Anderson and Greene in a 2011 study published in the Journal of Family Psychology provide an interesting glimpse into mothers’ perspectives on repartnering.  See my HuffPost summary.)  They develop a new scale that assesses the degree to which mother’s have a more child- or adult-oriented view of repartnering.  In short, the degree to which mothers are more oriented towards their own needs for intimacy versus their child’s needs for their attention and affection.  There is more work needed in this area by both scientists and practitioners.

For scientists, is this a good theoretical construct?  Is this a bi-polar concept or in fact, two dimensions?  Is it possible to meet both of these needs?  How would this measure work across a wide range of couples with children– married, cohabitating, divorced, remarried, etc?

For practitioners, what programs and practice information is available to assist parents in decisions about dating, becoming engaged, cohabitating, and/or remarriage?