Abstract
Lower socioeconomic African American families have historically been underrepresented in observational studies of coparenting, particularly unmarried African American families in which mothers and fathers are parenting their shared children together in both co-residential and non-co-residential living arrangements. This bias exists because most prior studies have been influenced by deficit-based, rather than strengths-based, views of coparenting within unmarried families, often referred to in the literature as “fragile families.” This chapter details a program of work established to help understand the development of early coparenting alliances in unmarried African American families transitioning to new coparenthood. The studies outlined in this chapter have each been conducted with parents who came together during the mother’s pregnancy to take part in a community-based prenatal coparenting intervention called “Figuring It Out for the Child.” They highlight several important considerations for scholars seeking to understand family strengths and potentialities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Unmarried families are frequently called “fragile families” in the literature (Garfinkel et al. 2001). For reasons we hope will become clear, we have chosen not to employ this term in the current manuscript, reflecting a shift we have made in our own work over time to highlighting family strengths rather than family fragility.
References
Abidin, R. R., & Konold, T. R. (1999). Parenting Alliance measure professional manual. Odessa, Psychological Assessment Resources.
Adler-Baeder, F., & Higginbotham, B. (2004). Implications of remarriage and stepfamily formation for marriage education. Family Relations, 53, 448–458. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0197-6664.2004.00053.x.
Baker, J., McHale, J., Strozier, A., & Cecil, D. (2010). The nature of mother-grandmother coparenting alliances in families with incarcerated mothers: A pilot study. Family Process, 49, 165–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2010.01316.x.
Blankenhorn, D. (1995). Fatherless America: Confronting our most urgent social problem. New York: Basic Books.
Boyd-Franklin, N. (1995). Therapy with African American inner-city families. In R. H. Mikesell (Ed.), Integrating family therapy: Handbook of family psychology and systems theory (pp. 357–371). American Psychological Association.
Breiding, M. J., Smith, S. G., Basile, K. C., Walters, M. L., Chen, J., & Merrick, M. T. (2014, September 5). Prevalence and characteristics of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence victimization: National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, United States, 2011. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Surveillance Summaries, 63, 1–18.
Briggs-Gowan, M. J., Carter, A. S., Bosson-Heenan, J., Guyer, A. E., & Horwitz, S. M. (2006). Are infant toddlers social-emotional and behavior problems transient? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 849–858. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000220849.48650.59.
Cabrera, N. J., Ryan, R. M., Shannon, J. D., Brooks-Gunn, J., Vogel, C., Raikes, H., et al. (2004). Low-income fathers’ involvement in their toddlers’ lives: Biological fathers from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study. Fathering, 2, 5–30. https://doi.org/10.3149/fth.0201.5.
Campbell, J. C., Webster, D., Koziol-McLain, J., Block, C., Campbell, D., Curry, M. A., et al. (2003). Risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships: Results from a multisite case control study. American Journal of Public Health, 93(7), 1089–1097. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.93.7.1089.
Carlson, M., & McLanahan, S. S. (2002). Father involvement, fragile families, and public policy. In C. Tamis-LeMonda & N. Cabrera (Eds.), Handbook of father involvement (pp. 461–488). Mahweh: Erlbaum.
Carlson, M. J., McLanahan, S. S., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2008). Coparenting and nonresident fathers’ involvement with young children after a nonmarital birth. Demography, 45(2), 461–488. https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.0.0007.
Carter, A. S., Briggs-Gowan, M. J., Jones, S. M., & Little, T. D. (2003). The Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA): factor structure, reliability, and validity. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 495–514. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1025449031360.
Cassiman, S. A. (2008). Resisting the neo-liberal poverty discourse: On constructing Deadbeat Dads and Welfare Queens. Sociology Compass, 2, 1690–1700. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2008.00159.x.
Charles, P., & Perreira, K. M. (2007). Intimate Partner Violence during pregnancy and 1-year post-partum. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 609–619. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9112-0.
Coates, E., & McHale, J. (2018). Triangular interactions of unmarried African American mothers and fathers with their 3-month-old infants. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 3096–3106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1082-8.
