Introduction
Social scientists have coined a number of terms for the family structure that is created when adults with children marry, remarry, or cohabit and form a new family: stepfamilies, blended families, binuclear families, remarried families, subsequent families, and reconstituted families. Historically, there has been some social stigma attached to these terms, and some scholars believe that any structure other than the nuclear family is deficient. Other scholars note the increasing number of stepfamilies and the challenges faced by stepfamilies as they suggest constructive and therapeutic means to assist them.
Explanatory Models
According to a review of the literature conducted by Marilyn Coleman, Lawrence H. Ganong, and Mark A. Fine of the University of Missouri, the primary models for understanding stepfamily issues and effects on children include family stress perspectives and stepparent/parent involvement or style rationales. Other scholars note the importance of the developmental stages of the stepfamily and the entire family system perspective.
Family stress models focus on the changes and transitions faced by stepfamilies, such as moving into a different home, learning new rules and routines, and adapting to new family members. These challenges may increase levels of distress, reduce parenting competencies, or result in more conflict in stepfamilies than in nuclear families. The age of children in stepfamilies may affect the amount of conflict, because studies show that adolescent stepchildren report more conflict with stepparents than adolescents in nuclear families.
Stepparent/parent involvement or style models suggest that biological parents and stepparents may have less time and energy to devote to interactions with stepfamily children because they need to devote those resources to building the new marital relationship or to their children from prior relationships. This is illustrated in the fact that the parents in stepfamilies spend less time with their children on schoolwork and school activities than parents in nuclear families, sometimes resulting in lower academic achievement and behavior problems. Research consistently finds that stepparents interact with their stepchildren less than the biological parents do, and that stepparents are more disengaged and show less affection to stepchildren. The role of genetic relationship to children is understood to affect parenting style, but it is also a major explanation for the fact that children who reside in a household with an adult who is not their biological parent are more at risk for physical and sexual abuse than children who live in a nuclear household. However, research does not show clearly that the stepparent always commits the abuse; it may be committed by another adult, such as a step-grandparent. It is clear that the same types of authoritative parenting processes, such as warmth and control, which are positive in other types of families, are effective styles in stepfamilies.
Fine and Lawrence A. Kurdek note that stepfamilies evolve through several developmental stages: dating and courtship with the eventual spouse, cohabitation (more likely in remarriage situations, but may not occur), early remarriage (the first two years), middle remarriage (two to five years), and late remarriage (over five years). They suggest that premarital relations between the adults who will marry establish the foundation and procedures for later definition of roles and relationships in the stepfamily. The early stage often focuses on management of the transitions and stress of remarriage, while the middle stage concentrates on relationship issues and achieving family consensus about roles.
The family system perspective views the stepfamily as an interactive system in which all members mutually influence each other regarding emotions, relations, and behavior. The system is understood to include people who do not live in the stepfamily household, such as the noncustodial biological parent, the new spouse of the noncustodial parent, or siblings who live with the other parent. This perspective recognizes real-life implications of the complex factors influencing stepfamily relations.
Effects on Stepchildren
Research on children in stepfamilies has demonstrated a number of differences between them and children in first-marriage families. In academics, stepchildren on average had lower grades, lower scores on achievement tests, lower school attendance, higher drop-out rates, and greater likelihood to receive a General Education Degree (GED) rather than to graduate from high school. Regarding conduct, stepchildren were more likely to have problems with drugs and alcohol and to be arrested. In emotional adjustment, stepchildren on average evidence more emotional problems. However, it is important to recognize that the differences found in the research were relatively small. Many stepchildren do not have conduct or emotional problems, and they do well in school. More research is needed to determine what factors lead to success and positive adjustment.
Psychologist James H. Bray at Baylor College of Medicine conducted research with stepchildren at three periods after remarriage: six months, two and a half years, and five to seven years. He found that children often experience a period of calm and apparent adjustment to the divorce and remarriage prior to a new eruption of problems during adolescence. He suggests that the adolescent task of achieving autonomy and individuality may be complicated by the absence of one biological parent. Many adolescents in stepfamilies experience a renewed interest in their noncustodial parent, and about 20 percent of adolescents changed residence from their mother’s to their father’s home. These findings may indicate that it is especially difficult to create a stepfamily when one or more children are adolescents. Bray notes that young children accept stepparents more rapidly than do adolescents.
