Ties That Bind? Comparing Kin Support Availability for Mothers of Mixed‐Race and Monoracial Infants

• Author: Jenifer L. Bratter,Ellen M. Whitehead
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12485
• Date: 01 August 2018
• Published date: 01 August 2018

J L. B  E M. W Rice University

Ties That Bind? Comparing Kin Support Availability

for Mothers of Mixed-Race and Monoracial Infants

Although interracial partnerships are increas-

ingly common, social distance between racial

groups may impact participants’ ties with

extended kin. One persistent yet untested

premise is that mothers with a biracial baby are

“cut off” from extended family members. Using

data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-

being Study (N=4,147), we explore perceptions

of kin support availability for mothers of infants

and whether perceptions differ if the father is

a different race or ethnicity than the mother.

We uncover stark differences in the likelihood

of perceiving support as unavailable between

mothers in same-race and interracial parent-

ing unions. Multivariate logistic regressions

reveal that interracial partnering is positively

associated with mothers perceiving support

as unavailable, but this pattern is moderated

by race and ethnicity of the mother, with the

greatest difference emerging for White mothers.

Ultimately, interracial partnering and child-

bearing may produce social isolation from kin,

reecting the enduring White-non-White divide.

Mixed-race unions with children represent an

expanding segment of American families. In

2015, 14% of infants in the United States were

born to interracial couples—an increase from

10% in 2000 (Livingston & Brown, 2017; see

Sociology Department, Rice University,6100 Main Street,

MS 28, Houston, TX 77005 (jbratter@rice.edu).

This article was edited by Pamela J. Smock

Key Words: cross-cultural, family relations, kinship, race.

also Kreider & Raleigh, 2016); this trend paral-

lels an increase in interracial partnering during a

similar time frame (Qian & Lichter, 2011). One

important consequence of expanding interracial

family formation is ethnic and racial diversity

in extended family networks (Goldstein, 1999).

However, knowledge remains scant about the

interactions between parents of multiracial chil-

dren and their extended family. Relationships

with extended kin mark a salient pathway for

the transferal of family resources, as adults with

children turn to relatives for a wide range of sup-

port (Radey & Padilla, 2009; Sarkisian & Ger-

stel, 2004). Importantly, race strongly patterns

traditions and practices of family giving within

Black, Hispanic, and White families (Haxton &

Harknett, 2009; Stack, 1974). Families of color

have strong traditions of dening kin relation-

ships (e.g., notions of “ctive kin”) and estab-

lished practices of frequent transfers of in-kind

resources to mitigate high levels of economic

hardship, more so than White families (Sar-

kisian & Gerstel, 2004). However, these net-

works are presumed to be homogenous; there-

fore, it is not clear how interactions and sup-

port may shift when children are born from

mixed-race parentage.

A presumed but untested premise is that

crossing racial lines when building families

increases the risk of being “cut off” from

the extended kin of one or both sides (Da

Costa, 2007). Do those bearing children from

mixed-race partnerships experience reduced

access (compared to same-race parents) to

support from extended kin? We explore how

mothers of infants—both from interracial and

Journal of Marriage and Family 80 (August 2018): 951–962 951

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12485