-gender matching effect.

Conclusion

This study contributes to the understanding of the effects of overparenting on emerging adults, enriching empirical research in related fields.

How Coparenting Is Linked to Depression among Chinese Young Girls and Boys: Evidence from a Network Analysis

This study aimed to explore the relationship between parental coparenting and depression among Chinese young adolescents and potential gender differences via network analysis. Thus, 793 fourth-grade students (girls: 281 (35.40%), Mage = 9.99 years, SD = 0.59 years) were recruited from three primary schools in Northern China. The young adolescents rated their depression and perceived paternal and maternal coparenting. Network analysis was used to detect the central nodes and bridge mechanisms among coparenting and depressive components. The results indicated that paternal and maternal consistency as well as maternal conflict were the most central components in the coparenting-depression network. Paternal consistency, maternal conflict and paternal disparagement in coparenting, as well as somatic complaints and positive affect in adolescents' depression, exhibited high bridge strengths, suggesting those constructs served as vital bridges to connect the two subnetworks. Moreover, paternal consistency showed a higher bridge strength in the boys' network than the girls' one, whereas the edge linking adolescents' positive affect to paternal disparagement and integrity was stronger in the girls' network. This study contributes to the understanding of associations between parental coparenting and young adolescents' depression and offered insights into targeted interventions for early adolescent depression by enhancing parental coparenting.

Direct and indirect effects of father-child attachment on academic burnout in college students

The study aims to investigate the multiple mediating roles of core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging in the relationship between father-child attachment and academic burnout in college students. A sample of 418 college students completed the father-child attachment scale, the scale of sense of school belonging, core self-evaluation scale, and academic burnout scale. After controlling for variables such as mother-child attachment, gender, age, and grade, the results showed: (1) father-child attachment was significantly and negatively correlated with academic burnout, and positively correlated with core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging; both core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging were significantly and negatively correlated with academic burnout. (2) The multiple mediating model of father-child attachment influencing academic burnout in college students was established. Both core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging played a partial mediating role between father-child attachment and academic burnout. The direct effect of father-child attachment on academic burnout accounts for 33.3% of the total effect. The indirect effects of core self-evaluation and sense of school belonging between father-child attachment and academic burnout account for 50.0 and 16.7% of the total effect, respectively. These findings identify the internal mechanisms through which father-child attachment affects academic burnout in college students from personal traits and interpersonal perspectives.

The Effect of Peer Influence and Neighborhood Quality on Incarcerated Fathers' Attachment

Commonly referred to as the "hidden victims" of incarceration, children with a parent who is intermittently or repeatedly incarcerated face various challenges that exacerbate behavioral and psychological development. Using a baseline adaptation of the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP), we sought to clarify how peer influence and neighborhood quality can predict the extent of an incarcerated father's attachment to the focal child and partner. Results showed a negative association between negative peer influence and poor neighborhood quality. Conversely, incarcerated fathers' relationship with their biological mother and fathers produced a significant positive association. These findings propose that risk and protective factors can directly influence attachment levels with the focal child, as suggested by Social Control Theory. This article provides a basis for a more comprehensive understanding of clinical support that can be offered to children and families who bear the systemic societal mechanisms of incarceration.

Peer attachment and self-esteem mediate the relationship between family function and social anxiety in migrant children in China

BACKGROUND

Social anxiety is a frequently reported symptom in children and adolescents. The literature suggests that family function is related to symptoms of social anxiety in children. However, relatively little is known about the potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between family function and social anxiety. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to examine the roles of peer attachment and self-esteem in the relationship between family function and social anxiety in a sample of migrant children in China.

METHODS

A total of 437 participants (54.9% male; meanage  = 10.87 years) were selected from two public schools of migrant children in two areas of Hangzhou and Jiaxing, the major labor-importing cities in China, in May 2016. All participants completed four questionnaires assessing family function, peer attachment, self-esteem, and social anxiety.

RESULTS

The results showed that family function was bivariately and significantly related to symptoms of social anxiety. Additionally, self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between family function and social anxiety peer attachment. Moreover, the relationship between family function and social anxiety was fully mediated by peer attachment and self-esteem (in that order).

CONCLUSIONS

Peer attachment and self-esteem serve as critical pathways linking family function and social anxiety. Thus, tailored interventions should consider the roles of peer attachment and self-esteem to alleviate symptoms of social anxiety in migrant children.

Psychosocial predictors of persistent suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents: A longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among adolescents. Studies have shown that persistent suicidal ideation has a more important effect on suicidal behavior. The objective of this study was to identify predictors of persistent suicidal ideation.

