Single Mothers, Nonresident Fathers, and Preschoolers’ Socioemotional Development: Social Support, Psychological Well-Being, and Parenting Quality

Jackson, Aurora P.; Preston, Kathleen S. J.; Thomas, Crystal

doi:10.1080/01488376.2012.723241

Cited by 29 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…Some factors such as parental SES and social support, previously discussed as associated factors [38–40], did not show significant associations with MHPs in the present study. Considering all of the sociodemographic and risk factors at once in a multivariate model showed that only children’s difficult temperament remained significantly associated with an increased risk of MHPs.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

“…Regarding family and peer context, earlier research found social support to be a protective factor that decreased the risk of children’s development of behaviour problems [38–40]. Furthermore, parental self-perceived competence, which includes perceived self-efficacy as a parent and satisfaction derived from parenting, was shown to be related to child and family functioning [41–43].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Risk and protective factors for mental health problems in preschool-aged children: cross-sectional results of the BELLA preschool study

Wlodarczyk

Pawils

Kriston

et al. 2017

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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BackgroundMental health problems (MHPs) in preschoolers are precursors of mental disorders which have shown to be associated with suffering, functional impairment, exposure to stigma and discrimination, as well as enhanced risk of premature death. A better understanding of factors associated with MHPs in preschoolers can facilitate early identification of children at risk and inform prevention programs. This cross-sectional study investigated the association of risk and protective factors with MHPs within a German representative community sample.MethodsMHPs were assessed in a sample of 391 preschoolers aged 3–6 years using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The effects of parental MHPs, children’s temperament, parental socioeconomic status (SES), social support and perceived self-competence on MHPs were assessed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses that controlled for sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsOverall, 18.2% of preschoolers were classified as ‘borderline or abnormal’ on the total difficulties score of the SDQ. Bivariate analyses showed that parental MHPs, children’s difficult temperament, and parental low SES increased the likelihood, whereas high perceived parental competence decreased the likelihood of preschool MHPs. In the multivariate analyses, only difficult child temperament remained significantly associated with preschool MHPs when other variables were controlled.ConclusionsThe results underline the importance of children’s difficult temperamental characteristics as a risk factor for mental health in preschoolers and suggest that these may also be an appropriate target for prevention of preschool MHPs. More research on specific aspects of preschool children’s temperament, the socioeconomic environment and longitudinal studies on the effects of these in the development of preschool MHPs is needed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13034-017-0149-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk and protective factors for mental health problems in preschool-aged children: cross-sectional results of the BELLA preschool study

Wlodarczyk

Pawils

Kriston

et al. 2017

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

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“…Evidence suggests that informal support promotes cognitive and behavioral outcomes directly (Choi & Pyun, 2014; Ryan et al, 2009) and indirectly through maternal well-being, economic well-being, and parenting behaviors (Choi & Pyun, 2014; Jackson, Preston, & Thomas, 2013; Mistry, Lowe, Benner, & Chien, 2008). Examining direct effects only, Ryan, Kalil, and Leininger (2009) found that informal support was positively associated with prosocial child behavior and negatively associated with child behavior problems.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Informal Support among Low-Income Mothers Post Welfare Reform:A Systematic Review

Radey

2018

J Child Fam Stud

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The vulnerability and instability of low-income mothers situated in a context with a weak public safety net make informal social support one of few options many low-income mothers have to meet basic needs. This systematic review examines (a) social support as an empirical construct, (b) the restricted availability of one important aspect of social support—informal perceived support, hereafter informal support—among low-income mothers, (c) the role of informal support in maternal, economic, parenting, and child outcomes, (d) the aspects of informal support that influence its effects, and (e) directions for future research. Traditional systematic review methods resulted in an appraisal of 65 articles published between January 1996 and May 2017. Findings indicated that informal support is least available among mothers most in need. Informal support provides some protection from psychological distress, economic hardship, poor parenting practices, and poor child outcomes. To promote informal support and its benefits among low-income families, future research can advance knowledge by defining the quintessential characteristics of informal support, identifying instruments to capture these characteristics, and providing the circumstances in which support can be most beneficial to maternal and child well-being. Consistent measurement and increased understanding of informal support and its nuances can inform intervention design and delivery to strengthen vulnerable mothers’ informal support perceptions thereby improving individual and family outcomes.

