Remarriage after Divorce: Dissolution and Reconstruction of Family Boundaries

Abstract

Remarriage is analyzed from the perspective of family boundaries and roles. The nuclear and remarriage family models are compared, and the process that begins with the formation of the first-marriage nuclear family and ends with the formation of a second-marriage family is conceptualized in terms of changing family boundaries and roles. Discussions with remarriage group members provide concrete illustrations of this process and suggest solutions to some of the problems confronting remarriage family members.

Familles recomposées : qu’avons-nous appris au fil des ans?

“…Sous un angle systémique, ce type de système familial a souvent des frontières plus ouvertes du fait qu'il y a quelque part un exconjoint ou une ex-conjointe parent biologique des enfants (Walker et Messinger, 1979). La coexistence de ces deux familles, c'est-à-dire « l'ancienne et la nouvelle », pourrait, selon Perkins et Kahan (1979), amener une confusion systémique qui de ce fait compromet le contexte relationnel (nous verrons au thème de l'ajustement des enfants que cette caractéristique a effectivement une influence sur les relations familiales).…”

Family Cohesion in Remarried Families

“…The importance of REM families having permeable boundaries, an aspect of low cohesion, has been stressed in a number of the studies previously reviewed (Carter and McGoldrick, 1980;Einstein, 1982;Keshet, 1980;Kosinski, 1983;Sager et al, 1983;walker and Messinger, 1979). In a theortical article on stepfamily developmental issues, Nhiteside (1982) stated that the importance of permeable boundaries within the REM family pertained to the ability of children with dual household membership to move between families.…”

“…An often referenced article by walker and Messinger (1979) suggests that REM families need lower levels of cohesion than intact first marriage families to function optimally. Their article was based upon clinical work with 22 couples in a REM family group.…”

Insiders and outsiders in stepfamilies: Adults’ and children’s views on family boundaries

“…From the perspective of adults, a new partnership replaces the old one, and adults are inclined to perceive family as a clearly bounded unit formed exclusively around the new partnership and as substituting the dissolved family unit. Children, on the other hand, supported by law and by the prevalent understanding of family relationships continuing beyond parental separation, are more frequently motivated to be inclusive in their family perception and to maintain their relationships with both parents (Furstenberg and Nord, 1985;Golish, 2003;Taanila et al, 2002;Walker and Messinger, 1979).…”

“…By looking -side by side -at adults' and children's identification to a whole, their views on family boundaries, and whether these views are congruent with each other, we aim to discern conditions in which adults and children develop exclusive understandings of family and, respectively, those in which more permeable boundaries prevail. Research has found flexibility regarding boundaries favourable for successful stepfamilies (Braithwaite et al, 2001;Golish, 2003;Walker and Messinger, 1979) and beneficial for children (Furstenberg and Nord, 1985;Taanila et al, 2002), but situations of high conflict between ex-partners in continuing contact required by joint post-separation parenthood has been shown to be demanding for both adults and children (Smart and Neale, 1999).…”