Findings supported the hypothesis that higher levels of conflict with a co-caregiver would be associated with increased maternal psychological distress, which would, in turn, be negatively related to positive parenting practices. Although the co-caregivers in the current study were not marital partners, the conflict in the relationship may have strongly affected the single-parent mothers and their parenting because of the centrality of this relationship in determining her emotional states. These findings indicate that almost all African-American single mothers identify a co-caregiver and that conflict with that individual is related both to a mother's own distress and to her parenting. Consequently, when clinical interventions for parenting deficits are undertaken with single African-American mothers, assessment and intervention should be broadened to include co-caregivers. Study participants were 234 mother-child pairs (7-15 year-old children) from metropolitan (n=111) and rural (n=123) counties in the southeastern United States. In the first data collection, the mothers and their children completed an interview that focused on demographic information. In the second data collection session at baseline, the study variables, including co-caregiver conflict, were assessed. Fifteen months later, the mothers and their children were contacted for another assessment, which was almost identical to the initial assessment. The variables measured in the assessment were co-parenting conflict (Conflict subscale of the Parenting Convergence Scale); maternal psychological distress (subscales from the Brief Symptom Inventory); and positive parenting (mother-child relationship quality, maternal monitoring of the child's activities, and disciplinary consistency). 1 table, 1 figure, and 53 references