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“…The paths from fathers' involvement, a latent variable with three indicators (mothers' reports of his money provided for the child, amount of time spent with the child, and activities engaged in with the child), hypothesize that the level and quality of nonresident fathers' relations with mothers and children will be related directly to reductions in mothers' economic hardship, parenting stress, and harsh parenting behaviors. This expectation is supported by evidence linking fathers' involvement with their children to beneficial outcomes for low-income single mothers (Jackson et al, 2009(Jackson et al, , 2010(Jackson et al, , 2013. In sum, our model incorporates three assumptions regarding single Black mothers, the focal children, and the children's nonresident fathers: (a) Depressive symptoms are a key mechanism through which economic hardship influences maternal parenting, (b) harsh parenting is a key mechanism through which depressive symptoms and parenting stress influence child behavior problems, and (c) nonresident fathers' involvement is a psychological resource with respect to the influences of maternal parenting on preschool children's adjustment over time.…”

Section: Economic Hardship Nonresident Fathers'mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Jackson, Choi, and Preston (2015) argued that single parenting is associated with parenting stress, especially among mothers with limited access to social and financial support, that poverty diminishes the quality of parenting due to persistent daily stressors, and that these circumstances are associated with a number of negative outcomes for young Black children who are disproportionately poor. Although most research on the effects of stress in the parenting role and outcomes for mothers and children has focused on middle-class White samples (Crnic & Greenberg, 1990;Deater-Deckard & Scarr, 1996;Juby, Billette, Laplante, & Le Bourdais, 2007), emerging research on family processes and child development in poor and single-parent Black families has shown that nonresident Black fathers' involvement with children is associated with better socioemotional and behavioral outcomes (Jackson, Choi, & Franke, 2009;Jackson, Preston, & Franke, 2010;Jackson, Preston, & Thomas, 2013). Prior research on the effects of father absence on children in mostly middle-class White families clearly illustrates the plausibility of such results (Amato, 1998;Jaffee, Moffit, Caspi, & Taylor, 2003).…”

Section: Conclusion: Nonresidentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harsh Parenting and Black Boys' Behavior Problems: Single Mothers' Parenting Stress and Nonresident Fathers' Involvement

2019

Self Cite

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Objective To test a model linking economic hardship, parenting stress, and nonresident fathers' involvement in single mothers' family life during Black boys' early childhood (3–5 years of age) to harsh parenting and behavior problems in middle childhood (9 years of age). Background Parenting stress among single mothers heading low‐income Black families is poorly understood. Most of the research on the effects of stress in the parenting role and outcomes for mothers and children has focused on middle‐class White samples. Boys are of primary interest in this article because of evidence, based largely on studies of economically disadvantaged, two‐parent, White families, that boys may be more negatively affected than girls by aspects of family conflict that include harsh and coercive parenting. Method Using data from a subsample of unmarried Black mothers and nonresident biological fathers with a 3‐year‐old son (n = 748) from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a nationally representative data set, and survey interviews with mothers when the children were 3, 5, and 9 years of age, we examined relationships between and among mothers' economic hardship, depressive symptoms, parenting stress, father involvement, harsh parenting, and child behavior problems when the children were 3, 5, and 9 years of age. Latent variable structural equation modeling and effect decomposition were estimated. Results Economic hardship was linked indirectly to harsh parenting through mothers' depressive symptoms and parenting stress, both of which were related directly to increased harsh parenting. Fathers' involvement was associated directly with mothers' reduced economic hardship and reduced parenting stress when children were 3 to 5 years of age, and reduced levels of harsh parenting at 9 years of age. Harsh parenting during middle childhood, in turn, was associated directly and positively with boy's behavior problems at 9 years of age. Conclusion Nonresident Black fathers' sustained involvement may buffer adverse consequences of stressful conditions on single mothers' parenting. This is important because studies have found that children growing up in households without the involvement of both biological parents are at greater risk for negative developmental and well‐being outcomes than their counterparts who grow up in households in which both biological parents are involved. Implications The most important scientific and policy implications of our results are that intervention approaches that focus on honing relationship and coparenting skills between unmarried nonresident, Black, biological fathers and the mothers of their children early on should be a high priority. Studies have found that although these couples are typically optimistic about their future together early in the relationship, most are no longer in a romantic relationship by the time the child is 5 years old.

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Single Mothers, Nonresident Fathers, and Preschoolers’ Socioemotional Development: Social Support, Psychological Well-Being, and Parenting Quality

Cited by 29 publications

References 52 publications

Risk and protective factors for mental health problems in preschool-aged children: cross-sectional results of the BELLA preschool study

Risk and protective factors for mental health problems in preschool-aged children: cross-sectional results of the BELLA preschool study

Informal Support among Low-Income Mothers Post Welfare Reform:A Systematic Review

Harsh Parenting and Black Boys' Behavior Problems: Single Mothers' Parenting Stress and Nonresident Fathers' Involvement

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