Coley, R. L., & Chase-Lansdale, P. L. (1999). Stability and change in paternal involvement among urban African American fathers. Journal of Family Psychology, 13(3), 416–435. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.13.3.416.
Cowan, C. P., & Cowan, P. A. (1995). Interventions to ease the transition to parenthood: Why they are needed and what they can do. Family Relations: Journal of Applied Family & Child Studies, 44, 412–423. https://doi.org/10.2307/584997.
Cox, R., & Shirer, K. (2010). Caring for my family: A pilot study of a relationship and marriage education program for low-income unmarried parents. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy., 8, 343–364. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332690903246127.
Cox, J. L., Holden, J. M., & Sagovsky, R. (1987). Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 782–786. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.150.6.782.
Danziger, S., & Radin, N. (1990). Absent does not equal uninvolved: Predictors of fathering in teen mother families. Journal of Marriage and Family, 52(3), 636–642. https://doi.org/10.2307/352930.
Dion, M. R., Devaney, B., McConnell, S., Ford, M., Hill, H., & Winston, P. (2003). Helping unwed parents build strong and healthy marriages: A conceptual framework for interventions (Report no. 8785-401 to the U.S). Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services. Mathematica Policy Research.
Dion, M. R., Avellar, S. A., Zaveri, H. H., & Hershey, A. M. (2006). Implementing healthy marriage programs for unmarried couples with children: Early lessons from the Building Strong Families Project. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1037/e565622012-001.
Doherty, W. J., Erickson, M. F., & LaRossa, R. (2006). An intervention to increase father involvement and skills with infants during the transition to parenthood. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(3), 438–447. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.438.
Edin, K. (2000). What do low-income single mothers say about marriage? Social Problems, 47(1), 112–133. https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2000.47.1.03x0282v.
Edmondson, O. J., Psychogiou, L., Vlachos, H., Netsi, E., & Ramchandani, P. G. (2010). Depression in fathers in the postnatal period: assessment of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale as a screening measure. Journal of Affective Disorders, 125(1–3), 365–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2010.01.069.
Fagan, J. (2008). Randomized study of a prebirth coparenting intervention with adolescent and young fathers. Family Relations, 57(3), 309–323.
Feinberg, M. E., & Kan, M. L. (2008). Establishing family foundations: Intervention effects on coparenting, parent/infant well-being, and parent-child relations. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(2), 253–263. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.22.2.253.
Fincham, F. D., & Linfield, K. J. (1997). A new look at marital quality: Can spouses feel positive and negative about their marriage? Journal of Family Psychology, 11, 489–502. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.11.4.489-502.
Fivaz-Depeursinge, E., & Corboz-Warnery, A. (1999). The primary triangle: A developmental systems view of mothers, fathers, and infants. New York: Basic Books.
Florsheim, P., Burrow-Sanchez, J., Minami, T., McArthur, L., Heavin, S., & Hudak, C. (2012). Young Parenthood Program: Supporting positive paternal engagement through coparenting counseling. American Journal of Public Health, 102(10), 1886–1892.
Garfinkel, I., McLanahan, S., & Harknett, K. (2001). Fragile families and welfare reform. Children and Youth Services Review, 23(1), 110–110.
Gaskin-Butler, V. T., McKay, K., Gallardo, G., Salman-Engin, S., Little, T., & McHale, J. P. (2015). Thinking 3 rather than 2 + 1: How a coparenting framework can transform infant mental health efforts with unmarried African American parents. Zero to Three, 35(5), 49–58.
Helton, A. S., & Snodgrass, F. G. (1987). Battering during pregnancy: Intervention strategies. Birth Issues in Prenatal Care, 14(3), 142–147. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-536x.1987.tb01476.x.
Hogue, A., Johnson-Leckrone, J., & Liddle, H. A. (1999). Recruiting high-risk families into family-based prevention and prevention research. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 21, 337–351.
Karakurt, G., Whiting, K., Esch, C., Bolen, S. D., & Calabrese, J. R. (2016). Couples therapy for intimate partner violence: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 42(4), 567–583. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12178.
Kitzmann, K. M., Gaylord, N. K., Holt, A. R., & Kenny, E. D. (2003). Child witnesses to domestic violence: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(2), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006x.71.2.339.
