# Parent-in-law > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Parent-in-law > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Parent-in-law.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent-in-law > Source revision: 1327692188 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Parent of one's spouse "Mother-in-law" and "Father-in-law" redirect here. For other uses, see [Mother-in-law (disambiguation)](/source/Mother-in-law_(disambiguation)) and [Father-in-law (disambiguation)](/source/Father-in-law_(disambiguation)). Emperor [Pedro II of Brazil](/source/Pedro_II_of_Brazil) (seated) with his two sons-in-law, Princes [Ludwig August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha](/source/Ludwig_August_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha) and [Gaston of Orléans](/source/Gaston%2C_Count_of_Eu), during the [Paraguayan War](/source/Paraguayan_War), 1865 A **parent-in-law** is a person who has a legal [affinity](/source/Affinity_(law)) with another by being the [parent](/source/Parent) of the other's [spouse](/source/Spouse). Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship. A person is a child-in-law to the parents of the spouse, who are in turn also the parents of those [sibling-in-laws](/source/Sisters-in-law) (if any) who are siblings of the spouse (as opposed to spouses of siblings). Together, the members of this family affinity group are called the in-laws.[1] ## Fathers-in-law A **father-in-law** is the [father](/source/Father) of a person's spouse.[2] Two men who are fathers-in-law to each other's children may be called **co-fathers-in-law**, or, if there are grandchildren, **co-grandfathers**. ## Mothers-in-law A **mother-in-law** is the [mother](/source/Mother) of a person's spouse.[3] Two women who are mothers-in-law to each other's children may be called **co-mothers-in-law**, or, if there are grandchildren, **co-grandmothers**. In comedy and in popular culture, the mother-in-law is stereotyped as bossy, unfriendly, hostile, nosy, overbearing and generally unpleasant. They are often depicted as the bane of the husband, who is married to the mother-in-law's daughter. A [mother-in-law joke](/source/Mother-in-law_joke) is a joke that lampoons the obnoxious mother-in-law character. Some [Australian Aboriginal languages](/source/Australian_Aboriginal_languages) use [avoidance speech](/source/Avoidance_speech), so-called "mother-in-law languages", special sub-languages used when in hearing distance of [taboo](/source/Taboo) relatives, most commonly the mother-in-law. A *[mother-in-law suite](/source/Secondary_suite#Mother-in-law_house)* is also a type of dwelling, usually guest accommodations within a family home that may be used for members of the extended family. ## Parent-in-law relationships Parent-in-laws are often viewed as either a source of conflict or a source of support in a marriage relationship. Jealousy, competition, differences, and disillusioned expectations can cause conflict to arise in these relationships. The perception of parent-in-laws as negative influences on your marriage leads to the characterization of female in-laws as particularly difficult. The stereotyped [mother-in-law joke](/source/Mother-in-law_joke) finds humor in the reality of conflict with in-laws. Positive influences have also been noted as in-laws can be a [found family](/source/Found_family) for partners/child-in-laws who are not as close to their own family.[4] People believe that negative relationships with in-laws will have a disastrous effect on the future of their marriage.[5] However, the amount of connection to parent-in-laws has not been found to influence the success of their children's marriage. The lack of marriage success may not fall on conflict in the parent-in-law relationship, but on whether the children-in-law are on the same page about conflicts. Thus, discordant perceptions exist between spouses and their perceptions of their relationships with their in-laws, and it is disagreements on those connections that negatively affect marriage outcomes.[6] ## See also - [Affinity (law)](/source/Affinity_(law)) - [Marriage](/source/Marriage) - [Mother-in-law apartment](/source/Secondary_suite#Mother-in-law_apartment) - [Mother-in-law house](/source/Secondary_suite#Mother-in-law_house) - [Mother-in-law joke](/source/Mother-in-law_joke) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["in-law"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in-laws). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 12 September 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["father-in-law"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/father-in-law). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 12 September 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["mother-in-law"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother-in-law?show=0&t=1410578989). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 12 September 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_4-0)** Silverstein, Judith L. (1992). ["The problem with in-laws"](https://doi.org/10.1046/j..1992.00469.x). *Journal of Family Therapy*. **14** (4): 399–412. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1046/j..1992.00469.x](https://doi.org/10.1046%2Fj..1992.00469.x) – via Wiley Online Library. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-:1_5-0)** Bryant, Chalandra M. (2001). ["The Influence of In-Laws on Change in Marital Success"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3654637). *Journal of Marriage and Family*. **63** (3): 614–626. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00614.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1741-3737.2001.00614.x). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [3654637](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3654637). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-:2_6-0)** Fiori, Katherine L.; Rauer, Amy J.; Birditt, Kira S.; Brown, Edna; Orbuch, Terri L. (2021). ["You Aren't as Close to my Family as You Think: Discordant Perceptions about In-laws and Risk of Divorce"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8133523). *Research in Human Development*. **17** (4): 258–273. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/15427609.2021.1874792](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F15427609.2021.1874792). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1542-7609](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1542-7609). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [8133523](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8133523). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [34025298](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34025298). ## External links - The dictionary definition of [*parent-in-law*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/parent-in-law) at Wiktionary - [Audio recording of the Brothers Grimm folktale "The Mother-in-law"](https://archive.org/details/DaleGilbertJarvisTheMotherInLaw) v t e Family History Rights Household Nuclear family Extended family Conjugal family Immediate family Matrifocal family First-degree relatives Parent mother father Child son daughter Sibling brother sister Second-degree relatives Grandparent Grandchild Uncle/Aunt Niece and nephew Third-degree relatives Great-grandparent Great-grandchild Great-uncle/Great-aunt Cousin Family-in-law Spouse wife husband Parent-in-law Sibling-in-law Child-in-law daughter-in-law son-in-law Stepfamily Stepparent stepfather stepmother Stepchild Stepsibling Kinship terminology Kinship Australian Aboriginal kinship Adoption Affinity Consanguinity Disownment Divorce Estrangement Family of choice Fictive kinship Marriage Nurture kinship Chinese kinship Hawaiian kinship Sudanese kinship Inuit kinship Iroquois kinship Crow kinship Omaha kinship Genealogy and lineage Bilateral descent Cadet branch Common ancestor Family name Heirloom Heredity Inheritance Lineal descendant collateral descent Matrilineality Patrilineality Progenitor Clan Royal descent Family trees Pedigree chart Genogram Ahnentafel Genealogical numbering systems Seize quartiers Quarters of nobility Relationships Agape (parental love) Eros (marital love) Philia (brotherly love) Storge (familial love) Filial piety Polyfidelity Holidays Mother's Day U.S. Father's Day Father–Daughter Day Siblings Day National Grandparents Day Parents' Day Children's Day Japan Family Day Canada American Family Day International Day of Families National Family Week UK National Adoption Day Related Breadwinner model Single parent Wedding anniversary Godparent Birth order Only child Middle child syndrome Sociology of the family Museum of Motherhood Astronaut family Dysfunctional family Domestic violence Incest Sibling abuse Sibling estrangement Sibling rivalry --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Parent-in-law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent-in-law) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent-in-law?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.