Nonresident Fathers' and Grandparents' Early Years Support and Middle Childhood Socio‐Emotional Adjustment

Abstract

Objective This study investigates how different patterns of nonresident father support for children and mothers in the early years predict middle childhood adjustment, and whether grandparent support has compensating effects. Background Nonresident fathers' involvement in children's lives benefits socio‐emotional adjustment, but it is unclear whether support directed at children is compromised by interparental tensions, or whether other factors may compensate for weaker patterns of father support. Method Latent class analyses identified patterns of nonresident father support for single mothers and their 34‐month‐old child (None 35%, Low 16%, Moderate 21%, High 28%) and grandparent support (Low 15%, Moderate Maternal 33%, High Maternal 43%, High Maternal and Paternal 9%), using a sample of 648 families from the Growing Up in Scotland cohort. Effects of father support on children's internalizing and externalizing problems from age 46 to 122 months were explored (n = 352), together with moderating effects of grandparent support. Results Low, Moderate and No father support had similar estimated effects on higher externalizing and internalizing problem levels, and steeper increases in internalizing problems. Compared to Low grandparent support, High Maternal and Paternal grandparent support reduced effects of weaker father support on both types of problem; and was more protective than High Maternal grandparent support against internalizing problems. Conclusion Weaker patterns of nonresident father support in early childhood, characterized by low involvement and interparental tensions or by no contact, were associated with poorer middle childhood adjustment. Support from both sets of grandparents offered children most protection against the effects of weaker father support.

Cooperative coparenting and the associations with adolescent behavioral problems and delinquency in unmarried families

“…For example, using the latent class analysis, a recent study has identified four levels of nonresidential fathers' support: none, low, moderate, and high. In this study, the classes categorized by the level of father support were negatively associated with behavioral problems of children aged 4–10 years (Parkes et al, 2021). Another study using growth mixture modeling from children ages 3–9 found four distinct trajectories of coparenting quality among unmarried mothers and fathers: high–high, high–low, low–high, and low–low (Goldberg & Carlson, 2015).…”

“…The other large proportion (77%) of parents who did not participate in the study might present additional profiles. Similarly, other caregivers such as grandparents (e.g., Parkes et al, 2021) and relatives (Epstein et al, 2015) also play important roles in raising children, but the data were unavailable regarding their coparenting. Second, we used the average scores of coparenting across 9 years, but the family is a dynamic system subject to changes (Watson, 2012).…”

Non-Intrusive Maternal Style as a Mediator between Playfulness and Children’s Development for Low-Income Chilean Adolescent Mothers

“…As mentioned previously in the discussion section, a high number of Chilean adolescent fathers do not live with their child [ 89 ]. Additionally, the development of children born of adolescent mothers may be enhanced by the presence of grandparents when the father is absent [ 102 ], since Chilean adolescent mothers need support in childcare [ 13 , 15 , 16 , 103 ]. It has been shown that a large number of Chilean grandmothers share the responsibilities in the provision of care for children [ 104 ].…”

Positive Parenting and Sociodemographic Factors Related to the Development of Chilean Children Born to Adolescent Mothers

“…It is important to note that extended family support for adolescent mothers can contribute to maternal satisfaction [30]. In fact, child development may be less affected if grandparents offer protection against the adverse effects of fatherlessness [31]. Furthermore, childcare support for adolescent mothers encourages them to be more affectionate with their babies [32].…”