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ObjectiveThis study investigated how new mothers' perceptions of maternal grandmothers' gatekeeping behaviors and perceptions of fathers' parenting competence are associated with maternal gatekeeping behaviors.BackgroundIn the development of coparenting relationships at the transition to parenthood, the roles of extended family members, although important, have received little research attention. Grandmothers' gatekeeping may serve as a reference for maternal gatekeeping behaviors, but its role depends on mothers' own perceptions of fathers' parenting competence.MethodMothers from 172 dual‐earner, different‐gender couples reported their own mothers' gatekeeping behaviors and their own perceptions of fathers' parenting competence at 3 months postpartum. Maternal gatekeeping behaviors toward fathers were reported by mothers at both 3 and 9 months postpartum.ResultsWhen mothers perceived that maternal grandmothers engaged in higher levels of gatekeeping behaviors, mothers engaged in more gate‐opening behaviors but only when mothers perceived fathers as highly competent. There were no significant associations between mothers' perceptions of grandmothers' gatekeeping and maternal gate‐closing behaviors.ConclusionAdult mothers, who likely have developed their own sets of ideas about parenting, are still susceptible to support and criticism from their own mothers.ImplicationsPractitioners would do well to encourage expectant and new parents to consider the role of extended family in the development of their coparenting relationships and to develop plans for support‐seeking, boundary management, and negotiation of conflicts. To help reduce maternal gate‐closing and enhance maternal gate‐opening behaviors, practitioners could support fathers' development of parenting skills and help mothers develop awareness of fathers' skills.

AbstractThis study examined the associations between expectant couples' adult attachment styles and new mothers' gatekeeping (i.e., maternal behaviors that may inhibit or encourage father involvement in parenting) at the transition to parenthood. Data were drawn from a study of 182 different‐gender dual‐earner couples followed from the third trimester of pregnancy through 3 months postpartum. In the third trimester, expectant parents reported their attachment anxiety and avoidance. At 3 months postpartum, mothers and fathers reported on mothers' gate opening and gate closing behaviors. Also, at 3 months postpartum, maternal gate opening and gate closing were coded during mother–father–infant interactions in play and caregiving. Actor–Partner Interdependence Models were conducted in IBM SPSS AMOS 21.0. Findings indicated that higher maternal anxiety predicted higher mother‐reported maternal gate closing, whereas higher paternal avoidance and higher paternal anxiety predicted lower father‐reported maternal gate opening. During caregiving, higher paternal anxiety predicted higher observed maternal gate closing, and higher maternal anxiety predicted lower observed maternal gate opening. Findings reveal the importance of attachment in coparenting relationships among new parents, as attachment anxiety and avoidance may shape maternal behaviors encouraging or hindering father involvement in parenting.

ObjectiveTo investigate the role of fathers' positive engagement as a protective factor in the development of children's behavior problems and whether this buffering effect differs by family poverty status.BackgroundChildren who have behavior problems at early ages are more likely to show persistent behavior problems over time. Fathers' roles in the development and persistence of child behavior problems have been less investigated than mothers' roles.MethodLongitudinal survey data from 762 constant‐resident‐father families participating in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study were used. Mothers reported on children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems when the focal child was 5 and 9 years of age, and fathers reported on their frequency of positive engagement with children at child age 5. Data were analyzed using moderated moderation regression analyses.ResultsChildren living in greater family poverty at age 5 showed more internalizing and externalizing behavior problems at age 9, but greater positive engagement by fathers weakened the association between family poverty and children's later behavior problems. Moreover, fathers' positive engagement appeared to disrupt continuity in internalizing behavior problems from early to middle childhood for children in families living below the poverty level.ConclusionFathers' positive engagement may serve as a protective factor for children's social–emotional development.ImplicationsEmphasizing fathers' positive engagement in prevention and intervention programs designed to lower children's risk for behavior problems may have potential value.

AbstractRapidly changing demographics of American families have redefined coparenting and brought about the need for cross‐disciplinary measurement and theory integration that is grounded in a developmental, life course perspective. First, we briefly review sociological scholarship on coparenting, highlighting both qualitative and quantitative work. Second, we provide a brief historical overview of coparenting from the psychological perspective, focusing on its theoretical foundation, multiple components, and importance for individuals and families. Third, we highlight the strengths and weaknesses of sociological approaches to coparenting and discuss the benefits of integration. Finally, we suggest avenues for future interdisciplinary work on coparenting that are heavily shaped by the shifting demographics of American families.

AbstractThis study examined parent characteristics as correlates of coparenting behavior in 57 primiparous couples. Parents' negative emotionality and perceptions of maternal acceptance in childhood, mothers' beliefs about fathers' roles, and observed marital behavior and family socioeconomic status were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy, and coparenting behavior was observed at 3.5 months postpartum. Couples who exhibited high‐quality marital interaction showed higher supportive coparenting behavior, but couples who showed lower quality marital interaction demonstrated higher supportive coparenting behavior when mothers held more progressive beliefs about fathers' roles. Couples showed more undermining coparenting behavior when family socioeconomic status was lower and when fathers were higher on negative emotionality. Greater perceived maternal acceptance in childhood was only associated with lower levels of undermining behavior when prenatal marital interaction was high in quality. Thus, the characteristics of both parents, especially in combination with preexisting marital behavior, are important determinants of coparenting behavior.