METHODS

Data were collected from 4225 Chinese middle and high school students. These adolescents were assessed for suicidal ideation at baseline and the second year. We used multinomial logistic regression (n = 4171) for the predictive effect of these factors on persistent suicidal ideation. We controlled for gender, residence, clinical diagnosis, clinical diagnosis family, suicide planning, and suicide attempts.

RESULTS

Depressive symptoms are essential in predicting persistent suicidal ideation (OR = 14.0; p < 0.001). Persistent suicidal ideation was predicted by sleep disorders, such as poor sleep quality (OR = 2.3; p = 0.008), difficulty falling asleep (OR = 2.4; p = 0.005), frequently midnight awakening (OR = 1.9; p = 0.044), and frequent nightmares (OR = 2.1; p = 0.040). There was a significant association between concern with persistent ideation and parental-peer alienation (OR for father, 1.9[p = 0.024]; OR for mother, 3.1[p < 0.001]; OR for peer, 2.3[p = 0.003]).

LIMITATIONS

All measures are based on self-report rather than objective assessment or clinical diagnostic assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

Persistent suicidal ideation had a more important role in influencing suicide planning and attempt. Interventions targeting sleep disorders and attention to attachments in the home and school are particularly important in preventing persistent suicidal ideation in adolescents.

Associations between Profiles of Helicopter Parenting and Decisional Procrastination among Chinese Adolescents

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of decision-making skills. Helicopter parenting may lead to adolescents' decisional procrastination because it hinders the satisfaction of their basic psychological needs and impairs their self-systemic processes. Nevertheless, little is known about helicopter parenting and its influence on adolescent development in China. The current study aimed to examine the profiles of helicopter parenting among Chinese adolescent boys and girls, as well as their associations with adolescent decisional procrastination. Matched data on fathers (M_age = 44.86), mothers (M_age = 42.88), and children (M_age = 16.22, 59.9% female) from six hundred and ninety-nine families were included in this study. The results indicated four helicopter parenting profiles among Chinese adolescent boys and three among adolescent girls. Adolescent boys' decisional procrastination was more closely associated with mothers' helicopter parenting. In contrast, adolescent girls' decisional procrastination was associated with both fathers' and mothers' helicopter parenting. These findings demonstrate helicopter parenting patterns in Chinese culture and their links to adolescent decisional procrastination, providing practical paths for family education improvement.

Warm and Harsh Parenting, Self-Kindness and Self-Judgment, and Well-Being: An Examination of Developmental Differences in a Large Sample of Adolescents

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the associations between warm and harsh parenting and adolescent well-being, and the mediating effects of self-kindness and self-judgment, in relationships. Moreover, this study investigated developmental differences across three adolescence stages (early, middle, and late). Methods: In total, 14,776 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.53 ± 2.08, 52.3% males), including individuals in early (10-12 years old, N = 5055), middle (13-15 years old, N = 6714), and late adolescence (16-18 years old, N = 3007) participated in this study. All the adolescents rated their levels of warm and harsh parenting, self-kindness and self-judgment, and well-being. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to examine the mediation model. Multi-group analysis was conducted to investigate differences in the mediation model across the different developmental stages. Results: Both warm and harsh parenting were related to adolescent well-being through the mediating effects of self-kindness and self-judgment. However, warm parenting exerted a more substantial impact on adolescent well-being. Self-kindness had a more robust mediating effect than self-judgment in relationships. Moreover, harsh parenting had a weaker impact on adolescent well-being in late adolescence than in early and middle adolescence. Warm parenting had a more significant impact on adolescent well-being in early adolescence than in middle and late adolescence. Conclusions: Overall, warm parenting had a more substantial effect than harsh parenting on adolescent well-being. The findings also highlighted the crucial mediating effect of self-kindness in the relationships between parenting and well-being. Moreover, this study also indicated the importance of warm parenting in early adolescence. Intervention programs should focus on enhancing the level of warm parenting to promote self-kindness in adolescents, in order to improve their well-being.

The longitudinal associations between perceived maternal parenting practices, mother-adolescent relationship quality, and friendship quality

INTRODUCTION

As adolescents begin to expand their social networks beyond their family, they turn increasingly to their peers for support. Parenting practices present in the parent-child dyad are likely to extend to peer dyads. However, when considering the process involved in the transmission from parenting practices to friendships, the mediating role of parent-child relationships remains unclear. The current study explored the mediating effect of mother-adolescent relationship quality in the association between perceived maternal parenting practices (i.e., autonomy support and psychological control) and friendship quality using a three-wave longitudinal design, and also examined whether adolescents' gender moderates these associations.

