Use of African-American Family Structures and Functioning to Address the Challenges of European-American Postdivorce Families

Growing Points for Coparenting Theory and Research

“…Yet in moving beyond nuclear, middle-class family households, researchers serious about studying cocaregiving and family group dynamics can find themselves challenged to accurately define the core coparental unit for study. For example, within the sizeable underclass in the United States today, both blood and fictive kin frequently organize flexibly to provide a broad family base for young children (CrosbieBurnett & Lewis, 1999), promoting continuous responsibility for dependent children even across changes in relationships among adults. In such families, the relevant coparenting "unit" may involve many or even all of those adults involved in the nurturance and support of an identified child regardless of household membership, demanding that researchers be especially attentive in defining the functional family group (Brooks-Gunn &Furstenberg, 1986;Crosbie-Burnett&Lewis, 1999;Roschelle, 1997;Stack, 1974).…”

Constructing family: A typology of voluntary kin

“…For example, a growing body of literature has documented among African American urban communities the importance of voluntary kin relationships to everything from child care to educational achievement (e.g., Chatters et al, 1994;Crosbie-Burnett & Lewis, 1999;Fordham, 1986). Stack's (1975) now classic work among inner-city blacks identified a complex system of voluntary kin relationships organized around functions of swapping (the reciprocal exchange of goods and services), child keeping, and need-based responsiveness.…”

Thriving in Stepfamilies: Exploring Competence and Well-being Among African American Youth

“…Importantly, prior research on the relationship between family structure and adolescent well-being and competence uses study samples of primarily European Americans; therefore the experiences of ethnic minority families and adolescents are literally overshadowed [3].…”

“…Shaped by their socio-historical context, African American families tend to operate as a ''pedi-focal'' family system, centered on the children and are characterized by a communal-oriented philosophy, permeability of family boundaries, movement of children among households, and shared parenting among multiple parents [3]. Such cultural norms can support the characteristics and function in stepfamilies [4].…”