Correlates of parents’ involvement with their adolescent children in restructured and biological two-parent families: The role of child characteristics

Abstract

This study used data from both 225 fathers and mothers as well as their secondary school age children to explore the role of child characteristics (sex, age, self-esteem, and emotional and behavioural well-being) in mother’s and father’s involvement in biological and restructured (stepfather) two-parent families after controlling for known confounding factors. Parent involvement was assessed by both the child and the parents. Child-reported father’s involvement was positively related to child-reported child’s self-esteem, and child-reported mother’s involvement was higher for girls. The interaction between family structure and father-reported child’s emotional and behavioural problems was significant in predicting father-reported father’s involvement. Stepfathers reported higher involvement when they viewed their stepchildren as psychologically well adjusted than when they viewed them as having emotional and behavioural problems. As a group, child characteristics were more significant in predicting fathers’ than mothers’ involvement.

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