Continuity and Change in Stepfather–Stepchild Closeness Between Adolescence and Early Adulthood

• Published date: 01 June 2016
• Author: Rachel Lindstrom,Valarie King
• Date: 01 June 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12281

V K  R L Pennsylvania State University

Continuity and Change in Stepfather–Stepchild

Closeness Between Adolescence and Early

Adulthood

This study draws on nationally representative

data from Waves I and III of the National Longi-

tudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add

Health) to prospectively examine the factors

associated with different patterns of closeness

between stepchildren and their stepfathers over

the transition to adulthood in stably married

stepfamilies (N=881). Results indicate much

variability in how these relationships unfold

over time, although a sizable minority of youth

remained close to their stepfathers. Consistent

with family systems theory, the quality of other

family relationships is particularly important

to understanding children’s relationships with

stepfathers as they develop over time.

The rise in divorce during the 1960s and 1970s

in the United States led to a corresponding

increase in remarriage and stepfamily forma-

tion. Although the divorce rate declined during

the 1980s, the percentage of children born

to never-married mothers has continued to

increase, and many of these mothers and their

children eventually form stepfamilies. Although

it is difcult to obtain precise counts of their

prevalence (Pryor, 2014), estimates suggest

Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University,

211 Oswald Tower,University Park, PA 16802

(vking@psu.edu).

Key Words: parent–adolescent relations, remarriage,

stepchild, stepfamilies, stepfather.

that more than 10% of all two-parent families

in the United States are married or cohabiting

stepfamilies (Kreider & Ellis, 2011) and that

approximately 30% of all U.S. children will

spend some time in a stepfamily (Bumpass,

Raley, & Sweet, 1995). Given that children

usually live primarily with their mothers when

biological parents separate, most stepfami-

lies involve residential stepfathers (Stewart,

2007)—the focus of the current study.

Earlier research has raised concerns about

the implications of stepfamily formation for

children’s well-being, indicating that children

in stepfamilies generally have lower well-being

than children in households with two biological

parents and tend to show little or no advan-

tage over children in single-parent households

(Amato, 2010; Sweeney, 2010). More recent

studies, however, have indicated great variabil-

ity in stepfamily functioning and the quality of

parent–child relationships (Ganong, Coleman,

& Jamison, 2011; King, Thorsen, & Amato,

2014), with positive stepfamily functioning

and parent–child relationships associated with

greater child well-being (King, 2006).

Although recent research has elucidated

factors associated with positive relationships

between stepfathers and stepchildren (e.g.,

Ganong et al., 2011; Jensen & Shafer, 2013;

King et al., 2014), we still know little about how

these relationships unfold over time, especially

as stepchildren enter young adulthood. Most

research on stepfamilies has focused on minor

children who are still living at home, and the few

730 Journal of Marriage and Family 78 (June 2016): 730–743

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12281