Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association | 2019
Parenting, coparenting, and adolescent adjustment in African American single-mother families: An actor-partner interdependence mediation model.
Abstract
This study examined family processes on the adjustment of adolescents from single-mother households using a dyadic approach. Participants included 107 noncohabiting Black parental dyads of adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. Each parent completed measures of positive parenting, parent-child relationship quality, parental depressive symptoms, coparenting relationship quality, and adolescent adjustment. Data were analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) and extended mediational model (APIMeM) within a structural equation modeling framework. APIM demonstrated significant actor effects from parent-child relationship quality and parental depressive symptoms to both adolescent externalizing and internalizing problems as well as significant partner effects from parent-child relationship quality to adolescent externalizing problems for both mothers and fathers. Additionally, APIMeM revealed significant indirect actor and partner effects from parent-child relationship quality to externalizing behavior through one s own and one s coparent s coparenting relationship quality for both parents. Indirect actor effects were also observed from positive parenting to externalizing behavior through one s own perception of coparenting relationship quality for both parents. Both APIM and APIMeM models found a significant gender difference for the direct effect from positive parenting to externalizing problems. Specifically, the association was negative for mothers in both models; whereas it was nonsignificant (APIM) and positive (APIMeM) for fathers. This study highlights the unique contributions of mother s and father s parent and coparent factors on one s own, and one s coparent s, perception of adolescent adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).