For your doctoral thesis in the co-parenting area, the goal is to select a topic that is original, relevant, and feasible for research. Considering current gaps in co-parenting studies, here are some suggestions:

Suggested Core Thesis Subject

“Co-Parenting Quality and Child Well-Being Across Diverse Family Structures: Psychological, Socioeconomic, and Digital Perspectives.”

Explanation:

This topic examines how parents’ ability to collaborate (or not) affects children’s outcomes.

It is broad enough to cover different family forms (divorced, never-married, LGBTQ+, blended, or families with special-needs children) while remaining focused on co-parenting dynamics.

Why This Subject?

Originality: Few studies integrate psychological, social, and digital aspects of co-parenting across diverse family structures.

Relevance: Policymakers, courts, and therapists need evidence to support effective co-parenting, especially in high-conflict or economically stressed situations.

Feasibility: Allows a combination of quantitative surveys (co-parenting scales, child outcomes) and qualitative interviews, which is achievable for doctoral research.

Timeliness: With increasing use of digital tools and changing family structures, exploring co-parenting in modern contexts is highly relevant.

Possible Narrower Angles

Digital Co-Parenting: Role of apps and online communication in improving co-parenting quality.

High-Conflict Families: Interventions to enhance cooperation post-divorce or separation.

Cross-Cultural Comparison: Co-parenting practices and child outcomes across different cultures or countries.

Special Needs Context: Co-parenting strategies in families with children who have developmental or physical disabilities.

Recommendation: Adopt a comprehensive thesis topic like: “Co-Parenting Quality and Child Well-Being: Psychological, Socioeconomic, and Digital Perspectives Across Diverse Family Structures” Then refine it to a specific focus (digital, cultural, high-conflict, or special-needs) depending on your interest and access to data. Here is a full, up-to-date doctoral thesis proposal for the co-parenting area, designed to be relevant, original, and feasible for 2025.

Doctoral Thesis Proposal

Title: Modern Co-Parenting Dynamics and Child Well-Being: Psychological, Socioeconomic, and Digital Perspectives Across Diverse Family Structures

1. Introduction

Co-parenting—the coordination and collaboration between parents—is critical for children’s emotional, behavioral, and academic development. Contemporary families face unique challenges such as:

Diverse family structures (LGBTQ+ households, blended families, single-parent families, families with special-needs children)

Socioeconomic stressors (post-pandemic economic pressures, remote work, inflation)

Digital communication reliance (messaging apps, co-parenting platforms, video calls)

High-quality co-parenting, characterized by cooperation and low conflict, has been linked to better child outcomes. Yet, most research focuses on traditional families, leaving a knowledge gap in modern contexts. This study addresses this gap by analyzing how co-parenting quality affects children today, integrating psychological, social, and digital perspectives.

2. Problem Statement

Despite its importance, co-parenting research in 2025 faces several gaps:

Digital Era Gap: Limited studies on how digital tools affect co-parenting quality and conflict resolution.

Family Diversity Gap: Underexplored dynamics in LGBTQ+, blended, never-married, or special-needs families.

Socioeconomic Stress Gap: Post-pandemic economic and mental health pressures may affect co-parenting quality.

Intervention Evidence Gap: Lack of empirical evaluation of digital or structured co-parenting support programs.

This study investigates co-parenting quality, child outcomes, and mediating/moderating factors in contemporary, diverse families.

3. Research Aim

To examine how modern co-parenting practices influence children’s emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes across diverse family structures, and to analyze the roles of socioeconomic stress and digital communication in mediating or moderating these relationships.

4. Objectives

Assess the impact of modern co-parenting practices (cooperation vs. conflict) on children’s emotional regulation, resilience, and behavior.

Compare co-parenting dynamics across diverse contemporary family structures (divorced, never-married, LGBTQ+, blended, special-needs).

Examine the influence of socioeconomic stress and parental mental health on co-parenting quality.

Evaluate the effectiveness of digital tools and structured interventions in enhancing co-parenting cooperation.

Develop evidence-based recommendations for parents, therapists, educators, and policymakers.

5. Research Questions

How do modern co-parenting practices affect children’s emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes?

What differences exist in co-parenting quality across diverse contemporary family structures?

How do socioeconomic stressors and parental mental health influence co-parenting and child outcomes?

Can digital communication tools or structured interventions improve parental cooperation and child well-being?

What strategies can support effective co-parenting in modern, digitally-mediated family contexts?

6. Literature Review Structure

Theoretical Foundations: Attachment theory, family systems theory, social learning theory, and digital mediation theory.

Psychological Outcomes: Updated studies linking co-parenting quality to child emotional regulation, social skills, and academic performance.

Family Diversity: Research on LGBTQ+, blended, and special-needs families.

Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors: Impact of post-pandemic stress, remote work, and parental mental health.

Digital Co-Parenting: Use of apps, scheduling tools, and online communication platforms.

Research Gaps: Summary of limitations and justification for the study.

7. Methodology

Research Design: Mixed-method, multi-phase study

Phase 1 – Quantitative Survey:

Population: Parents of children aged 5–18 from diverse family structures.

Instruments: Co-Parenting Relationship Scale, Child Behavior Checklist, Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, Parental Stress Inventory, Digital Co-Parenting Use Scale.

Analysis: Descriptive statistics, regression, structural equation modeling, mediation/moderation analysis.

Phase 2 – Qualitative Interviews:

Sample: Subset of survey participants representing all family types.

Method: Semi-structured interviews exploring challenges, strategies, and digital tool usage.

Analysis: Thematic analysis for context-rich insights.

Phase 3 – Intervention Assessment:

Design: Experimental or quasi-experimental evaluation of digital co-parenting tools and structured support programs.

Measures: Pre- and post-intervention assessment of cooperation, conflict reduction, and child outcomes.

Ethical Considerations:

Informed consent and confidentiality.

Protection of vulnerable participants (children, LGBTQ+, special-needs families).

Institutional ethical approval before data collection.

8. Expected Contributions

Theoretical: Integrates psychological, socioeconomic, and digital perspectives in modern co-parenting research.

Practical: Provides actionable guidance for parents, therapists, and educators.

Policy: Evidence-based recommendations for family courts, child welfare agencies, and digital platforms.

Methodological: Demonstrates a modern mixed-method design for studying complex family dynamics.

9. Proposed Thesis Structure

Chapter 1: Introduction and contemporary research context

Chapter 2: Literature review (psychological, social, and digital perspectives)

Chapter 3: Psychological and behavioral outcomes of modern co-parenting

Chapter 4: Co-parenting across diverse family structures

Chapter 5: Socioeconomic and mental health factors

Chapter 6: Digital tools and structured interventions

Chapter 7: Discussion and integration of findings

Chapter 8: Implications for practice, policy, and future research

Chapter 9: Conclusion

This proposal is highly relevant for 2025, addressing modern family structures, digital co-parenting, and post-pandemic stressors while remaining academically original and feasible.

= "Co-parenting Dynamics and Child Development: Addressing Challenges, Building Resilience, and Redefining Co-parenting in Contemporary Families "

= "Co-Parenting in the Digital Age: Managing Children’s Screen Addiction and Building Healthy Media Habits"

="Parental Coordination to Address Child Screen Addiction: Emotional Challenges, Cognitive Consolidation, and Preservation of Common Sense in Co-Parenting Contexts"