When both parents may be a source of support and problems: An analysis of pregnant and parenting female African American adolescents' relationships with their mothers and fathers

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative influence of maternal versus paternal support in the lives of pregnant and parenting African American adolescents who reported either supportive or problematic interactions, or both, with both of their parents. A total of 204 participants were interviewed; 53 indicated that both of their parents were a source of support or problems, or both, and were, therefore, the focus of this study. This subset of adolescents received significantly more support from their mothers than from their fathers while experiencing equal levels of relationship problems with both parents. Moreover, the support of both mothers and fathers was associated with lower levels of depression. Additionally, paternal support and paternal problems interacted in their association with depression, suggesting that, under conditions of high paternal support, the negative effects of paternal problems are attenuated. Finally, although approximately 60% of this subsample of adolescents did not reside with their fathers, this pattern of results held even after taking father's residential status into consideration. Limitations of using this approach to investigate maternal and paternal relationships among pregnant and parenting adolescents are discussed, as well as implications for future research on parental support.