Abstracts
Abstract
Professionals working in family services often come into contact with stepfamilies. Issues that often need professional support and stepfamily intervention include divorce, custody disputes, children’s stress and adjustment problems, and challenges new stepfamilies encounter. The aim of this cross-sectional descriptive study was to explore the challenges of stepfamilies as perceived by the families themselves and by the professionals working in services for children, adolescents, and families. Data were collected in the spring of 2018 using semi-structured questionnaires among social and health care professionals and stepfamilies. The data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The challenges reported related mainly to the complexities of managing a stepfamily, including parenting, role conflicts, issues arising from the former life, children’s adaptation difficulties, and stepcouple relationships. Five themes were identified from the responses of professionals and parents in stepfamilies: many overlapping stories, children living amid changes, parenting under cross-pressure, love relationship is hard to maintain, and rocky road to a balanced family. These results provide perspectives from a wide range of stakeholders regarding the challenges stepfamilies face. Our study may offer valuable information for professionals working with stepfamilies and for researchers and decision-makers planning interventions for stepfamilies.
Keywords:
- stepfamily,
- stepcouple,
- children,
- adolescents,
- family relations
Appendices
Bibliography
- Adler-Baeder, F., & Higginbotham, B. (2020). Efforts to design, implement, and evaluate community-based education for stepfamilies: Current knowledge and future directions. Family Relations, 69(3), 559–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12427
- Aula, M. K., Juurikkala, V., Kalmari, H., Kaukonen, P., Lavikainen, M., & Pelkonen, M. (2016). Lapsi-ja perhepalveluiden muutosohjelma (LAPE) [Child and family services change program (LAPE)]. THL: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.
- Bahn, G. H., & Hong, M. (2019). Shift from wicked stepmother to stepmother in Eastern and Western fairy tales. Psychiatry Investigation, 16(11), 836. https://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2019.0132
- Baltar, F., & Brunet, I. (2012). Social research 2.0: Virtual snowball sampling method using Facebook. Internet Research, 22(1), 57–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/10662241211199960
- Braun, V., Clarke, V., Hayfield, N., & Terry, G. (2019). Thematic analysis. In P. Liamputtong (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in health social sciences (pp. 843–860). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_103
- Broberg, M. (2012). Young children’s well-being in Finnish stepfamilies. Early Child Development and Care, 182(3-4), 401–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2011.646717
- DeLongis, A., & Zwicker, A. (2017). Marital satisfaction and divorce in couples in stepfamilies. Current Opinion in Psychology, 13, 158–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.11.003
- Diverse Families. (2014). Kysely: Ammattilaiset kaipaisivat lisää tietoa perheiden monimuotoisuudesta [Raportti; Professionals would like more information about family diversity]. https://www.monimuotoisetperheet.fi/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/KPS_selvitys_ammattilaiset_ja_opiskelijat_nettiin_final.pdf
- Farrell, A. (2005). Ethical research with children (pp. 1-14). Open University Press.
- Favez, N., Widmer, E. D., Doan, M.-T., & Tissot, H. (2015). Coparenting in stepfamilies: Maternal promotion of family cohesiveness with partner and with father. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(11), 3268–3278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0130-x
- Fellmann, I. E., Galán, M. J. C., & Lloreda, M. J. H. (2008). Stepparent role strain and psychological distress. Psicothema, 20(4), 732–738.
- Finnish Government. (2019). Government action plan: Inclusive and competent Finland — a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable society. Programme of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government 10 December 2019. https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/161845
- Ganong, L., & Coleman, M. (2017). Stepfamily relationships: Development, dynamics, and interventions (2nd ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7702-1
- Ganong, L., & Coleman M. (2018). Studying stepfamilies: Four eras of family scholarship. Family Process, 57(1), 7–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12307
- Gates, A. L. (2019). Stepmothers’ coparenting experience with the mother in joint custody stepfamilies. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 60(4), 253–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2018.1488124
- General Assembly of the World Medical Association. (2014). World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. The Journal of the American College of Dentists, 81(3), 14–18. https://www.acd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/jacd-81-1-2014-3.pdf
- Havermans, N., Vanassche, S., & Matthijs, K. (2017). Children’s post-divorce living arrangements and school engagement: Financial resources, parent–child relationship, selectivity and stress. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(12), 3425–3438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0843-0
- Holloway, I., & Galvin, K. (2016). Qualitative research in nursing and healthcare. John Wiley & Sons.
- Ihinger-Tailman, M., & Pasley. B. K. (1987). Remarriage. Sage.
