Mental health, perceived consensus of coparenting, and physical health among incarcerated fathers and their nonincarcerated, romantic partners.

Introduction: Incarcerated fathers and their coparenting partners experience serious challenges to their health and well-being, beyond the general population. The interdependent nature of romantic involvement and coparenting a child suggests that self-reported mental health and the perceived consensus of the coparenting relationship may predict the physical health of not only the individual, but their partner.

Method: We use Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling (APIM) for 483 romantically involved coparents from the Multisite Family study on Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering to explore this link.