Like My Own Children: A Quantitative Study of Stepparents Claiming Adult Stepchildren

Abstract

The different dimensions of parenthood—for example, biological relatedness, child-rearing, co-residence—are disconnected in increasingly many families as the result of upward trends in separation and repartnering. By studying stepparents’ claiming (i.e., stepparents perceiving their adult stepchildren as their own), this study provides insight into how people define kinship and adds a new dimension to knowledge about stepfamilies. Using the Ouders en Kinderen in Nederland (OKiN) survey data, this study (a) provides nationally representative estimates of how Dutch stepmothers and -fathers ( N = 3,327) perceive their adult stepchildren and (b) shows how the context (i.e., co-residence, duration, timing, marriage) and relations to biological children relate to stepparents’ claiming. The more similar the context is to “traditional” parent–child relations, the more stepparents claim their stepchildren. As opposed to the expectation that relations to one’s own biological children would serve as an important reference, having biological children from either a previous or current relationship has little explanatory power.

Gray divorce and parent–child disconnectedness: Implications for depressive symptoms

“…Moreover, the mechanisms for disconnection from a stepchild versus a biological child are likely to differ. Stepparents often do not perceive adult stepchildren as their own when they have not lived with the stepchildren or have coresided only for a short period of time (van Houdt, 2022). These stepparents are unlikely to acknowledge their adult stepchildren in the survey and thus our estimates of parent-stepchild disconnectedness likely would be flawed were to include stepchildren in the analysis.…”

Children First? Intra-Household Inequality in Reconstituted Couple Households

“…However, this seems unlikely given that reconstituted households in particular report high rates of child deprivation. Finally, it is also possible that, as reconstituted families become more common, the meaning of family and kinship is redefined, and step-parents may increasingly view and treat their stepchildren as their own ( van Houdt, 2021). Future research should consider whether and under which circumstances investment in children varies over time.…”

“…Parenthood is self-defined and may include both biological and adopted children. This means that some reconstituted families may not be captured by the data if the new partner had adopted or reports children as their own (van Houdt, 2021). In the survey, children are assigned to a single household, meaning that it is not possible to assess the potential effect of post-separation custody arrangements.…”

Conjugal testamentary practices in Canada: The gendered effect of children from other unions

“…Indeed, when a new partner joins a family, a long process of bonding with and adaptation to children begins, in a cultural and legal context that offers no clear model and often devalues the role of stepparent (Cherlin & Furstenberg, 1994). As a result, relationships between stepparents and stepchildren vary substantially, including with union duration and children's residence (Arat et al, 2021;van Houdt, 2022). But, on average, stepparents are less involved in the care of stepchildren (especially their financial support) and vice-versa, compared with parents' behavior with respect to their own children (Aquilino, 2005;Pezzin et al, 2008;Wiemers et al, 2019), although this may be slowly changing as stepfamilies diffuse and the traditional married intact family itself de-institutionalizes (Cherlin, 2020;Cherlin & Furstenberg, 1994).…”

“…In older age, however, priorities might shift, as children reach financial independence and as aging may raise the partner's vulnerability (Humphrey et al, 2010). Importantly, cohabiting people tend to be more economically independent from their partner than the married and also less involved with stepchildren (Arat et al, 2021;Eickmeyer et al, 2019;van Houdt, 2022). Thus, bequeathing to the partner may be less important or expected for them than the married, and their tendency to privilege children even stronger.…”