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An analysis of parents that are a part of polyamorous networks-networks of three, four, or even more residential or highly available parents-shows three types of parenting practices: poly-nuclear, hierarchical, and egalitarian parenting. Especially, the hierarchical and egalitarian parenting practices show novel divisions of care work and a transgression of gender norms. However, in-depth new materialist analysis of qualitative interviews also shows how parents are, in specific situations, pushed toward standard family models and thus unintentionally maintain traditional family structures and gender roles., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Within the past few decades, the configuration "family" has included diverse living arrangements, yet traditional definitions of family persist. Accordingly, family studies scholars have discussed research strategies and theoretical approaches to define the shifting boundaries of family. In this article I propose the approach of new materialism for a contemporary definition of family that focuses on situated processes and the complex interplay of material-discursive differentiation processes. This perspective enriches current debates on defining family by adding concepts of intracontextual posthuman practices and multilocal forms of agency to the discussion, thus allowing for a definition of family that helps make comprehensible today's ever-transforming configurations.

The association among mothers', fathers', and infants' risk and cognitive and social behaviors at 24 months was examined using structual equation modeling and data on 4,200 on toddlers and their parents from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. There were 3 main findings. First, for cognitive outcomes, maternal risk was directly and indirectly linked to it through maternal sensitivity whereas paternal risk was only indirectly related through maternal sensitivity. Second, for social behaviors, maternal and paternal risks were indirectly linked through maternal sensitivity and father engagement. Third, maternal and paternal levels of risk were linked to maternal supportiveness whereas mothers' and children's risk were linked to paternal cognitive stimulation. Implications are that policy makers must take into account effects of mothers', children's, and fathers' risk on young children's functioning., (© 2011 The Authors. Child Development © 2011 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.)