Editorial: Family men: Fathers as coparents in diverse contexts and family structures

fathers’ involvement in childrearing has increased during the past several decades (Pattnaik, 2013; livingston and parker, 2019). recent studies have suggested that fathers exert significant direct and indirect influences on child development and partner relationship quality via coparenting—how parents work with or against each other to care for their children (e.g., Farr and patterson, 2013; kuo et al., 2017; McHale et al., 2019; schoppe-sullivan and fagan, 2020). high-quality father involvement has been shown to positively influence family dynamics (e.g., green et al., 2019; de martini and Hazen, 2021). however, the majority of studies to date have focused largely on fathers’ coparenting amongmiddle class families headed by different-sex couples. Families across the globe have become increasingly diverse and children are parented within a variety of family structures. thus, understanding the contribution of fathers across different contexts can offer new insights into modern fatherhood. the goal of our research topic was to explore fathers’ roles in coparenting with fathers as research participants. nine contributing papers from across the globe examined fatherhood within same-sex couples, as well as in broader contexts that are more reflective of contemporary families and actual, representative familial experiences, such as fathers of multiple children, across family transitions, as well as from diverse cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. our research topic contributions highlight novel methods and analyses, which shed light on how fathers’ involvement exerts unique influences on family dynamics.