Adult Attachment and Stepparenting Issues: Couple Relationship Quality as a Mediating Factor

Using a sample of 390 stepparents, we assess the influence of insecure attachment and couple relationship quality on stepparenting issues. We also examine the extent to which relationship quality mediates connections between attachment and stepparenting issues. Results from ordinary least squares regression and Sobel tests indicate greater levels of attachment avoidance and anxiety are associated with greater levels of stepparenting issues. Results also indicate greater levels of relationship satisfaction and stability are associated with less stepparenting issues. Relationship satisfaction and stability significantly mediate the influence of attachment anxiety on stepparenting issues. Limitations, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Boundary Ambiguity in Gay Stepfamilies: Perspectives of Gay Biological Fathers and Their Same-Sex Partners

Gay stepfamilies have their own unique stressors that impact the individual member's ability to form a family. Through in-depth interviews, gay biological fathers and their same-sex partners described their experiences in their stepfamilies. The conceptual framework of boundary ambiguity is used to frame the experiences of institutional and interpersonal stressors that influence these family members.     

Family Structure,Gender, and Adolescent Emotional Well-Being

This article focuses on gender differences in emotional well-being of adolescents in five different family settings. It analyzes two main mediators—economic deprivation and parental socialization—and is based on unusually rich survey data combining parental and child reports as well as information from administrative registers. The results show lower well-being of children in single-mother families and stepfamilies. These associations are mainly mediated through parental socialization rather than economic deprivation, except for girls in their early to midteens living with a single mother. Different patterns of lower well-being levels for boys and girls in different family settings are found.     

Remarried Couples in Premarital Education: Does the Content Match Participant Needs?

Although premarital education has been found to reduce risk factors of divorce, the use of premarital education has primarily been examined in first marriages, or in groups combining both first and later marriages. In this qualitative study, 8 remarried couples’ perceptions of the premarital education they received were explored. The coexisting core categories of the desire to create a loving relationship yet fear of repeated marital failure emerged. The results implied that remarried couples carried an additional fear of marital dissolution, which in conjunction with the complex tasks associated with stepfamily formation, promoted attachment insecurities. Clinical applications are included.     

Lesbian Stepfamilies

ABSTRACT

Cherlin's (1978) model of remarriage as an incomplete institution is used to show how lesbian families' experiences are similar to and different from those in heterosexual stepfamilies. We examine how heterosexism and homophobia enhance the marginalization of lesbian stepfamilies. Despite the importance of the partner's role in the family, much of the lesbian stepfamily research neglects her. Ways to involve the partner's perspective in practice and research and to broaden research perspectives on lesbian stepfamilies are suggested.     

Perceived Stepparent–Child Relationship Quality: A Systematic Review of Stepchildren's Perspectives

Stepfamily scholars have emphasized the importance of including stepchildren in the analysis and discussion of stepfamily life. This systematic review synthesized recent research examining predictors/correlates of stepparent–child relationship quality from the viewpoint of stepchildren in the United States. Five bibliographic databases were searched, resulting in 631 potentially relevant studies for review. Manual searches of three prominent family studies journals were also conducted. Screening and eligibility assessment based on a priori inclusion criteria yielded a final sample of 23 studies, including published studies and reports found in the “gray” literature. Significant predictors/correlates associated with stepchildren's perceptions of stepparent–child relationship quality were grouped into the following conceptual domains: individual characteristics, family characteristics, features of (step)parent–child interactions, and stepcouple dynamics. Limitations, implications, and future research directions are discussed.     

Endorsement of Remarriage Beliefs,Spousal Consistency,and Remarital Adjustment

The consistency of remarriage-related cognitions between stepfamily members has been posited to be of “primary importance” in functional stepfamily systems. This study evaluates the consistency tenant of the multidimensional cognitive development model using common remarriage beliefs. Using a sample of 447 newlywed remarried couples, results from hierarchical regressions indicate that individual endorsements of remarriage beliefs are more predictive of cohesion and consensus than is constancy of endorsement between husband and wife. Implications for the multidimensional cognitive development model and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

The effects of financial management strategies on quality of family life in remarriage

A conceptualization of financial management behavior in remarriage forwarded by Fishman (1983) is refined and used to study 91 remarried couples. Couples are categorized into three financial management strategy groups: those having only joint accounts, only separate accounts, and a combination of joint and separate accounts. The different groups' demographic characteristics and satisfaction and happiness regarding family life are compared. Overall few differences between groups are found on the demographic characteristics, and no differences are found on satisfaction or happiness. Her research interests are in remarriage and stepfamily relationships, fathering postdivorce, and stress and coping in adolescents. She received her Ed.D. from Indiana University. He received his M.S. degree in Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523. His research interests include factors affecting adjustment in remarriage and multiple remarriages and problem solving and creativity in families. before her death in December 1993. Her research interests were financial management and families in transition. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.     

Honoring the Experiences of Gay Stepfamilies: An Unnoticed Population

This article will acquaint the reader with the experiences of a largely overlooked yet growing subpopulation of stepfamilies: gay stepfamilies. The article presents available data on the prevalence of gay stepfamilies, their identified strengths, their known challenges, and the implications of these family experiences for family counselors who serve this population. The reader will also be provided with directions for future research and study specific to this population.