METHODS

A sample of 344 Chinese adolescents (12.01 to 15-year-old at Wave 1, M = 13.08, SD = 0.39; 153 boys and 191 girls) filled out questionnaires on perceived maternal parenting practices, mother-adolescent relationship quality, and friendship quality, separately in three waves.

RESULTS

Perceived maternal autonomy support was associated with positive friendship quality through positive mother-adolescent relationship quality. However, perceived maternal psychological control was not associated with negative friendship quality. Moreover, marginal gender differences were only found in the associations between autonomy support and positive mother-adolescent relationship quality.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrate the spillover effects existed only between autonomy support and positive friendship quality, and highlight the importance of positive mother-adolescent relationship quality when promoting positive friendship quality.

The Relationship between Parental Emotional Warmth and Rural Adolescents' Hope: The Sequential Mediating Role of Perceived Social Support and Prosocial Behavior

Parental emotional warmth plays a prominent role in adolescents' hope, but few studies have examined the underlying mechanism between parental emotional warmth and hope in rural adolescents, or have compared the gender differences in the mediation models between parental emotional warmth and hope. Based on the developmental contextualism theory and Bernardo's hope theory, this study examined the sequential mediating effect of perceived social support and prosocial behavior between parental emotional warmth and hope and test the gender differences between them. Seventeen hundred and one rural adolescents were surveyed with the Short-Form Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran (s-EMBU-C), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), Prosocial Tendency Measure (PTM), and Hope Scale (HS). Correlation analysis showed that there were positive correlations between parental emotional warmth, perceived social support, prosocial behavior, and hope. The structural equation model showed that parental emotional warmth indirectly affected hope through the separate and sequential mediation of perceived social support and prosocial behavior. Multi-group analysis showed that boys were significantly higher than girls in the relationship between perceived social support and prosocial behavior. The results emphasized that improving parental emotional warmth, perceived social support, and encouraging rural adolescents' prosocial behavior could effectively promote their hope.

Relationship between Partner Phubbing and Parent-Adolescent Relationship Quality: A Family-Based Study

A high-quality parent-child relationship is critical to the health and well-being of adolescents and, in the family system, the interaction pattern within couples is a decisive factor in parent-adolescent relationship quality. Using dyadic data from 441 Chinese couples, in this study, we examined the association between partner phubbing (a negative interaction behavior initiated by the spouse) and parent-adolescent relationship quality, and further explored the moderating effect of adolescent gender. Dyadic modeling showed that partner phubbing had both an intra-person effect and an inter-person effect on parent-adolescent relationship quality. For the intra-person effect, husbands' phubbing had an adverse effect on the mother-adolescent relationship quality, and this effect was stronger for girls than boys; wives' phubbing had a positive effect on the father-adolescent relationship quality, but this effect was only significant for boys. For the inter-person effect, the negative influence of husbands' phubbing on father-adolescent relationship quality was only significant for boys; wives' phubbing was uncorrelated with mother-adolescent relationship quality. These findings deepen our understanding of the links between the marital subsystem and the parent-adolescent subsystem in the family, underscore the importance of positive marital interactions for adolescent development, and have implications for personal smartphone use management in family contexts.

Maternal positive coparenting and adolescent peer attachment: Chain intermediary role of parental involvement and parent–child attachment

This study investigated the relationship between maternal positive coparenting and adolescent peer attachment, and the intermediary role of parental involvement and parent–child attachment in 1,807 families using the maternal positive coparenting scale, the parental involvement scale, and the parent and peer attachment scale. The results showed that maternal positive coparenting behaviour, parental involvement, parent–child attachment, and peer attachment had significant positive relationships, and maternal positive coparenting had a positive correlation with adolescent peer attachment. Moreover, parental involvement and parent–child attachment played a significant mediating role between maternal positive coparenting behavior, including unity and consistent behavior, and adolescent peer attachment, respectively, which consisted of a sole intermediary role of parental involvement; a single intermediary role of parent–children attachment; and a chain intermediary role of parental involvement and parent–children attachment. Hence, maternal positive coparenting was positively associated with adolescent peer attachment, in which parental involvement and parent-child attachment served as a crucial bridge.

Differences in Influencing Factors Between Non-suicidal Self-Injury and Suicide Attempts in Chinese Adolescents: The Role of Gender

INTRODUCTION

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide attempts (SA) are common in adolescents and are important risk factors for suicide deaths. They are related to various psychosocial, behavioral, and biological factors. We aimed to compare the differences on psychological behavior problem and family environment characteristics between NSSI and SA, and the role of gender.

