Expectant adolescent couples' relations and subsequent parenting behavior

The goal of this study was to test the "spill over" hypothesis-that the quality of relations between expectant couples would predict parenting behavior-among a sample of adolescent mothers and fathers. At Time 1, self-reported and observational relationship data were collected from 36 expectant adolescent couples. At follow-up, observational data were collected from both young mothers and fathers who were asked to participate in a structured play activity with their 2-year-old children. Logistic and multiple regression analyses were run to examine the correspondence between couples' relationship quality prior to the childbirth and subsequent relationship status (i.e., paternal disengagement or coparenting) and the quality of parenting behavior. Results generally supported the spill over hypothesis. More specifically, findings indicated that the quality of the expectant mother's behavior toward her partner predicted his (paternal) behavior at follow-up. Couples who reported high positive relations at the prenatal assessment were more likely to remain involved in coparenting. Results underscore the relevance of couples' relations to the development of positive parenting practices among atypical samples of mothers and fathers.