Parenting in On/Off Relationships: The Link Between Relationship Churning and Father Involvement

Parental Relationship Status as a Moderator of the Associations Between Mothers' and Fathers' Conflict Behaviors and Early Child Behavior Problems

This study examines interparental conflict and associations with child behavior problems among a large, diverse sample of families with low income (N = 2,691) using path model analyses of mothers' and fathers' reports of constructive interparental conflict, destructive interparental conflict, and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization at 15 months and child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems at 36 months. Multigroup models examined whether parental relationship status (i.e., married, cohabiting, and churning) moderated these associations. Fathers' perceptions of interparental conflict behaviors showed few direct associations with child outcomes, whereas mothers' perceptions of interparental conflict showed more robust associations with child outcomes. Specifically, mother-reported destructive conflict was associated with higher levels of child emotional insecurity and child behavior problems across parental relationship status subgroups. Mother-reported constructive conflict had a small negative association with child behavior problems in cohabiting families. Child emotional insecurity mediated the association of maternal destructive conflict on child behavior problems. Although churning families experienced higher levels of moderate and severe interparental conflict, associations linking destructive conflict to child behavior problems were consistent across parental relationship subgroups. There were few direct effects of father-reported constructive and destructive conflict on child well-being. However, the results supported the notion that fathers play an influential role in the family system via maternal reports of IPV victimization. Results of this study suggest that the mechanisms underlying emotional security theory, in which child emotional insecurity mediates the associations between maternal destructive conflict and child behavior problems, apply to a large and racially diverse sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

Prior On-Off Relationship Instability and Distress in the Separation and Divorce Transition

Divorce is considered distressing for many individuals (Sbarra et al., Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2015, 24, 109); however, individuals in poor-quality relationships may experience certain benefits of leaving an unstable union (Amato & Hohmann-Marriott, Journal of Marriage and Family, 2007, 69, 621). On-off relationship cycling, or the breakup and reconciliation of a relationship, is a salient indicator of poor relationship quality and a common form of relationship instability (Dailey et al., Personal Relationships, 2009, 16, 23) that is associated with distress (Monk et al., Family Relations, 2018, 67, 523). In line with divorce-stress-adjustment and relational turbulence theory perspectives, we hypothesized that those whose relationships were characterized by on-off instability would experience less distress during the separation and divorce process. Given gender inequality in marriage (e.g., Dempsey, Journal of Sociology, 2002, 38, 91; Monin & Clark, Sex Roles, 2011, 65, 320), we also hypothesized that this association would be more pronounced for women. Using data from 98 divorced or separating couples, we found that relationship cycling prior to the separation and divorce process was associated with fewer distress symptoms for women. Conversely, a history of relationship cycling was associated with more distress symptoms for men. Our study provides support and extends prior investigations illustrating that, for some, those in unions characterized by more turmoil, may experience relief following a termination.

Family Income Level, Variability, and Trend as Predictors of Child Achievement and Behavior

Recent decades have seen increases in the variability of family income, tepid income growth rates for all but the richest families, and widening income inequality. These trends are concerning for child well-being, given the importance of income to parental investments and parenting practices. Growing evidence suggests that a high level of change is disruptive to family processes and that chronic stress affects physiology as well as psychology. This study used the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement to estimate associations between three dimensions of childhood income dynamics-level, variability, and trend-and child achievement and behavior. After income level was controlled for, income variability during childhood was not associated with child achievement or behavior, but an increasing five-year trend in income-to-needs was modestly beneficial to behavior measures. Subgroup analysis suggests some adverse effects of income variability and trend on reading and behavior for non-White children but no clear patterns by child's age or family income or wealth levels.

Fathers' Involvement with Their Children Before and After Separation

Changes in fathering over the last decades have led to substantially more involvement of fathers in their children's upbringing. At the same time, high rates of parental separation and subsequent loss of contact fuel concern about separated fathers' role in their children's lives. Underlying such concern is the assumption that separation represents a discontinuity in fathers' parenting. This paper investigates whether fathers' pre- and post-separation paternal involvement is linked: are fathers with lower levels of contact after separation those who were less involved fathers when co-resident? To answer this question, we draw on a nationally representative UK longitudinal study of children born in 2000-2001 to interrogate the links between fathering before and after separation for 2107 fathers, who separated from their child's mother before the child was age 11. We show that fathers who were more involved parents prior to separation tend to have more frequent contact after separation, adjusting for other paternal and family characteristics. The size of this association between pre- and post-separation fathering is, however, modest, and even among more involved fathers, intensity of contact declines over time.

Two Methods for Studying the Developmental Significance of Family Structure Trajectories

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research note is to use both sequence analysis (SA) and repeated-measures latent class analysis (LCA) to identify children's family structure trajectories from birth through age 15 and compare how the two sets of trajectories predict alcohol use across the transition from adolescence into young adulthood.

BACKGROUND

Contemporary family scholars have studied the influence of changes in family structure, often referred to as family structure instability, on child and adolescent development. Typically, this research has focused on either the number or type of transitions children have experienced, but statistical advances are increasing the viability of more complex person-centered approaches to this issue, such as SA and LCA. The choice to use one approach or the other, however, is often discipline specific and relies on different assumptions and estimation techniques that may produce different results.

METHOD

The authors used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth-Child and Youth Cohort (N = 11,515) to identify clusters (using SA) and classes (using repeated-measures LCA) that represented children's family structure trajectories from birth through age 15. Using two multiple-group random slope models, the authors predicted alcohol use across adolescence and young adulthood (ages 16-24) among the clusters (Model 1) and classes (Model 2).

RESULTS

The SA identified five clusters, but the LCA further differentiated the sample with more detail on timing and identified eight classes. The sensitivity to timing in the LCA solution was substantively relevant to alcohol use across the transition to young adulthood.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the SA is perhaps more suited to research questions requiring exclusive group membership in large, comparative analyses, and the LCA more appropriate when the research questions include timing or focus on transitioning into or out of single-parent and stepfamily homes.

Family Instability in the Lives of American Children

Scholars have long looked to family composition to understand child well-being. Family instability, or the experience of repeated changes in parents' union status during childhood, represents a recent advance in this field that takes into account the dynamic nature of contemporary family organization and considers its implications for children's adjustment and development. We review some of the structural and cultural factors that have contributed to rising levels of family instability and highlight the emergence of national data to measure it. We then review the perspective that guides much of the scholarship on family instability and critically assess the contributions of this work to the understanding of child well-being. We close by suggesting new directions for research, with a call for work that broadens the conceptualization and measurement of contemporary children's family systems and home environments as well as the mechanisms that explain why-or whether-instability matters.