The role of coparents in African American single-mother families: the indirect effect of coparent identity on youth psychosocial adjustment

Abstract

The majority (67%) of African American youth live in single-parent households, a shift in the family structure that has been linked to increased risk for both internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Although the majority of single mothers endorse the assistance of another adult or family member in child rearing, relatively little is known about who is engaged in this nonmarital coparenting role (i.e., grandmother, father/social father, aunt, and female family friend) and how it relates to coparenting quality, maternal parenting, and youth psychosocial outcomes (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems). This question, which is critical to the advancement of family focused programming for youth in these families, is addressed in this study. The participants examined in the current study were 159 African American single-mother child dyads. Adolescents' maternal grandmothers constituted the largest proportion of coparents in the sample (37.2%), followed by the mothers' female family friends (22.5%), adolescents' maternal aunts (12.7%), and adolescents' fathers/social fathers (11%). Differences emerged among groups of coparents in support and conflict with the mother. Specifically, grandmothers, aunts, and female family friends provided significantly more instrumental support than fathers. Furthermore, grandmothers and fathers had more conflict with the mother, both generally and specifically in front of the child, than aunts or female family friends. In turn, these differences were associated directly and indirectly through maternal parenting with internalizing and externalizing problems. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01367847.

(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

Figures

Figure 1

Conceptual Model.

Figure 2. Structural Model

Note: X2 (116, N = 159) = 196.62, p < .05, CFI = .93, RMSEA = .067, SRMR = .06. Standardized path coefficients and factor loadings are presented. A = adolescent report, M = mother report; Non-significant paths are dashed and significant paths are solid and bold. CID = Coparent identity. For the dummy coded coparent identity variable, aunts served as the reference category. PCS = general conflict as measured by the conflict subscale of the parenting convergence scale; OPS = O'Leary-Porter Scale which measures coparent conflict over childrearing; CDLS = instrumental support as measured by the Coparenting Division of Labor Scale.