Stepfamily Relationships

Ganong, Lawrence H.; Coleman, Marilyn

doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-7702-1

Cited by 170 publications

(188 citation statements)

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“…Nearly 80% of all stepfamilies in the United States are reared by a mother and stepfather (Kreider & Ellis, 2011). Whereas mothers are often (unrealistically) expected to focus exclusively or primarily on parenting, providing emotional support, and cultivating or maintaining positive family relationships, fathers are often expected to provide instrumental or financial support and assume a disciplinarian role in www.FamilyProcess.org 386 / FAMILY PROCESS the family (Ganong & Coleman, 2017). Past research has commonly highlighted the "gendered" nature by which stepfamily life is experienced (Ganong & Coleman, 2017).…”

Section: Interactional Patterns and Stepparent Roles In Stepfamiliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In stepfamilies, youth can either augment, reduce, retain, or substitute portions of their parental network when acquiring a new stepparent (Ganong & Coleman, 2017;Gross, 1987). In stepfamilies, youth can either augment, reduce, retain, or substitute portions of their parental network when acquiring a new stepparent (Ganong & Coleman, 2017;Gross, 1987).…”

Section: Family and Individual Correlates Of Youth-stepparent Interacmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…disagreements about parenting, shifts in economic and social resources, and opposing expectations among family members (Ganong & Coleman, 2017;Jensen & Shafer, 2013;Jensen, Shafer, & Larson, 2014;Papernow, 2013). Relationships between youth and stepparents can be particularly ambiguous, resulting in conflict, strain, or disengagement.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Typology of Interactional Patterns Between Youth and Their Stepfathers: Associations with Family Relationship Quality and Youth Well‐Being

Jensen

2018

Family Process

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Stepfamilies are an increasingly common family form, many of which are headed by a resident mother and stepfather. Stepfather-child relationships exert notable influence on stepfamily stability and individual well-being. Although various stepfather roles have been observed, more research is warranted by which stepfather-child interactions are explored holistically and across a variety of life domains (e.g., recreational, personal, academic, and disciplinary). Thus, the primary purpose of the current study is to explore varying interactional patterns between youth and their stepfathers. A latent class analysis is conducted using a representative sample of 1,183 youth (53% female; mean age = 15.64 years, SD = 1.70 years; 62% non-Hispanic White) residing in mother-stepfather families from Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Latent-class enumeration processes support a four-class solution, with latent classes representing inactive, academically oriented, casually connected, and versatile and involved patterns of youth-stepparent interaction. Notable differences and similarities are evident across patterns with respect to family relationship quality, youth well-being, and socio-demographic characteristics. Differences are most stark between the inactive and versatile and involved patterns. Ultimately, the results showcase notable variation in youth-stepparent interactional patterns, and one size does not necessarily fit all stepfamilies. Family practitioners should be mindful of variation in youth-stepparent interactional patterns and assist stepfamilies in seeking out stepparent-child dynamics that are most compatible with the needs and dynamics of the larger family system.

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Section: Interactional Patterns and Stepparent Roles In Stepfamiliesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Family and Individual Correlates Of Youth-stepparent Interacmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Typology of Interactional Patterns Between Youth and Their Stepfathers: Associations with Family Relationship Quality and Youth Well‐Being

Jensen

2018

Family Process

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“…When stepfamily members share common goals (e.g., forging a cohesive family unit) and demonstrate a sufficient and unified use of family resources, equilibrium can resemble a constellation of universally high-quality dyadic relationships (although other states of equilibrium are certainly possible). Importantly, stepfamilies can restrict family boundaries to include primarily those who reside in the household, or expand boundaries to include nonresident biological parents and other nonresident kin (Ganong & Coleman, 2017). Thus, stepfamily equilibria marked by high-quality dyadic relationships could pertain only to residential relationships or to all dyadic relationships of which children and parents are a part, regardless of the number and location of households involved.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stepfamilies form when one or both partners in a new committed relationship bring a child or children from a previous relationship (Ganong & Coleman, 2017). Stepfamily scholars favor this inclusive definition of stepfamilies, which encompasses both married and cohabiting partnerships.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Constellations of dyadic relationship quality in stepfamilies: A factor mixture model.

Jensen

2017

Journal of Family Psychology

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Stepfamilies are an increasingly common family form, marked by distinct challenges, opportunities, and complex networks of dyadic relationships that can transcend single households. There exists a dearth of typological analyses by which constellations of dyadic processes in stepfamilies are analyzed holistically. Factor mixture modeling, a form of latent variable mixture modeling, is employed to identify population heterogeneity with respect to features of mother-child, stepfather-child, nonresident father-child, and stepcouple relationships using a representative sample of 1,182 adolescents in mother-stepfather families with living nonresident fathers from Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Results favor a four-class factor-mixture solution with class-specific factor covariance matrices. Class 1 (n = 302, 25.5%), the residence-centered pattern, was marked by high-quality residential relationships. Class 2 (n = 307, 26%), the inclusive pattern, was marked by high-quality relationships across all four dyads, with an especially involved nonresident father-child relationship. Class 3 (n = 350, 29.6%), the unhappy couple pattern, was marked by very low stepcouple relationship quality. Class 4 (n = 223, 18.9%), the parent-child disconnection pattern, was marked by distant relationships between youth and all three parental figures. The residence-centered and inclusive patterns encompassed some positive correlations between dyadic relationships, whereas the unhappy couple and parent-child disconnection patterns encompassed some negative correlations between dyadic relationships. The patterns present with differences across socio-demographic and substantive covariates, and highlight important opportunities for the development of new and innovative interventions, particularly to meet the needs of stepfamilies that reflect the parent-child disconnection pattern.

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Prevention and Treatment of Problems with Sibling Relationships

Wojciak¹,

Gamboni²

2020

The Handbook of Systemic Family Therapy

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Stepfamily Relationships

Cited by 170 publications

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A Typology of Interactional Patterns Between Youth and Their Stepfathers: Associations with Family Relationship Quality and Youth Well‐Being

A Typology of Interactional Patterns Between Youth and Their Stepfathers: Associations with Family Relationship Quality and Youth Well‐Being

Constellations of dyadic relationship quality in stepfamilies: A factor mixture model.

Prevention and Treatment of Problems with Sibling Relationships

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