KAREN BENJAMIN GUZZO Lafayette College HELEN LEE Public Policy Institute of California* Couple Relationship Status and Patterns in Early Parenting Practices Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N ¼ 3,003), we examine the role of parental relationship status at birth on maternal adherence to current recommenda- tions regarding breastfeeding, corporal punish- ment, and well-child visits. At the bivariate level, parents’ union status is almost linearly related to adherence to recommendations. Mul- tivariate models, however, reveal that much of the association stems from the selection of more advantaged individuals into more serious rela- tionships. The results suggest that, although relationship status may be an accurate indica- tor of parents who are at risk of not adhering to recommended parenting behaviors, the underly- ing causes of nonadherence are more complex. Among the many forces that influence child well- being and development, the strength of the paren- tal relationship is thought to be a particularly salient factor (Carlson & McLanahan, 2006) linked to a variety of parenting practices ranging from day-to-day decisions involving child nour- ishment and discipline to adherence to general pediatric guidelines. In particular, more stable and serious unions are generally associated with positive maternal decision making and behaviors (Carlson & McLanahan; McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994), though explanations for these patterns are varied (see, e.g., Carlson & McLanahan, 2006; Osborne, 2004a, 2004b; Orbuch, Thornton, & Cancio, 2000). Moreover, despite evidence that single-parent and cohabiting families exhibit dif- ferent parenting strategies from married families (Dunifon & Kowalski-Jones, 2002; Thomson, McLanahan, & Curtin, 1992), little distinction has been made among nonmarital union types and how these different types relate to differential patterns in childrearing practices (Carlson & McLanahan, 2006; Osborne, 2004b). This lack of distinction is problematic given that about one third of children in the United States are born to unmarried parents. This article examines the associations be- tween parental relationship status and mothering behaviors during the first year of life, using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (Fragile Families). Rather than just focus on one narrow aspect of mothering or subjective measures of parenting quality, as has generally been done in the past, we focus on parenting be- haviors for which the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued clear guidelines: breast- feeding initiation and duration, use of corporal punishment, and attendance at well-child visits. We contribute to the extant literature in this area by analyzing how the wide spectrum of couple relationship statuses and stability over time may be differentially or similarly associated with a broader range of beneficial infant-care practices than has previously been the case. We also pay particular attention to whether possible selection factors explain any observed Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Easton, PA 18042 (guzzok@lafayette.edu). *500 Washington St., Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94111. Key Words: fragile families, parenting, relationship status. 44 Journal of Marriage and Family 70 (February 2008): 44–61