Studies have shown that parents reduce control and support in response to youths' drinking. Why they react this way, however, is still unknown. From cognitive dissonance theory, we derived hypotheses about parents' reactions. We used a longitudinal, school-based sample of 494 youths (13 and 14 years, 56% boys) and their parents. General Linear…

This study investigated the relationship between marital satisfaction and time spent bed sharing with infants in a community sample of 81 bed sharing mothers. Time spent bed sharing did not significantly predict variance in marital satisfaction when considering bed sharers as a whole. Moderation analysis, however, showed the interaction between…

What is colloquially referred to as "helicopter parenting" is a form of overparenting in which parents apply overly involved and developmentally inappropriate tactics to their children who are otherwise able to assume adult responsibilities and autonomy. Overparenting is hypothesized to be associated with dysfunctional family processes…

Little research has considered the nature of parent-child relationships in stable single-parent households that have not undergone transitions such as divorce and repartnering. This study explored how single mothers and their children negotiated their relationships in a context where the mother has been parenting alone continuously from early in…

This grounded theory study examined how 20 newly divorced, nonresidential fathers manage their fatherhood identities. The theory created from this study proposes that fathers' perceptions of (a) father-child relationships, (b) how their children's fiscal needs are met, and (c) barriers to their physical interactions with their children influence…

Divorced individuals who share parenting responsibilities have to figure out ways to work together to raise their children. The purpose of this qualitative study of 49 divorced coparents was to examine how they used technology (e.g., cell phones, computers) to communicate. For parents in effective coparenting relationships, communication…

In an action research project designed to develop a new paradigm for parent education in alignment with the "strengths perspective," a social constructionist epistemology, and the empowerment discourse, it was found that parents joining two parent groups actually valued and sought expert knowledge. Seeking to empower these parents by adopting a…

Research indicates that relationally aggressive media exposure is positively associated with relational aggression in children. Theories of media effects suggest that these associations may be mediated by aggressive cognitions. Although parental mediation can attenuate the effects of violent media, it is unknown whether there are similar benefits…

African American mother-child dyads (N = 99) were observed interacting on a collaborative puzzle exercise. Raters blind to the purpose of the study rated the dyads on several mother and child behaviors. Mothers of daughters were rated as more empathetic, encouraging, warm, and accepting and less negative than mothers of sons. Male children were…

The present study examined whether fathers' additive risk and resilience when the child is an infant and age 5 predicted paternal engagement with children at age 5. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (N = 4,898), we found that the results confirmed the hypothesis that early risk has a negative effect and early…

This study used attachment theory to understand college students' working models of parenting and expectations for how they would use television in parenting. We found that secure parent-child attachment histories were related to more positive expectations of parenting and that avoidant and anxious-ambivalent parent-child attachment histories were…

Mixed-race or multiethnic youth are at risk for mental and physical health problems. We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 to compare family characteristics of adolescents of a mixed-race or multiethnic background with those of a monoracial or monoethnic background. Mixed-race or multiethnic youth reported feeling less…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study investigates patterns of well-being among multiracial adolescents. Specifically, this article addresses three questions. First, using various categorizations for multiracial background, are there measurable differences in emotional and social well-being…

There is inconsistency in the current literature regarding the association between dimensions of parenting processes and academic achievement for adolescents. Further, few studies have extended such an association into young adulthood. In this study, we examined the effect of three dimensions of parenting processes, including school-specific…

This study distinguished two groups of mothers who have not communicated with their young adolescents about sexual health based on their intentions of having these discussions. We also compared these 2 groups to mothers who have had such communications. Overall, 29% of mothers had engaged in sexual discussions with their adolescent in some detail…