Child functioning in single-parent families: The importance of social interactions and social support from fathers, kin, and community adults.

Abstract

This research develops and tests a model of the impact of outside socialization influences on children in single-mother families. The model considers the effects of positive interactions and role models, parental authority, control, and supervision on children by considering: (1) the influence of positive interactions and discipline provided to children by absent fathers, kin, and community adults, and (2) the influence, either direct, or through maternal practices, of social support provided to mothers by kin, friends, and neighbors. The sample was comprised of 113 third and fourth grade urban children and their unmarried mothers, 53% European American and 47% African American, from working class and lower-middle class socioeconomic backgrounds. Analyses indicated that the children's interactions with nonmaternal adults related to multiple measures of their functioning. The identity of the adults was very important: interactions with men predicted better functioning in numerous realms, while interactions with women were either nonpredictive or were detrimental. The children's gender and social class moderated these relationships. For girls and middle-class children, high rates of positive interactions and discipline from biological fathers predicted higher academic achievement. Middle-class children also showed effects of interactions with fathers on their school behaviors. For boys and lower-class children, discipline from nonpaternal men predicted better behavior ratings from teachers and more prosocial ratings from peers. Boys with high levels of discipline from nonmaternal women showed high teacher-rated problem behaviors. Analyses on maternal social support revealed multiple relations to children's functioning also. In general, high levels of support from kin and high functional support predicted better peer ratings and more prosocial behaviors for children, while emotional support, especially from friends and neighbors, predicted greater problem behaviors in children. Children's gender, ethnicity, and social class all moderated these relationships. Analyses addressing whether these effects are mediated by mothers' depression, parental commitment, permissive discipline, or supervision found inconclusive results. Implications of the findings for social policies and interventions for children of single mothers are discussed, with a focus on the need for supportive policies for child-adult relationships, especially with fathers and other men.