Remarriage, cohabitation, and changes in mothering behavior

We used data from two waves of the National Survey of Families and Househol d to investigate changes in mothering behavior associated with remarriage o r cohabitation by single mothers. We considered three dimensions of motheri ng: (a) time and supervision, (b) harsh discipline, and (c) relationship qu ality. Mothers and children agreed that mothers who remained in new partner ships used harsh discipline less frequently than mothers who remained singl e or whose new partnership had ended by the second interview. Mothers re po rted less supervision if they had experienced a disrupted partnership, wher eas children reported less supervision if their mothers remained in a new p artnership at the second interview. Children but not mothers reported bette r relationships with mothers in partnerships at the second interview compar ed with children whose mothers remained single or whose new partnership had ended. Only a small part of the differences in harsh discipline, and none of the other observed differences, could be explained by maternal of family characteristics or by mothering behavior and relationships in the first in terview. Although cohabiting partnerships were more likely to end than were marriages, we found no differences in effects of cohabiting or marital par tnerships, net of their status at the second interview.