- Jalovaara, M., & Andersson, G. (2018). Disparities in children’s family experiences by mother’s socioeconomic status: The case of Finland. Population Research and Policy Review, 37, 751–768. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-018-9485-1
- Jensen, T. M. (2017). Constellations of dyadic relationship quality in stepfamilies: A factor mixture model. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(8), 1051–1062. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000355
- Jensen, T. M. (2021). Theorizing ambiguous gain: Opportunities for family scholarship. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 13(1), 100–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12401
- Jensen, T. M. (2022). Stepparent–child relationships and child outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Family Nursing, 28(4), 321–340. https://doi.org/10.1177/10748407221097460
- Jensen, T. M., & Ganong, L. H. (2020). Stepparent–child relationship quality and couple relationship quality: Stepfamily household type as a moderating influence. Journal of Family Issues, 41(5), 589–610. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X19881669
- Jensen, T. M., & Howard, M. O. (2015). Perceived stepparent–child relationship quality: A systematic review of stepchildren’s perspectives. Marriage & Family Review, 51(2), 99–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2015.1006717
- Jensen, T. M., & Pace, G. T. (2016). Stepfather involvement and stepfather–child relationship quality: Race and parental marital status as moderators. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 42(4), 659-672. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12165
- Jensen, T. M., Shafer, K., Guo, S., & Larson, J. H. (2017). Differences in relationship stability between individuals in first and second marriages: A propensity score analysis. Journal of Family Issues, 38(3), 406–432. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X15604344
- Kreyenfeld, M., & Heintz-Martin, V. (2011). Economic conditions of stepfamilies from a cross-national perspective. Journal of Family Research, 23(2), 128–153. https://doi.org/10.20377/jfr-204
- Miller, A., Cartwright, C., & Gibson, K. (2018). Stepmothers’ perceptions and experiences of the wicked stepmother stereotype. Journal of Family Issues, 39(7), 1984–2006. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X17739049
- Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2012). Changing identities: Finnish divorcees’ perceptions of a new marriage. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 53(7), 515–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2012.682906
- Official Statistics of Finland (OSF). (2019). Families 2019. https://stat.fi/til/perh/2019/perh_2019_2020-05-22_en.pdf
- Official Statistics of Finland (OSF). (2021). Concepts and definitions. https://stat.fi/til/perh/kas_en.html
- Pace, G. T., Shafer, K., Jensen, T. M., & Larson, J. H. (2015). Stepparenting issues and relationship quality: The role of clear communication. Journal of Social Work, 15(1), 24–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017313504508
- Papernow, P. L. (2013). Surviving and thriving in stepfamily relationships: What works and what doesn’t. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203813645
- Papernow, P. L. (2018). Clinical guidelines for working with stepfamilies: What family, couple, individual, and child therapists need to know. Family Process, 57(1), 25–51. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12321
- Perales, F., Johnson, S. E., Baxter, J., Lawrence, D., & Zubrick, S. R. (2017). Family structure and childhood mental disorders: New findings from Australia. Social psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 52(4), 423–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-016-1328-y
- Phillips, T. M. (2012). The influence of family structure vs. family climate on adolescent well-being. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 29(2), 103–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-012-0254-4
- Pryor, J. (Ed.). (2008). The international handbook of stepfamilies: Policy and practice in legal, research, and clinical environments. John Wiley & Sons.
- Pylyser, C., Buysse, A., & Loeys, T. (2018). Stepfamilies doing family: A meta‐ethnography. Family Process, 57(2), 496–509. https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12293
- Queirós, A., Faria, D., & Almeida, F. (2017). Strengths and limitations of qualitative and quantitative research methods. European Journal of Education Studies, 3(9), 369–387. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.887089
- Raijas, A. (2011). Money management in blended and nuclear families. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32(4), 556–563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.02.006
- Russell, L. T., Ganong, L., & Beckmeyer, J. J. (2022). Understanding and serving all families: Introduction to the special issue on supporting structurally diverse families. Journal of Family Nursing, 28(4), 299–307. https://doi.org/10.1177/10748407221131118
- Saint-Jacques, M.-C., Godbout, É., Drapeau, S., Kourgiantakis, T., & Parent, C. (2018). Researching children’s adjustment in stepfamilies: How is it studied? What do we learn?. Child Indicators Research, 11(6), 1831–1865. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-017-9510-7
- Salo, S. (2011). Parisuhdeongelmat ja lasten psyykkinen hyvinvointi: Kaksi tutkimusnäkökulmaa [Relationship problems and children's psychological well-being: Two research perspectives; Doctoral thesis]. Jyväskylä studies in education, psychology and social research, 419. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-4447-6
- Samm, A., Tooding, L.-M., Sisask, M., Kõlves, K., Aasvee, K., & Värnik, A. (2010). Suicidal thoughts and depressive feelings amongst Estonian schoolchildren: Effect of family relationship and family structure. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(5), 457–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-009-0079-7
- Santesteban-Echarri, O., Eisenberg, R. E., Bird, H. R., Canino, G. J., & Duarte, C. S. (2016). Family structure, transitions and psychiatric disorders among Puerto Rican children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(11), 3417–3429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0498-2
- Shafer, K., Jensen, T. M., & Holmes, E. K. (2017). Divorce stress, stepfamily stress, and depression among emerging adult stepchildren. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(3), 851–862. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-016-0617-0
- Shamoo, A. E., & Resnik, D. B. (2009). Responsible conduct of research. Oxford University Press.
- Shapiro, D. N., & Stewart, A. J. (2011). Parenting stress, perceived child regard, and depressive symptoms among stepmothers and biological mothers. Family Relations, 60(5), 533–544. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00665.x
- Speer, R. B., Giles, H., & Denes, A. (2013). Investigating stepparent–stepchild interactions: The role of communication accommodation. Journal of Family Communication, 13(3), 218–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2013.768248
- Statistics Canada. (2016). Census of population (Catalogue no. 98-400-X2016024).
- Stephenson, E., & DeLongis, A. (2019). A 20-year prospective study of marital separation and divorce in stepfamilies: Appraisals of family stress as predictors. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36(6), 1600–1618. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407518768445
- Taylor, A. C., Robila, M., & Fisackerly, B. (2013). Theory use in stepfamily research. In M. A. Fine & F. D. Fincham (Eds.), Handbook of family theories: A content-based approach (pp. 280–297). Routledge.
- Turner, H. A., Finkelhor, D., Hamby, S. L., & Shattuck, A. (2013). Family structure, victimization, and child mental health in a nationally representative sample. Social Science & Medicine, 87, 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.02.034
- Väänänen, R. (2013). Perheen rakenteen, dynamiikan ja arvojen merkitys lapsen psyykkiselle hyvinvoinnille [The importance of family structure, dynamics and values for a child's psychological well-being; Doctoral dissertation, Itä-Suomen yliopisto]. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-61-1271-8