Co-parenting styles as family practices after parental break up in Italy

Drawing on Morgan’s conceptualization of family practices, the paper investigates the relationship between joint child custody arrangements and everyday post-separation co-parenting activities and routines. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 40 separated mothers and fathers in Italy, 14 of whom are former partners. Interviewees are mainly dual-earner, heterosexual, and have children under 10 years old. From a life course perspective, post-separation practices highlight the relevance of ongoing everyday transformations and agency along post-separation life trajectories and events such as the presence of new partners or changes in working conditions. Post-separation co-parenting differ in two main dimensions: how activities and responsibilities for the child(ren) are shared, and co- parenting practices. On this basis, three main post-separation parenting styles can be identified: “parallel”, “cooperative” and “competitive” co-parenting. Though the three styles can be distinguished at the analytical level, they tend to lie along a continuum. They may change over time or even become more similar in long-lasting post-separation parenting practices. Gendered expectations around the meanings and sharing of parental responsibilities tend to persist and vary according to these co-parenting styles only to some extent. The results are of interest in a context such as Italy, with persistent gender asymmetries. These findings suggest theoretical implications for the creative role of the family practices framework in going beyond “good divorce” functionalist approaches.