Abstract: The current study utilized a social exchange perspective to examine relations among 74 adolescent mothers' perceptions of barriers to father engagement, parenting alliance strength, and nonresident fathers' engagement in caregiving and nurturing activities with their children. Even after accounting for mothers' perceptions of barrier strength, mothers who viewed the parenting alliance as strong also perceived fathers as more engaged in caregiving activities. A more complex pattern emerged for mothers' perceptions of father engagement in nurturing activities, such that relations between barrier strength and fathers' nurturing depended on the parents' relationship status and parenting alliance strength. Our findings suggest the importance of helping young parents strengthen their coparenting relationship in order to foster fathers' engagement with their children.

Background: Suicide among adolescents is an important public health problem. One risk factor for youth suicidal behavior that has been underexplored is insecure attachment. Aims: To investigate the association between attachment avoidance/anxiety and suicidal behavior in an adolescent sample. Method: This study examined attachment insecurity in 40 adolescents who had attempted suicide and 40 never-suicidal demographically matched youths. Adolescents completed self-report measures of attachment style, family alliance, and depressive symptoms. Results: Suicide attempters reported significantly higher attachment avoidance and anxiety. Attachment avoidance, but not anxiety, predicted suicide attempt status in a conditional logistic regression analysis that controlled for depressive symptoms and family alliance. Conclusion: Future research should determine the relative utility of attachment insecurity in prospectively predicting suicide attempts and investigate potential mediators and moderators of this association. Implications for clinicians working with suicidal youth with insecure attachment styles are discussed.

Using data from 182 dual‐earner couples experiencing the transition to parenthood, this study examined associations between prenatal involvement, gender‐role beliefs, and maternal gatekeeping and new fathers' involvement in child health care. Results indicated that prenatal father involvement was associated with fathers' direct engagement in child health care and perceived influence in child health‐related decision making. Fathers also demonstrated greater direct engagement in child health care when mothers held more nontraditional beliefs about gender roles. Moreover, when mothers were more encouraging of fathers' involvement in childrearing, fathers felt more influential in child health‐related decision making, whereas when mothers engaged in greater gate‐closing behavior, fathers with more traditional gender‐role beliefs felt less influential in child health‐related decision making. This study suggests that fathers' prenatal involvement, mothers' beliefs, and maternal gatekeeping may play a role in the development of new fathers' involvement in child health care at the transition to parenthood.

This study used data from 75 adolescent mothers to examine relations among adolescent mothers' attachment avoidance and anxiety, their ability to trust their child's father, and their perceptions of the quality of their coparenting relationship with their child's father. Results suggest that mothers with lower avoidance had more trust for their child's father and also had coparenting relationships characterized by less conflict and a stronger parenting alliance. Moreover, trust mediated the associations between mother's avoidance and coparenting quality. In contrast, mothers' attachment anxiety was not associated with trust for their child's father or their perceptions of coparenting relationship quality. This study provides evidence that adolescent mothers' relationship histories may play an important role in the quality of the coparenting relationship they have with their child's father.

Time parenting was compared for new mothers and fathers in a sample of 182 dual‐earner families. Parenting domains included positive engagement, responsibility, routine child care, and accessibility. Time diaries captured parents' time use over a 24‐hour workday and nonworkday when infants were age 3 and 9 months. Parents were highly involved with their infants. Mothers were more involved than fathers in positive engagement and routine child care on days and at each assessment, and allocated more available time on workdays to these domains than fathers, with one exception. Fathers and mothers allocated similar shares of available workday time to positive engagement at 9 months. Greater equity in responsibility and accessibility was found; mothers spent more, and a greater share of, parenting time in responsibility than fathers on the 9‐month workday only, and were more accessible on the 3‐month workday only. Implications for parents in today's diverse families are discussed.

AbstractMothers and fathers who experience parenting stress are more likely to show symptoms of distress, such as elevated levels of anxiety and/or depression. Identifying the buffering or exacerbating factors that might moderate the association between parenting stress and general distress can help inform theoretical models aimed at better understanding the reality faced by parents during challenging times, as well as improve intervention strategies. The objective of this study was to examine whether coparenting quality plays a moderating role in the association between parenting stress and general distress in parents of children in middle childhood. Eighty‐one couples were asked to complete questionnaires pertaining to their levels of parenting stress, the quality of their coparenting relationship, and their symptoms of distress. Using an Actor–Partner Interdependence Moderation Model, our results revealed that elevated levels of parenting stress were associated with elevated levels of general distress, whereas higher scores of coparenting quality were associated with fewer symptoms of distress. Our results also showed a moderating role for coparenting quality in the association between actor parenting stress and actor/partner distress. These findings highlight the importance of pursuing the investigation of dyadic effects within personal relationships.

New parents' Facebook use was examined from a social capital perspective. Surveys regarding Facebook use and parenting satisfaction, parenting self‐efficacy, and parenting stress were completed by 154 mothers and 150 fathers as part of a larger study of dual‐earner, Midwestern U.S. couples making the transition to parenthood. Results indicated that mothers used Facebook more than fathers, and that mothers perceived an increase in use over the transition. When more of mothers' Facebook friends were family members or relatives, and when fathers reported connecting with more of their Facebook friends outside of Facebook, they reported better parental adjustment. For mothers, however, more frequent visits to Facebook accounts and more frequent content management were each associated with higher levels of parenting stress.