Junyeong Yang News Today

<p>Despite the many challenges they face, slightly more than half of unmarried low-income couples with children have positive co-parenting relationships, a new study found. And those supportive relationships were linked to their children showing more empathy, less emotional insecurity and fewer behavior problems.</p>

Despite the many challenges they face, slightly more than half of unmarried low-income couples with children have positive co-parenting relationships, a new study found.

In the study, published online recently in the journal Child Development, participants were asked about their co-parenting relationship with their partner -- in other words, how they related to each other as parents.

Child outcomes suffered, though, when it was fathers who were less positive about co-parenting, the study revealed.

Researchers found that, in a sample of low-income couples, children have the best outcomes when both parents saw their co-parenting relationship as highly positive and worst when both parents viewed their relationship as poor.