Coparenting Relationship Scale [CRS-35]

Scale Description

The Coparenting Relationship Scale (CRS) is a multidimensional self-report instrument developed by Feinberg, Brown, and Kan (2012) to assess the quality of collaboration between two parents in raising their child. Rather than focusing only on overall couple satisfaction, the scale specifically evaluates how parents function together as a coparenting team.

The full version of the CRS consists of 35 items covering both positive and problematic aspects of coparenting. The instrument assesses how parents support one another, coordinate parenting responsibilities, agree on child-rearing goals, manage disagreements, and interact in the presence of their child. In the available Greek version, respondents evaluate statements concerning parental competence, shared parenting goals, consultation in parenting matters, and parental involvement.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the CRS is to provide a systematic assessment of the extent to which parents coordinate, cooperate, support, or undermine one another in their shared parenting role.

Coparenting is conceptually distinct from marital or relationship satisfaction. It refers specifically to the way two adults function together as parents of the same child, including the degree to which they share expectations, responsibilities, parenting goals, and mutual respect.

The scale is particularly useful for identifying both strengths and difficulties within the coparenting relationship.

Dimensions of Coparenting

The CRS was developed as a multidimensional measure encompassing several central aspects of coparenting functioning.

One important dimension is coparenting agreement, which reflects the extent to which parents hold similar views regarding child-rearing practices, expectations, routines, and behavioral standards.

Another key dimension is coparenting support, which concerns the degree to which each parent recognizes, encourages, and validates the parenting efforts and competence of the other.

The scale also assesses coparenting undermining, including behaviors that weaken the authority, confidence, or parenting decisions of the other parent. The available questionnaire includes items referring to sarcastic comments about parenting, lack of confidence in the partner’s parenting abilities, and direct undermining of the other parent’s parental role.
Additional dimensions concern the division of parenting-related labor, the sense of closeness created through shared parenting, endorsement of the partner’s parenting, and the exposure of the child to parental conflict.

The final part of the scale focuses specifically on interactions occurring when both parents and the child are together. These items assess behaviors such as tense or sarcastic exchanges, disagreements about the child, conflict about the couple relationship, and hurtful communication in front of the child.

Response Format

For most CRS items, responses are provided on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 to 6.

In the available questionnaire:

0 = Not true of us
6 = Very true of us

This response format allows participants to indicate the extent to which each statement reflects their coparenting relationship.

The final section uses the same numerical range but focuses on the frequency of specific interactions when both parents and the child are together.

In this section:

0 = Never
6 = Very often / All the time

The respondents are asked to consider how often these situations occur during a typical week.

Scoring

CRS scoring is based on participants’ responses to the individual items. Several statements are reverse-scored, as they represent problematic or dysfunctional aspects of the coparenting relationship.

Examples include items concerning avoidance of parenting responsibilities, disagreement about child-rearing, unequal sharing of parenting duties, and emotional distancing associated with parenting stress.
After the appropriate reverse coding, scores may be calculated for the individual subscales and, depending on the research design, for an overall indicator of coparenting quality.

Higher scores on positively oriented dimensions generally indicate greater agreement, mutual support, collaboration, and more effective coparenting functioning.

Interpretation should preferably rely on the individual dimensions and the psychometric properties observed in the specific population rather than on arbitrary cut-off values such as “low,” “moderate,” or “high.”

Psychometric Properties

The original validation study of the CRS provided evidence supporting its reliability, multidimensional structure, and construct validity.

The instrument has subsequently been examined in different cultural and linguistic contexts, supporting its usefulness for assessing coparenting across diverse populations. However, when the CRS is adapted for a new population or language, researchers should reassess its internal consistency, factorial structure, and relevant forms of validity.

Indicators such as Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega may be used to evaluate internal consistency, while confirmatory factor analysis may be applied to examine the proposed multidimensional structure.

Applications

The Coparenting Relationship Scale can be used in research examining family functioning, transition to parenthood, maternal and paternal involvement, parent–child relationships, parenting stress, child adjustment, and family well-being.

It may also be useful in studies investigating changes in family dynamics following the birth of a child, redistribution of parenting responsibilities, or changes in family structure.

A major advantage of the CRS is its ability to distinguish between the broader quality of the couple relationship and the more specific ways in which two individuals operate as a parenting team.

The scale can therefore be used in developmental psychology, family research, counseling research, public health, social sciences, and studies focusing on parenting interventions.

Statistical Analysis

In research applications, descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations can be calculated for the CRS subscales.

Internal consistency may be evaluated using Cronbach’s α and preferably also McDonald’s ω.

The underlying structure of the scale may be assessed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Exploratory Factor Analysis may also be appropriate when adapting the instrument to a new linguistic or cultural context.

Associations between CRS scores and variables such as parenting involvement, family cohesion, parenting stress, parent–child relationship quality, psychological well-being, and child outcomes can be examined using correlation, regression, or more advanced multivariate methods.

In more complex research models, coparenting may also be examined as an independent, dependent, mediating, or moderating variable.

Conclusion

The Coparenting Relationship Scale [CRS-35] is a comprehensive and theoretically grounded instrument for assessing the quality of collaboration between parents.

Its particular strength lies in its multidimensional approach. Instead of providing only a general indicator of relationship satisfaction, the CRS examines specific mechanisms of coparenting, including agreement, mutual support, division of responsibilities, undermining, closeness, and management of conflict in the presence of the child.

The CRS can therefore provide valuable information about the functioning of the parental system and contribute to research on family relationships, parenting practices, parental well-being, and child development.

References

Feinberg, M. E. (2003). The internal structure and ecological context of coparenting: A framework for research and intervention. Parenting: Science and Practice, 3(2), 95–131.

Feinberg, M. E., Brown, L. D., & Kan, M. L. (2012). A multi-domain self-report measure of coparenting. Parenting: Science and Practice, 12(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2012.638870

Paredes, V., et al. (2025). Psychometric properties of the Coparenting Relationship Scale in Ecuadorian parents. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 15(7), 117.

Więsyk, S., Wojtasiński, M., & Tużnik, P. (2026). Polish adaptation of the Coparenting Relationship Scale: A self-report measure used to assess subjective quality of the relationship between parents. European Journal of Psychological Assessment.