Lerman, R., & Sorenson, E. (2000). Father involvement with their nonmarital children: Patterns, determinants, and effects on their earnings. Marriage and Family Review, 29, 137–158. https://doi.org/10.1300/j002v29n02_09.
Lindahl, K. M., & Malik, N. M. (2001). The system for coding interactions and family functioning. In P. K. Kerig & K. M. Lindahl (Eds.), Family observational coding systems: Resources for systemic research (pp. 77–91). Mahwah: Erlbaum.
Lu, M. C., Kotelchuck, M., Hogan, V., Jones, L., Wright, K., & Halfon, N. (2010). Closing the black-white gap in birth outcomes: A life-course approach. Ethnicity & Disease, 20(1 Suppl 2), S2-62–S2-76.
Martin, S. L., Mackie, L., Kupper, L. L., Buescher, P. A., & Moracco, K. E. (2004). Physical abuse of women before, during, and after pregnancy. JAMA, 285(12), 1581–1584. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.285.12.1581.
Martinson, K., & Nightingale, D. (2008). Ten key findings from responsible fatherhood initiatives. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. https://doi.org/10.1037/e724162011-001.
Mattson, R. E., Paldino, D., & Johnson, M. D. (2007). The increased construct validity and clinical utility of assessing relationship quality using separate positive and negative dimensions. Psychological Assessment, 19(1), 146–151. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.19.1.146.
McHale, J. P. (2007). When infants grow up in multiperson relationship systems. Infant Mental Health Journal, 28, 370–392. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.20142.
McHale, J. (2007b). Coparenting difficulties: Effects on infants and toddlers. ZERO TO THREE Journal, 27, 57–61.
McHale, J. P. (2009). Shared child-rearing in nuclear, fragile, and kinship family systems: Evolution, dilemmas, and promise of a coparenting framework. In M. Schulz, M. Pruett, P. Kerig, & R. Parke (Eds.), Strengthening couple relationships for optimal child development: Lessons from research and intervention (pp. 77–94). Washington, D.C: American Psychological Association.
McHale, J., & Carter, D. (2012). Applications of Focused Coparenting Consultation with unmarried and divorced families. Independent Practitioner, 32, 106–110.
McHale, J. P., & Coates, E. E. (2014). Observed coparenting and triadic dynamics in African American fragile families at 3 months’ postpartum. Infant Mental Health Journal, 35(5), 435–451. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21473.
McHale, J. P., & Irace, K. (2011). Coparenting in diverse family systems. In J. P. McHale & K. M. Lindahl (Eds.), Coparenting: A conceptual and clinical examination of family systems (pp. 15–37). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/12328-001.
McHale, J., & Lindahl, K. (2011). Introduction: What is coparenting? In J. McHale & K. Lindahl (Eds.), Coparenting: A conceptual and clinical examination of family systems (pp. 3–12). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
McHale, J., & Phares, V. (2015). From dyads to family systems: A bold new direction for Infant Mental Health practice. ZERO TO THREE Journal, 35, 1–8.
McHale, J. P., & Rotman, T. (2007). Is seeing believing? Expectant parents’ outlooks on coparenting and later coparenting solidarity. Infant Behavior and Development, 30, 63–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2006.11.007.
McHale, J. P., Kuersten-Hogan, R., Lauretti, A., & Rasmussen, J. L. (2000). Parental reports of coparenting and observed coparenting behavior during the toddler period. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 220–236. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.14.2.220.
McHale, J. P., Kazali, C., Rotman, T., Talbot, J., Carleton, M., & Lieberson, R. (2004). The transition to coparenthood: Parents’ prebirth expectations and early coparental adjustment at 3 months postpartum. Development and Psychopathology, 16, 711–733. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579404004742.
McHale, J., Waller, M., & Pearson, J. (2012). Coparenting interventions for fragile families: What do we know and where do we need to go next? Family Process, 51, 284–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2012.01402.x.
McHale, J., Gaskin-Butler, V., McKay, K., & Gallardo, G. (2013). Figuring it out for the child: Fostering coparenting in unmarried expectant African American parents. ZERO TO THREE Journal, 33, 17–22.
