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

Abstract

Although interracial partnerships are increasingly 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 Wellbeing 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 parenting 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 childbearing may produce social isolation from kin, reflecting the enduring White‐non‐White divide.

Relationship Satisfaction Across the Transition to Parenthood Among Interracial Couples: An Integrative Model

“…Among new parents in interracial relationships, the amount of support they receive from extended family can vary (Roy et al, ). In fact, White women in interracial relationships have been found to receive the least support from extended family (Bratter & Whitehead, ). Within the microsystem of the multiracial family, the interracial couple has to navigate relationships with families of origin, extended family, and friends on the basis of how each partner experiences the different relationships at the mesosystemic level.…”

The health of biracial children in two-parent families in the United States

“…Interracial unions with black partners frequently evoke strong disapproval from parents, extended kin, and friends (Kroeger and Williams 2011;Lee and Bean 2007). Some parents may express their disapproval by withholding their emotional and monetary support from their adult children and having limited contact with their biracial grandchildren (Bratter and Whitehead 2018;Root 2001). The absence of social support can compromise the health of black/white biracial children by increasing their exposure to economic hardships (Kalil and Ryan 2010) and/or adversely affecting their parents' relationship quality and mental health (Kroeger and Williams 2011;Lee and Bean 2007).…”

Intermarriage and mother-child relationships

“…Furthermore, the link between intermarriage and mother-child ties could be influenced by a myriad of factors other than the young adult's race/ethnicity or gender. Recent research, for example, suggests that intermarried couples with children report less support from extended kin than same-race couples with children (Bratter and Whitehead, 2018). In supplemental analyses, however, I found that having a child did not significantly moderate the link between intermarriage and mother-child relationships in young adulthood.…”