Coparenting Conflict and Parenting Behavior in Economically Disadvantaged Single Parent African American Families: The Role of Maternal Psychological Distress

• NCJ Number: 220198
• Journal: Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 7 Dated: October 2007 Pages: 621-630
• Author(s): Shannon Dorsey; Rex Forehand; Gene Brody
• Date Published: October 2007
• Length: 10 pages
• Grant Number(s): T32 MH19117
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institutes of Health; William T. Grant Foundation; Ctr's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Institute for Behavioral Research
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This longitudinal study examined the link between a conflict involving a mother and primary co-caregiver (as identified by the mother) and parenting practices in single-parent, economically disadvantaged African-American families.

Abstract

Findings supported the hypothesis that higher levels of conflict with a co-caregiver would be associated with increased maternal psychological distress, which would, in turn, be negatively related to positive parenting practices. Although the co-caregivers in the current study were not marital partners, the conflict in the relationship may have strongly affected the single-parent mothers and their parenting because of the centrality of this relationship in determining her emotional states. These findings indicate that almost all African-American single mothers identify a co-caregiver and that conflict with that individual is related both to a mother's own distress and to her parenting. Consequently, when clinical interventions for parenting deficits are undertaken with single African-American mothers, assessment and intervention should be broadened to include co-caregivers. Study participants were 234 mother-child pairs (7-15 year-old children) from metropolitan (n=111) and rural (n=123) counties in the southeastern United States. In the first data collection, the mothers and their children completed an interview that focused on demographic information. In the second data collection session at baseline, the study variables, including co-caregiver conflict, were assessed. Fifteen months later, the mothers and their children were contacted for another assessment, which was almost identical to the initial assessment. The variables measured in the assessment were co-parenting conflict (Conflict subscale of the Parenting Convergence Scale); maternal psychological distress (subscales from the Brief Symptom Inventory); and positive parenting (mother-child relationship quality, maternal monitoring of the child's activities, and disciplinary consistency). 1 table, 1 figure, and 53 references