Coparenting Profiles in the Context of Mexican‐Origin Teen Pregnancy: Links to Mother–Daughter Relationship Quality and Adjustment

• Author: Laudan Jahromi,Adriana J. Umaña‐Taylor,Norma J. Perez‐Brena,Kimberly A. Updegraff,Amy Guimond
• Date: 01 June 2015
• Published date: 01 June 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12115

Coparenting Profiles in the Context of Mexican-Origin

Teen Pregnancy: Links to Mother–Daughter

Relationship Quality and Adjustment

NORMA J. PEREZ-BRENA*

KIMBERLY A. UPDEGRAFF

†

ADRIANA J. UMAN

˜A-TAYLOR

†

LAUDAN JAHROMI

‡

AMY GUIMOND

†

The current study explored the multifaceted nature of the mother–adolescent coparental

relationship with data from 167 Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their own mothers

at 10 months post childbirth. Profiles of mother–adolescent coparenting were created with

latent profile analysis using adolescents’ reports of three dimensions of coparenting (com-

munication, involvement, and conflict). Four profiles were identified: (a) Harmonious Co-

parents (equal involvement, high communication, low conflict); (b) Harmonious-Adolescent

Primary (adolescent is more involved than mother, high communication, low conflict); (c)

Conflictual Coparents (equal involvement, high communication, high conflict); and (d)

Conflictual-Adolescent Primary (adolescent is more involved than mother, moderate com-

munication, high conflict). Families characterized by high mother–daughter conflict and

psychological control prior to childbirth were more likely to belong in the Conflictual Co-

parents profile. In addition, adolescents’ and mothers’ depressive symptoms and parenting

efficacy after childbirth were linked to profile membership, such that the Harmonious-Ado-

lescent Primary profile reported the most positive adjustment patterns, whereas profiles

with high coparental conflict (i.e., Conflictual Coparenting and Conflictual-Adolescent

Primary profiles) showed the least positive adjustment patterns. Discussion considers the

applied implications of identifying precursors to healthy and problematic mother–daughter

coparenting for families of adolescent mothers in the early years of parenting.

Keywords: Coparenting; Mexican-Origin; Mother–Adolescent Relationship; Teen

Pregnancy

Fam Proc 54:263–279, 2015

*School of Family and Consumer Sciences, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX.

†

T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ.

‡

Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Norma J. Perez-Brena, School of Family

and Consumer Sciences, Texas State University-San Marcos, 601 University Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666.

E-mail: Norma.Perez-Brena@txstate.edu.

We thank the adolescents and their mother figures who participated in this study. We also thank Edna

Alfaro, Mayra Bamaca, Diamond Bravo, Emily Cansler, Chelsea Derlan, Lluliana Flores, Melinda Gonz-

ales-Backen, Melissa Herzog, Sarah Killoren, Ethelyn Lara, Jackie Pflieger, Russell Toomey, and the

undergraduate research assistants of the Supporting MAMI project for their contributions to the larger

study. This research was supported by grants from the Department of Health and Human Services

(APRPA006011; PI: Uma~

na-Taylor), the Fahs Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation of the New

York Community Trust (PI: Uma~

na-Taylor), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Develop-

ment (R01HD061376; PI: Uma~

na-Taylor) and the Challenged Child Project of the T. Denny Sanford School

of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University.

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Family Process, Vol. 54, No. 2, 2015 ©2014 Family Process Institute

doi: 10.1111/famp.12115

Within the context of adolescent parenthood, young mothers and their children are at

elevated risk for developmental and adjustment problems, as adolescent mothers

are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to display optimal adjustment (Pittman &

Coley, 2011). Adolescent mothers’ adjustment to their new family role depends, in part, on

their social support systems (Contreras, Narang, Ikhlas, & Teichman, 2002). Given the

high rate of coresidence between adolescent mothers and their parents (80%; Manlove,

Mariner, & Papillo, 2000), it is important to understand how the transition into adolescent

motherhood is negotiated within the family system (East & Chien, 2010). In particular,

the relationship between adolescent mothers (referred to as the adolescent) and their own

mothers (referred to as the mother) is an under-researched, yet important, relationship to

explore, especially because mothers often serve as coparents (Pittman & Coley, 2011) and

primary sources of support for adolescents (Kretchmar & Jacobvitz, 2002). Further, the

impact of adolescent parenthood within Mexican-origin families is important to under-

stand given that the average rate of teen pregnancy for Mexican-origin adolescent females

is more than double (9%) the national average (4%; Centers for Disease Control and Pre-

vention, 2011). In addition, Mexican cultural values that emphasize family cohesion, obli-

gation, and respect (Knight et al., 2010), in combination with the high rate of adolescent

pregnancy, underscore the need to understand mother–daughter coparenting in this cul-

tural context. For this reason, this study extends research by examining adolescents’ per-

ceptions of the mother–adolescent coparental relationship within Mexican-origin families.

Goal 1: Profiles of the Mother–Adolescent Coparenting Relationship

A family systems perspective (Cox & Paley, 1997) suggests that family members do not

operate in isolation, but instead are embedded within relationship dyads (e.g., parent–

child) and triads (e.g., parent–daughter–granddaughter). Within this study, we focus on

the mother–adolescent coparental relationship, which largely defines the infants’ family

context. Theoretical and empirical work on coparenting (McHale & Irace, 2011) suggests

that the level of communication, involvement, and negative interactions (i.e., conflict)

between coparents serves to create a context of support for the primary parent (e.g., ado-

lescent mother) and a context within which children can flourish or flounder (Pittman &

Coley, 2011).

Research on mother–adolescent coparenting has further noted the unique importance of

coparental communication, involvement, and conflict on the coparenting relationship.

Mother’s support and mentorship toward the adolescent, and conversely, adolescent’s dis-

closure and guidance seeking, has been the primary focus of research on communica tion

between mother–adolescent coparents (Apfel & Seitz, 1991; Oberlander, Black, & Starr,

2007). High communication ensures that mothers and adolescents are kept involved and

informed of infants’ routines and needs, helping to create a stable and supportive family

environment. Next, coparental involvement between mothers and adolescents denotes the

amount of caregiving provided by mothers and adolescents, and has usually been measured

as a comparison of the amount of caregiving provided by mothers relative to adolescents

(Culp, Culp, Noland, & Anderson, 2006; Oberlander et al., 2007). This is important as the

amount of involvement is an indicator of mothers’ and adolescents’ direct and indirect care

for the infant. Further, equal or higher levels of adolescents’ involvement, in comparison to

mothers, has been associated with adolescents’ higher parental commitment and efficacy

(Culp et al., 2006). Conflict among mothers and adolescents has also been given empirical

attention (Buckingham-Howes, Oberlander, Hurley, Fitzmaurice, & Black, 2011), as more

conflict between coparents can lead to lower esteem and respect, as well as rivalry among

coparents. With increased conflict, the supportive and positive function of a coparenting

relationship may be diminished and even become a stressor for the family system (Cald-

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