Parental involvement in youth and closeness to parents during adulthood: Stepparents and biological parents.

Abstract

We examined a possible predictor of (step)parent-adult child closeness in adulthood, namely, the frequency of parental involvement in different child-rearing tasks during youth. We expected that although involvement in children's lives would be important for the strength of all intergenerational ties, it would be particularly important for stepparents' closeness with their adult stepchildren. We used the Parents and Children in The Netherlands survey to test our hypotheses. Our analytical sample consisted of the reports of adults (25-45 years old; n ϭ 5,107) about how frequently different types of parents engaged with them in activities related to school, leisure, and personal communication (including reports about 1,361 stepmothers and 1,489 stepfathers). Our results clearly demonstrate that an increase in the frequency of performing a task was associated with more closeness during adulthood, but this effect was significantly stronger in stepparent-child compared to biological parent-child ties. We interpret this finding as stepparents having to "earn" or more explicitly demonstrate their desire for closeness to stepchildren. An interesting gender difference emerged in the position of divorced biological parents, with adult children's closeness to divorced biological fathers also being more contingent on parental involvement, whereas that was not unequivocally the case for divorced biological mothers.

Effective stepparenting: Empirical evidence of what works

“…Telling children jokes, making them laugh, and laughing along with them are also bonding activities that are linked to close relationships (Ganong et al, 1999; Golish, 2003; Kelley, 1992). In general, spending time together on activities children enjoy is satisfying to both stepparents and stepchildren and provides opportunities for them to get to know each other in relaxed settings (Baxter et al, 1999; Crohn, 2006; Erera‐Weatherley, 1996; Ganong et al, 1999; Golish, 2003; Ivanova & Kalmijn, 2020; Jensen & Pace, 2016; King et al, 2015; Nuru & Wang, 2014; Salem et al, 1998; Yuan & Hamilton, 2006).…”

“…Advocating on behalf of stepchildren in discussions with parents (e.g., extending curfew for a special occasion) also is an effective affinity strategy if it does not occur too often or create spousal conflict (Crohn, 2010; Ganong et al, 2011; Weaver & Coleman, 2005). Another form of advocacy that enhances bonding is helping stepchildren solve problems they have with other people (Baxter et al, 1999; Ivanova & Kalmijn, 2020). Joining stepchildren in problem‐solving helps build a sense of togetherness.…”

“…One-on-one activities One expeditious way that stepparents build closer relationships with stepchildren is to interact with them in one-on-one activities (Ganong et al, 1999;Ivanova & Kalmijn, 2020;Jensen & Pace, 2016;Kelley, 1992). Often, dyadic activities are more effective at relationship-building when stepchildren choose the activities than when stepparents do (Ganong et al, 1999).…”

Parental involvement in stepfamilies: Biology, relationship type, residence, and gender

“…Our findings on the stepgap indicate that parents are more inclined to invest in their children from their bloodline (Daly & Wilson, 1980) and that there is still a certain level of ambiguity regarding stepparents' roles in contemporary stepfamilies (Cherlin, 1978). This is important as the stepgap during childhood could have implications for varying dimensions of solidarity children have with their (step)parents later on in their adult lives, such as having closer relationships with their biological parents than stepparents (Bengtson, 2001; Ivanova & Kalmijn, 2020). We, however, also found residence to be as important as biological relatedness in defining parental roles in these stepfamilies.…”

Effects of family disintegration on children later depression

“…This study aims to examine the relationship between parental divorce and subsequent experiences of depression. This research investigated whether family disintegration is a decent indicator of advanced mental health problems and adverse life outcomes (Ivanova and Kalmijn, 2020).…”