PARENTING ALLIANCE AMONG MOTHERS OF PSYCHOSOCIALLY AT-RISK FAMILIES

Lara Ayala Nunes (), Cristina Nunes () and Ida Lemos ()
Additional contact information
Lara Ayala Nunes: University of Seville, Postal: Ph.D. student, Developmental and Educational Psychology Department, University of Seville, Spain
Cristina Nunes: University of Algarve, Postal: Associated professor, Psychology Department, University of Algarve, http://www.ualg.pt/home/pt/curso/1452
Ida Lemos: University of Algarve, Postal: Professor at the, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, University of Algarve, http://fchs.ualg.pt/home/pt

No 2014-2, Spatial and Organizational Dynamics Discussion Papers from CIEO-Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, University of Algarve

Abstract: Parenting alliance is the degree of commitment and cooperation present between a mother and father in raising their child, and its lack has been linked to inadequate parenting practices and subsequent negative developmental outcomes for the child. Supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution is associated with increased paternal involvement. At-risk families are much more likely to experience relationship dissolutions; therefore, it is especially important to study parenting alliance in such families. This study analyzes the parenting alliance of 80 mothers of families at psychosocial risk with their children’s father, and its relationship with several socio-economic, family, couple and child-related variables using the Parenting Alliance Inventory and a socio-demographic questionnaire. The results showed lower parenting alliance scores in at-risk mothers than those reported in community samples and a negative association between parenting alliance and number of children. Moreover, mothers of one-parent, unstable, separated or divorced families showed significantly lower levels of parenting alliance than their counterparts. These findings highlight the need to include the strengthening of parenting alliance as the primary aim of psycho-educational interventions in at-risk families, especially in the many families in which the parents are no longer a couple.

Keywords: Parenting Alliance; Coparenting; At-risk Families; Psychosocial risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I30 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 13 pages
Date: 2014-02-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-sog
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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