Sociologist Jean Giles-Sims researched the literature on child abuse in stepfamilies and found that a higher percentage of stepchildren than children from nuclear families are included in severe cases of abuse that have been reported and confirmed. She warns against the assumption that all stepchildren are at risk, however, and notes that further research must be conducted to determine the specific factors that contribute to the likelihood of abuse in some stepfamilies.
Parenting in Stepfamilies
Researchers report that parenting in stepfamilies is difficult and stressful. Certain conditions improve the interaction with biological children and stepchildren in the stepfamily. First, it is important to recognize the developmental stage of the stepfamily and the children. At the beginning of stepfamily formation, even positive, normally successful parenting behaviors may be rejected by stepchildren. Emily B. Visher and John S. Visher, founders of the Stepfamily Association of America, recommend that stepparents build a friendly relationship with stepchildren before focusing on discipline. After a positive, nurturing relationship is established over several months, discipline is more likely to be accepted and respected. However, Bray notes that children and stepparents may define friendly affection differently. Children in stepfamilies report that they prefer praise and compliments to hugs and embraces as signs of affection.
Biological parents may have a difficult time with child discipline by the stepparent, even when the biological parent has encouraged the stepparent to be involved. Loyalty to one’s own children may create a reaction to discipline from the new spouse. Visher and Visher suggest that the biological parent may need to be the primary disciplinarian initially, but that both adults do need to support each other’s authority in the household. However, stepparenting that is too strict or lacking in warmth is consistently connected with more behavior problems and poorer social adjustment in children, no matter how long the remarriage has been in place.
Other Issues
Several other issues are noted in the literature on stepfamilies as common occurrences. Difficulties between the former spouses (biological parents) after one or both have remarried may complicate the functioning of the stepfamily. Visitation with the noncustodial parent or lack of consistent visitation may cause tensions and loyalty problems for children. Child support payments or lack of payment of prescribed child support can cause conflict with the former spouse or marital tension in the new relationship.
Stepsibling relationships may also complicate stepfamily life. Problems may occur if there is too much conflict between stepbrothers and stepsisters, or if adolescent stepsiblings experience sexual attraction or engage in sexual behavior toward each other.
Finally, the lack of clear role definitions for stepfamily members in American society appears to complicate the formation and conduct of stepfamilies. The most common difficulty is the attempt to superimpose roles and understandings from the nuclear onto the stepfamily. Clinicians such as the Vishers suggest that open discussion and dialog about expectations are important in stepfamilies to avoid misperceptions and missed expectations.
Bibliography
Booth, Alan, and Judy Dunn, eds. Stepfamilies: Who Benefits? Who Does Not? New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Coleman, Marilyn, Lawrence H. Ganong, and Mark A. Fine. “Reinvestigating Remarriage: Another Decade of Progress.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 62 (2000): 1288–1307. Print.
Fine, Mark A., and Frank D. Fincham, eds. Handbook of Family Theories: A Content-Based Approach. New York: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Ganong, Lawrence H., and Marilyn Coleman. Stepfamily Relationships: Development, Dynamics, and Interventions. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum, 2004. Print.
Lofas, Jeannette. Family Rules: Helping Stepfamilies and Single Parents Build Happy Homes. New York: Kensington, 1998. Print.
Pryor, Jan, ed. The International Handbook of Stepfamilies: Policy and Practice in Legal, Research, and Clinical Environments. Hoboken: Wiley, 2008. Print.
Stewart, Susan D. Brave New Stepfamilies: Diverse Paths Toward Stepfamily Living. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2007. Print.
Widmer, Eric. Family Configurations: A Structural Approach to Family Diversity. Burlington: Ashgate, 2010. Print.
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