McHale, J. P., Salman, E. S., & Coovert, M. D. (2015). Improvements in unmarried African American parents’ rapport, communication, and problem-solving following a prenatal coparenting intervention. Family Process, 54(4), 619–629. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12147.
McHale, J., Favez, N., & Fivaz-Depeursinge, E. (2018). The Lausanne Trilogue Play paradigm: Breaking discoveries in family process and therapy. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 3063–3072. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1209-y.
McLanahan, S., & Carlson, M. (2003). Fathers in Fragile families The Role of the Father in Child Development, 4, 368–396. New York: Wiley.
Mixon. (1999). Deadbeat dads: Undeserving of the Right to inherit from their illegitimate children and undeserving of equal protection. Georgia Law Review, 34, 1773.
Mott, F. (1994). Sons, daughters and fathers’ absence: Differentials in father-leaving probabilities and in home environments. Journal of Family Issues, 15(1), 97–128. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251394015001005.
Murray, L., & Carothers, A. (1990). The validation of the Edinburgh Post-natal Depression Scale on a community sample. British Journal of Psychiatry, 157(2), 288–290. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.157.2.288.
Ooms, T. (2002). Marriage plus. American prospect. Retrieved from http://prospect.org/article/marriage-plus
Ooms, T., & Wilson, P. (2004). The challenges of offering relationship and marriage education to low-income populations. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 53(5), 440–447. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0197-6664.2004.00052.x.
Painter, S. L., & Dutton, D. (1985). Patterns of emotional bonding in battered women: Traumatic bonding. International Journal of Women’s Studies, 8(4), 363–375.
Palkovitz, R. (2002). Involved fathering and child development: Advancing our understanding of good fathering. In C. S. Tamis-LeMonda & N. Cabrera (Eds.), Handbook of father involvement: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 119–140). Mahwah: Erlbaum.
Pinquart, M., & Teubert, D. (2010). Effects of parenting education with expectant and new parents: A meta-analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 24(3), 316–327. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019691.
Reitman, D., Currier, R. O., & Stickle, T. R. (2002). A critical evaluation of the Parenting Stress Index—Short Form (PSI-SF) in a Head Start population. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 31(3), 384–392. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3103_10.
Roy, K., & Burton, L. (2007). Mothering through recruitment: Kinscription of nonresidential fathers and father figures in low-income families. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 56(1), 24–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2007.00437.x.
Salman-Engin, S., Little, T., Gaskin-Butler, V., & McHale, J. (2016). A prenatal coparenting intervention with unmarried father-mother dyads: Fidelity of intervention delivery by male-female community mentor teams. Journal of Nursing Research, 25(3), 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000168.
Seltzer, J. A. (1991). Relationships between fathers and children who live apart: The father’s role after separation. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53, 79–101. https://doi.org/10.2307/353135.
Slep, A. M. S., & O’Leary, S. G. (2005). Parent and partner violence in families with young children: Rates, patterns, and connections. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(3), 435–444. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006x.73.3.435.
Sorensen, E., Mincy, R., & Halpern, A. (2000). Redirecting welfare policy toward building strong families. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. https://doi.org/10.1037/e725122011-001.
Stewart, D. E., & Cecutti, A. (1993). Physical abuse in pregnancy. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 149(9), 1257–1263. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006254-199407000-00007.
Stier, H., & Tienda, M. (1993). Are men marginal to the family? Insights from Chicago’s inner city. In J. C. Hood (Ed.), Men, work, and family (pp. 23–44). Newbury Park: Sage.
Stout, R. L., Wirtz, P. W., Carbonari, J. P., & Del Boca, F. K. (1994). Ensuring balanced distribution of prognostic factors in treatment out- come research. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 12, 70–75. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsas.1994.s12.70.
Stover, C. S. (2013). Fathers for change: A new approach to working with fathers who perpetrate intimate partner violence. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 41(1), 65–71. https://doi.org/10.1037/e621642012-197.
Stover, C. S. (2015). Fathers for Change for intimate partner violence and substance abuse: Initial community pilot. Family Process, 54(4), 600–609. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12136.
