Positive Parenting of Young Adolescents by Male Cohabiting Partners

Fathers have often been ignored in the parenting literature. The current study focused on male cohabiting partners (MCPs) who can serve as “social stepfathers” and examined the association of coparent support and conflict with their positive parenting behavior (i.e., acceptance, firm control, and monitoring) of adolescents. Participants were 121 low-income urban Black cohabiting stepfamilies (mother, MCP, adolescent). The mother and MCP completed measures on coparenting support and conflict, and the young adolescent completed measures on MCP parenting. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), support, but not conflict, was associated with positive parenting. Support and conflict did not interact to influence parenting. The findings suggest that fathering in these families is contextually sensitive and that support from a mother is central for MCPs to engage in positive parenting of adolescents.

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