METHODS

A multi-center population-based survey was conducted in 29 schools across 4 provinces in China. A total of 14,500 urban and rural adolescents in grades 7-12 completed a structured questionnaire to report their sociodemographic information, psychological and behavioral characteristics, childhood maltreatment, parent-child relationships, NSSI, and SA. Post-hoc tests, pairwise comparisons, and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the differences and similarities between subjects who had engaged in NSSI and SA.

RESULTS

The prevalence of NSSI and SA were 27.3 and 4.9%, respectively, and the co-occurrence of these two behaviors (NSSI + SA) was reported to 2.8%. The NSSI + SA group scored the highest on all study variables, followed by the SA-only group, the NSSI-only group, and the non-self-harm group (p < 0.001). Compared with the non-self-harm group, adolescents who reported either NSSI or SA scored significantly higher on all study variables (p< 0.0083). The comparison between other self-harm groups, this difference have varied in all research variables.

CONCLUSION

The current study indicate that psychological, behavioral, and family relationships profiles of Chinese adolescents with SA and NSSI are similar, but the measured problematic characteristics were more severe in suicide attempters. In the future, it's necessary to pay more attention to adolescents with more serious psychological and behavioral problems to prevent and early intervene in their self-harm, and actively explore gender differences.

The Relationship Between Suicidal Ideation and Parental Attachment Among Adolescents: The Mediator of Anhedonia and Peer Attachment

Background: Previous studies had shown that poor quality of early parental attachment is a risk factor for suicide, but few have focus on the mechanism between suicidal ideation and parental attachment. The aim of this study was to explore how parental attachment, anhedonia, and peer attachment were associated with suicidal ideation in adolescents.

Method: Participants were enrolled in middle schools, in Hefei, Anhui, China. All participants completed socio-demographic characteristic and standard assessments on parental attachment, peer attachment, anhedonia, and suicidal ideation by paper surveys. The effect of parental attachment on suicidal ideation mediated by anhedonia and peer attachment was analyzed by a structural equation model (SEM) using SPSS AMOS 23.0.

Results: The SEM analysis revealed that the standard total effect of parental attachment on suicidal ideation was −0.137 (Z=−27.00, 95% confidence interval [CI; −0.147, −0.127], p<0.001), with a direct effect of parental attachment on suicidal ideation of −0.107 (Z=−21.40, 95% CI [−0.117, −0.098], p<0.001), while the indirect effects were−0.002 (Z=−3.33, 95% CI [−0.003, −0.002], p<0.001) in the pathway of parental attachment-anhedonia-peer attachment-suicidal ideation, −0.019 (Z=−19.00, 95%CI [−0.022, −0.017], p<0.001) in the pathway of parental attachment-anhedonia-suicidal ideation, and−0.008 (Z=−7.00, 95% CI [−0.010, −0.007], p<0.001) in the pathway of parental attachment-peer attachment-suicidal ideation.

Conclusion: The study suggested that parental attachment could directly influence suicidal ideation and indirectly influence suicidal ideation via anhedonia and peer attachment. The results emphasized the importance of attachment in infancy and verified the feasibility of intervention on anhedonia and peer attachment to prevent suicidal ideation.

Coparenting Conflict Behavior, Parent-Adolescent Attachment, and Social Competence with Peers: An Investigation of Developmental Differences

Coparenting conflict, which refers to the conflict between parents regarding parenting, has played a central role in children's development and adjustment. The perspective of family and peer systems linkage has suggested that coparenting conflict is linked to peer-related development, but this view has yet to be clarified. This study aimed to investigate the relationships among coparenting conflict behavior, parent-adolescent attachment, and social competence with peers as well as the developmental differences of these relationships in early, middle, and late adolescence within Chinese families. Families (N = 808) that included fathers, mothers, and focal adolescents (53% female, M_age = 13.66 ± 2.53) participated in this study. Fathers and mothers reported their coparenting conflict behaviors separately, and the adolescents rated parent-adolescent attachment and social competence with peers. Results showed that fathers' overt coparenting conflict behavior was related to social competence with peers through the indirect effects of father- and mother-adolescent attachments, whereas mothers' covert coparenting conflict behavior was related to social competence with peers through the indirect effect of mother-adolescent attachment in the total sample. The multigroup analysis revealed that these relationships were significant in early and late adolescence. In addition, fathers' covert coparenting conflict behavior was related to mother-adolescent attachment in late adolescence and all the relationships were insignificant in middle adolescence. The findings support the systematic perspective of family-peer system linkage and highlight the gender differences of parents in the effects of coparenting conflict on social competence with peers and the developmental differences during adolescence.