Recent critiques suggest family science is operating on a narrow definition of family that privileges US/western-centric perspectives and White, heteronormative, and nuclear families. Understanding that self-assessment is key to scientific growth, this study systematically assessed the publication patterns of the top six family science journals across 10 years (2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018) along two dimensions: the sociodemographics (continent/country, ethnic-racial group, and LGBTQ) and family subsystems studied (couple, parentchild, coparental, sibling, kin, and overall family context). Of the 3932 coded studies, 85% included North American and Western European samples. Within U.S.-based studies, White samples made up more than half of all research. Less than 3% of all coded studies focused on LGBTQ families. Most research focused on the parent-child and couple subsystems and less than 5% focused on kin or siblings. We provide a critical discussion regarding the need for more representation in family science journals, and recommendations for research methods, publication, and reporting requirements.

Using a Family Stress Model framework, we used quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the impact of the pandemic on Latinx pregnant and parenting adolescents and their families. Participants were 406 adolescents (ages 14–19) in the southwestern U.S. who participated in a school-based relationship education program for pregnant and parenting adolescents. In the quantitative analysis, we compared self-reported mental health (depressive symptoms, worry, parental stress), coparental relationships (conflict and communication), and parenting of adolescents who participated prior to the pandemic ( N = 357; 83.6% female; 84.7% Latinx) with those who participated during the pandemic ( N = 49; 74.6% female; 87.8% Latinx). Unexpectedly, the pandemic-period cohort reported fewer depressive symptoms, less parental stress, more frequent coparental communication, and more positive coparental communication and conflict management than the pre-pandemic cohort. For the qualitative analysis, we conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 21 adolescent parents (95.2% female; 90.5% Latinx) from the pandemic-period cohort and analyzed the data using thematic analysis. Participants reported many negative effects of the pandemic including increased economic and health stress, yet also discussed reduced pressure with school and more time with family members. These findings have important implications for enhancing the well-being of adolescent parents and their children after the pandemic.

Objective To explore how youths' perceived relationship self‐efficacy following relationship education may vary on the basis of program and youth characteristics. Background Youth‐focused relationship education has been shown to promote attitudes and behaviors that foster healthy romantic relationships. Yet little is known about the factors associated with variations in these program outcomes. Method Using data collected from a convenience sample of 1,076 youth who participated in the Love U2: Relationship Smarts Plus program, structural equation models and multiple group analysis using chi‐square difference tests were examined to assess whether and how various program and youth characteristics are associated with relationship self‐efficacy. Results Youths' romantic relationship self‐efficacy was greater when programming was offered within a week or weekly versus monthly, after school rather than in‐school, and whether participants were female and had previous dating experiences. Several demographic factors (e.g., race, sex) moderated the influence of programmatic and individual characteristics on self‐efficacy. Conclusion Variability exists in how relationship and marriage education programs are implemented in uncontrolled real‐world settings. Our findings suggest that program outcomes may also vary on the basis of certain youth and program characteristics. Implications Practitioners should carefully consider how the tailoring of program content and delivery to meet the needs of diverse audiences maintains program fidelity and can potentially influence program outcomes.

Objective This research examines the association of parental stress and coparenting dynamics among adolescent mother and father dyads. The current study also examines potential differences between pregnant and parenting dyads in this association. Background The early transition to parenthood places adolescents at an elevated risk of negative outcomes. Thus, it is important to understand the mechanisms that might place adolescent parents at risk (parental stress) or promote resilience in the transition to parenthood (coparenting dynamics). Methods Using the actor–partner interdependence model, the current study examined how parental stress was associated with coparenting communication and conflict among a sample of 105 predominately Latinx adolescent parent dyads. Results Mothers' reports of parental stress were associated with their own and their coparents' report of coparenting communication and conflict. Fathers' parental stress was only associated with their own coparenting conflict. Further, significant differences were not observed between pregnant and parenting dyads. Conclusion The results highlight the nuanced gender dynamics between adolescent parents and support the idea that coparenting dynamics are similar across the transition to parenthood. Implications These findings suggest that parental stress, especially adolescent mothers' parental stress, has a salient influence on coparenting. Thus, programs and services for adolescent parents might target reducing parental stress to improve coparenting dynamics.

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