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…

The way families have used the media has substantially changed over the past decade. Within the framework of family systems theory, this paper examines the relations between family media use and family connection in a sample of 453 adolescents (mean age of child = 14.32 years, SD = 0.98, 52% female) and their parents. Results revealed that cell…

Relationships that have not been formalized by marriage but that function like marriage are increasingly common among couples. Many of these relationships involve children who are related to only one of the adults but who have established parent-child relationships with both adults. This raises questions about how best to preserve children's…

The study investigated family support as a buffer of stress in 153 mothers and preterm toddlers. Data were collected regarding maternal depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and family support; infant health; and videotaped mother-child interactions. Although more parenting stress related to less optimal child play, only information support…

Although stepmothering is a common undertaking in American families, little research has investigated the mental health consequences, and their correlates, associated with adopting a stepmother role. To help fill this gap, the current study examines parenting stress and participants' perceptions of their (step)children's regard toward them and the…

On the basis of a qualitative study of 31 grandparents, this article highlights how separation in the middle generation can result in an erosion of trust and quality of paternal grandparent-grandchild relationships. Notwithstanding these changes, grandparents endeavor to support and remain involved in the lives of their grandchildren by, inter…

This study investigates father involvement among a sample of ethnically diverse, low-income men participating in a randomized controlled trial of a 14-hour relationship education program that teaches skills and principles for healthy relationships. Utilizing data from 137 fathers, we examined contextual, individual, and coparental relationship…

Using data collected over 14 consecutive days, we examined the impact of work hours and job demands on parent-child interactions for mothers and fathers in nonprofessional couples. Wives and husbands evaluated their interactions with their children similarly, such that changes in a spouse's evaluation of parent-child interactions typically matched…

Mothers and fathers in 156 African American families reported on racial discrimination experiences, gendered traits, and warmth and conflict in family relationships. Discrimination was linked with relationship quality, but links differed for mothers and fathers. More expressive parents and less instrumental fathers had more positive relationships…

An exploratory qualitative study of 16 disadvantaged youth in 5 countries suggests that making both precocious and developmentally appropriate contributions to their families' well-being is advantageous to adolescents coping with chronic adversity. All youth were known to be doing well (as identified by community advisors) and showed patterns of…

The present study uses observational assessment of 66 two-parent families working and playing together when their eldest child is in kindergarten and again in ninth grade to identify distinct patterns of family functioning derived from structural family systems theory. Whereas concurrent assessment of the relationship between family type and…

This study investigated how adolescent and parent acculturation (culture-of-origin and U.S. cultural involvement, biculturalism, acculturation conflicts, and parent-adolescent acculturation gaps) influenced family dynamics (family cohesion, adaptability, familism, and parent-adolescent conflict) in a sample of 402 Latino families from North…

This study examined how adolescents raised solely by grandparents navigated their relationships with their parents and grandparents and how these relationships were influenced by the caregiving context. Forty-one adolescents participated in qualitative, semistructured interviews. Findings suggest that relationships with parents were primarily…

Children affected by maternal incarceration experience challenges maintaining continuous family relationships because of changes in caregivers, separation from siblings, and limited contact with mothers. In this mixed-method study, we investigated maternal and contextual factors associated with continuity in family relationships of children living…

Problems associated with poor quality parent-child relationships are compounded for incarcerated girls. Using attachment theory as a framework, the present qualitative study examined how 18 incarcerated adolescent girls made meaning with regard to their parents' drug use. We found that 8 of the 18 girls used drugs with their parents as a…