Increases in divorce, remarriage, and stepfamily formation have added complexity to sibling composition. Biological siblings have been found to be key players in children's lives, and relationships with half and stepsiblings also likely influence individual development and adjustment. In this systematic integrative review, we synthesize and critique 46 studies on half and stepsibling relationships, a literature that has seen marked growth in recent years. Researchers have focused predominately on two areas: individual outcomes associated with having half or stepsiblings and predictors of half and stepsibling relationship quality. Although research designs have become more methodologically sophisticated, deficit-comparison studies in which half and stepsiblings are compared to siblings in nuclear families remain common. We discuss challenges in studying sibling complexity and propose opportunities for examining how half and stepsibling relationships may contribute to individual and family resilience.Increases in divorce, cohabitation, and remarriage have led to greater complexity of sibling compositions in families. In a recent nationwide survey, three in 10 American adults reported having a half or stepsibling, a number that was 314 Gentry Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 (cms4qc@mail.missouri.edu).

Because of the potential stepparent-stepchild relationships have for tension and conflict, clinicians have identified the development of a positive stepparent-stepchild connection as one of the major tasks of stepfamily life. Stepparents often are advised to focus initially on developing friendships with stepchildren, or seeking affinity with them, particularly early in the life of the relationship. Both family systems theory and evolutionary theory suggest that stepparents’ affinity-seeking behaviors are related to the quality and functioning of other stepfamily dyads, such as couple relationships, and the whole stepfamily. We extend prior work on stepparents’ affinity seeking by including perceptions of both members of the stepcouple about affinity seeking, stepfather-stepchild conflicts, couple relationship quality, and stepfamily cohesion. Stepfathers and mothers from 234 stepcouples independently completed online surveys. After accounting for covariates (i.e., duration of mothers’ previous relationships, duration of the stepcouple relationship, focal child’s biological sex and age, number of children in the household, and mothers’ report of household income), stepfathers’ perceptions of affinity-seeking with the focal child significantly predicted both partners’ perceptions of stepfather-stepchild conflict, marital quality, marital confidence, and stepfamily cohesion. Mothers’ perceptions of stepfathers’ affinity-seeking were significantly related to her marital confidence and perceptions of stepfamily cohesion. Stepfathers’ perceptions of their affinity-seeking explained more variance in stepfathers’ and mothers’ outcomes than did mothers’ perceptions. The results suggest benefits associated with stepfather affinity-seeking—less conflict with stepchildren, better couple relationships, and closer stepfamily ties. Our findings provide evidence for encouraging stepparents to focus on building affinity with stepchildren.

Scholars have long recognized that the boundaries of family membership and definitions of family relationships are socially constructed. The social construction of family membership, and the accompanying ambiguity surrounding family language and labels, particularly in complex families who have experienced divorce, remarriage, and other structural transitions, creates obstacles for recruiting study participants and for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. In this paper, we explore how the increasing complexity of family structure and family membership can pose pragmatic challenges for researchers. Using our own work as examples, as well as the research of others, we share methodological approaches to addressing these challenges within both qualitative and quantitative research designs. We argue that giving primacy to respondents’ relational definitions changes how researchers approach their projects, stimulates innovative theoretical thinking, and advances understanding of how individuals and families construct their social worlds.

In the United States and across the globe, demographic trends have coalesced to produce an increasingly diverse set of family structures, fueling international interest in exploring diverse family structures as key developmental contexts for adults and children. Given the persistence of research focused on well-being differences across family structures, and in order to move this research into the future productively, it is critical to rigorously chart and evaluate how this research is being conducted. In this scoping review, we evaluate 283 studies that examined associations between family structure and well-being. We reflect on dominant methodological trends across four primary domains: (a) approaches to measuring family structure, (b) approaches to analyzing associations between family structure and well-being, (c) the application of theory, and (d) conceptualizations of well-being. In evaluating observable trends, we offer recommendations for rethinking where we can (and perhaps should) go next to better understand and support contemporary families.

Forming stable, supportive romantic relationships is an important determinant of well‐being for adults. Yet, there has been limited research about if and how prior romantic experiences help individuals develop the capacity to enter into such unions. Using grounded theory methods, relationship history interviews were conducted with 35 young adults who provided data about 256 romantic and sexual relationships. The different relationship forms (e.g., hooking up, casual dating, committed partnering) were found to contribute in nuanced ways to romantic development. Specifically, romantic development was characterized by gaining romantic experience, identifying preferences for partners and partnership, and learning to maintain healthy relational boundaries through a variety of romantic and sexual relationships. These findings contribute to existing knowledge by highlighting the meaning‐making processes that promote development through tangible experiences and self‐discovery.