Considering the need of more accounts and studies regarding mutual influence within parenting couples' relationships, a study was conducted based on a sample of 86 heterosexual couples with a residential child between 8 and 11 years old. The study reported, "spouses with higher attachment anxiety and avoidance reported lower levels of marital adjustment, less co-parenting cooperation, and more co-parenting conflict."
The study concludes, "A healthy marital relationship is an important intervening factor that helps explain links between attachment security and the co-parenting alliance." As indicated, co-parenting is best approached through the mutual commitment within a couple's marriage relationship. The challenges that come with marriage ought to be faced, not ignored, as the study suggests, "Therapeutic treatment of the marital relationship may be associated with a healthier co-parenting dynamic."