Stover, C. S., Rainey, A., Berkman, M., & Marans, S. (2008). Factors associated with engagement in a domestic violence home-visit intervention. Violence Against Women, 14, 1430–1450. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801208327019.
Stover, C. S., Meadows, A., & Kaufman, J. (2009a). Interventions for intimate partner violence: Review and directions for evidence based practice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40, 223–233. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012718.
Stover, C. S., Poole, G., & Marans, S. (2009b). The Domestic Violence Home Visit Intervention: Impact on recidivism. Violence and Victims, 24, 591–607. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.24.5.591.
Stover, C. S., Berkman, M., Desai, R., & Marans, S. (2010). The efficacy of a police-advocacy intervention for victims of domestic violence: 12-month follow-up data. Violence Against Women, 16(4), 410–425. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801210364046.
Stover, C. S., Easton, C., & McMahon, T. (2013). Parenting of fathers with co-occurring intimate partner violence and substance abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(11), 2290–2314. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512475312.
Stover, C. S., Carlson, M., & Patel, S. (2017). Integrating intimate partner violence and parenting intervention into residential substance abuse treatment for fathers. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 81, 35–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2017.07.013.
Stover, C. S., Ghosh Ippen, C. G., Liang, L.-J., Briggs, E. C., & Berkowitz, S. J. (2019a). An examination of partner violence, polyexposure, and mental health functioning in a sample of clinically referred youth. Psychology of Violence, 9(3), 359–369. https://doi.org/10.1037/vio0000131.
Stover, C. S., McMahon, T. J., & Moore, K. (2019b). A randomized pilot trial of two parenting interventions for fathers in residential substance use disorder treatment. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 104, 116–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2019.07.003.
Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B. (1996). The revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251396017003001.
Talbot, J. A., Baker, J. K., & McHale, J. P. (2009). Sharing the love: Prebirth adult attachment status and coparenting adjustment during early infancy. Parenting: Science and Practice, 9, 56–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295190802656760.
Verpa, J., Lewis, J. M., & Kreider, R. M. (2013). America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2012 (Publication No. P20-570). U.S. Department of Commerce.
Wei, L. J. (1978). An application of an urn model to the design of sequential controlled clinical trials. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 73(363), 559–563. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1978.10480054.
Wood, A. M., & Tarrier, N. (2010). Positive clinical psychology: A new vision and strategy for integrated research and practice. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 819–829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.06.003.
Wood, R. G., McConnell, S., Moore, Q., Clarkwest, A., & Hsueh, J. (2012). The effects of building strong families: A healthy marriage and relationship skills education program for unmarried parents. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 31(2), 228–252. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.216.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgements of funding: Work described in this chapter has been supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Development R01 HD082211.
“Randomized Controlled Trial of Prenatal Coparenting Intervention for African American Fragile Families” and by Brady Education Foundation Early Childhood Grant “Figuring It Out for the Child: Promoting coparenting alliances of expectant unmarried African American parents”
The authors thank Vikki Gaskin-Butler, Gypsy Gallardo, Yana Sirotkin, Michael Coovert, Kimberly Brown-Williams, Mari Kittle, Serina Lewis, Linda Kraus, Christopher Warren, Carole Alexander, Ray Hensley, Erica Coates, Selin Salman-Engin, Caylen Holmes, Florence Guillet, Pierre Guillet, Chris Davis, Laverne Feaster, Eric Armstrong, Rashid Mizell, Michael Watkins, Thomas Riggins, Shavon Gibson, Amber Tellis, Naisha Reid, Princess Denise Wright, James Oliver, Teresa Girard, Lisa Zawistowski, Tara Earle, Kyle DePalma, Boris Wooden, Latoya Jordan, and Jessica Peterson for their assistance with various phases of the work described in this chapter.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McHale, J.P., Stover, C., McKay, K. (2021). A Prenatal Intervention to Support Coparenting in Unmarried African American Family Systems. In: Kuersten-Hogan, R., McHale, J.P. (eds) Prenatal Family Dynamics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51988-9_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51988-9_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-51987-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-51988-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)