Marital problems, maternal gatekeeping attitudes, and father–child relationships in adolescence.

Abstract

We evaluated maternal gatekeeping attitudes as a mediator of the relation between marital problems and father-child relationships in three waves when children were in 7th through 10th grade. We assessed each parent’s contribution to the marital problems experienced by the couple. Findings from mediational and cross-lagged structural equation models revealed that increased marital problem behaviors on the part of mothers at wave 1 predicted increased maternal gatekeeping attitudes at wave 2 which in turn predicted decreased amounts of father-adolescent interaction at wave 3. Decreased amounts of interaction with either parent were associated within each wave with adolescents’ perceptions that they mattered less to that parent. Amount of interaction with fathers at wave 2 positively predicted changes in boys’ perceptions of how much they mattered to their fathers at wave 3, and amount of interaction with mothers at wave 2 positively predicted changes in girls’ perceptions of how much they mattered to their mothers at wave 3. The findings did not differ for European-American versus Mexican-American families, or for biological fathers versus step-fathers.

Effects of the interparental relationship on adolescents’ emotional security and adjustment: The important role of fathers.

“…Sample items included “My (dad/mother) really cares about me,” and “I'm not that important to my (dad/mother).” (See Stevenson et al, 2014 for complete list of items). Responses ranged from 0 ( strongly agree ) to 4 ( strongly disagree ).…”

“…This is a time period when children may be re-evaluating their perceptions of how much they matter to their parents because many parents tend to distance themselves emotionally from their offspring during adolescence in an effort to promote independence (Larson, Richards, Moneta, Holmbeck, & Duckett, 1996; Larson & Richards, 1991). If their efforts to promote independence result in less time spent interacting with their adolescents, parents risk inadvertently giving children the message that they now matter less (Stevenson et al, 2014). Shaken confidence in how much adolescents feel they matter to their parents could help explain the substantial parental impact on adolescents’ adjustment, including self-esteem, delinquent behaviors (Parker & Benson, 2005), and peer and dating relationships (Leidy, Schofield, & Parke, 2013; Linder & Collins, 2005).…”

“…We also examined ethnicity (Mexican American and European American), and family structure (intact and stepfather) as moderators of mediational pathways. Some studies have found different child attributions about fathering depending on different ethnicities and family structures (Finlay et al, 2014), and others have found unique effects of step-fathers on children's adjustment (Schenck et al, 2009; Stevenson et al, 2014) which led us to expect greater effects of negative inter-parental relationships in Mexican-American and step-father families than European-American and intact-father families.…”

Supporting Fathers after Separation and Divorce through Programmatic Intervention - Fortsatt Foreldre in Norway as an Example

“…Moreover, it emphasizes that after separation, non-residential fathers are unlikely to be involved with their children unless family members continue to accept them as part of the family system (Stevenson et al 2014). Finally, this theory identifies the importance of external social support in enabling change within families.…”

“…These interdependent subsystems include father-child, father-mother, mother-child, and father-mother-child relationships (Stevenson et al 2014). The change in one relationship, such as the father-child subsystem, might influence directly and indirectly the other subsystems, such as father-mother and co-parenting.…”