Relational conflict and outcomes from an online divorce education program

The impact of conflict on co-parenting outcomes of divorce education programs is not widely explored in the literature despite the prevalence of conflict in divorce. This study used outcome data from a sample of participants (N = 272) who took the online Parents Forever™ course between 2012 and 2014. Participants were asked questions about positive and negative co-parenting behaviors as well their levels of conflict before and after the divorce or separation. There was on average a slight increase in conflict from post to follow-up (M = −0.397, SD = 1.54). Simple linear regression analyses indicated that change in conflict explained a significant proportion of the variance in positive co-parenting scores, R² = 0.07, F(1, 270) = 19.98, p < 0.001 and negative co-parenting scores, R² = 0.08, F(1, 270) = 23.78, p < 0.001. Results suggest that conflict significantly impacts co-parenting behaviors targeted in the Parents Forever ™ course.