The Perceptions Held by Stepfamily Members on Their Adjustment to Stepfamily Living - Essay Example

PART I Introduction Stepfamilies are becoming an increasingly more common type of family in almost all countries, especially in the U K and US. Increasing parental separation over past decades means that many children under 18 years of age will experience the divorce of their parents. At this juncture, the present study will examine the perceptions held by stepfamily members on their adjustment to stepfamily living. The study will focus on individual characteristics in adjustment, and therefore take into consideration the often overlooked perspective of the child, as well as the perspective of the biological parent within the step-relationship, and the stepparent. Literature Review 'Stability and change in the experiences of parents, stepparents and adolescents in step families'- (Wilkes, C., & Fromme, D. K . (2002)). Wilkes and Fromme (2002) investigated the stability over time of themes in the experiences of biological parents, stepparents, and adolescents in stepfamilies. Twelve adolescents, ten stepparents, and nine biological parents from ten stepfamilies that participated, completed follow-up questionnaires that sought to determine if the themes found in the earlier study were still present in their stepfamilies four years later. The results indicated areas that remained stable over time and areas of positive change and adjustment. The results also suggested the need for further research about the specific factors that shape adjustment to stepfamilies. The initial study consisted of 37 participants from 12 families. Of those 37 participants involved in the initial study, 31 completed follow-up questionnaires. Of the 12 families involved in the follow-up study, the adolescents consisted of six females and six males. All of the adolescents were Caucasian. The average age was 16.6 years. All of the children were the biological child of one of the parents living in the home. Four were from stepfather families, two were from stepmother families and six were from blended families. Of the stepparents involved in the present study, there was one Hispanic stepfather and the rest were Caucasian, three of the stepparents had never been married before, and six of the stepparents were male and four were female, with an average age of 41.2 years. Among the biological parents, four were female and five were male. All of the biological parents were Caucasian, with an average age of 43.6 years. Prior to the current marriages, eight of the biological parents had been married in the past. Assessment procedures included three questionnaires: one for the adolescents, one for the stepparents, and one for the biological parents, plus second versions with modifications made to render the wording appropriate for members of the stepfamilies that had been separated. The statements related to the core themes identified in the initial study. The questionnaires in Wilkes and Fromme's (2002) follow-up study asked each participant to rate their level of agreement with 32 to 34 statements on a five-point Likert scale. Based on the ratings participants gave to statements, averages were calculated to determine the level of agreement or disagreement with each statement. One of the major overarching themes found in the initial and follow-up studies was that adolescents were continuing to find ways to cope with the losses in the stepfamily formation process. These losses included undergoing changes in relationships, adapting to different family traditions, experiencing less power in the stepfamily, and having a sense that their family had changed very quickly. 'Therapists' perceptions of bioparent-child relationships in stepfamilies: What hurts What helps'- Cartwright, C. (2003). Stepfamily relationship research has focused on step relationships with particular emphasis on stepparent-stepchild relationships, despite increasing evidence that residential bioparent-child relationships can be negatively impacted through remarriage and stepfamily living. In a project by Cartwright (2003), nine stepfamily therapists were interviewed about their experiences of the bioparent-child dyad in stepfamilies. A number of themes emerged from the data relating to the difficulties that arise in parent-child relationships within stepfamily contexts and characteristic of stepfamily processes. Among the themes, the therapists talked about children's need for the special relationship with bioparents and the difficulty children experience in sharing parents with new partners. They observed that children often experience a loss of attention or time associated with the parent's repartnering and can feel displaced by the new relationship. Another theme identified by the therapists was that of concerns with the essential differences in meaning that remarriage has for parents and children, and the different expectations they often have of the new household that has formed. For parents, the transitions of divorce and remarriage can be associated with positive changes in their lives, whereas for children the transitions may seem like one long process of disruption over which they have little control. This qualitative research project by Cartwright (2003) privileged the bioparent-child relationship in order to focus stepfamily therapists' attention on stepfamily processes and parenting responses that are helpful or hurtful to relationships with children. The bioparent-child relationship is of central importance to the wellbeing of children, and to satisfaction in parenting, but has been neglected in the field of stepfamily studies, according to Cartwright (2003). 'The effects of perceived closeness to custodial parents, stepparents and nonresident parents on adolescent self-esteem'- Berg, E.C. (2003) There have been additional contributions to the literature on stepfamilies and remarriage, with particular emphasis being placed on underlying theories. Using family systems theory as a framework, the primary research question Berg (2003) addressed was whether the relative influence of each parent on adolescents' self-esteem and adjustment depended primarily on their status as custodial, step-, or nonresident parents, and whether these influences differed for adolescents with stepmothers, compared to those with stepfathers. The unit of analysis in this study was the adolescent, which consisted of interviews with both the adolescent and one of their parents. The sample was representative of students in grades 7-12, with 930 participants from mother-father stepfamilies, and 301 adolescents in custodial father-stepmother families. This research suggests that the importance of perceived closeness for adolescents may operate differently in affecting self-esteem within stepmother and stepfather families. The analysis revealed that, for adolescents in custodial mother-stepfather families, perceived closeness to custodial mother accounted for 39.1% of the total variance, compared to the 15.2% explained by closeness to stepfathers. On the other hand, for adolescents in custodial father-stepmother families, perceived closeness to their stepmothers explained the greatest percentage of the variance, 29.7%, slightly higher than the percentage explained by closeness to the custodial father, 25.0%. 'Short-term marital adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability and their validity'- Downs (2003) Family Commitment is a promising multidimensional phenomenon to consider in the study of family relationships, yet may be difficult for remarried families to achieve due to high levels of uncertainty that are inherent in remarried family life. According to Downs (2003), the main premise of "uncertainty reduction theory" is that individuals seek to reduce uncertainty that they experience in interacting with others (Berger & Calabrese, 1975). Individuals are motivated to reduce uncertainty in order to explain past behavior, as well as to predict future behavior, as well as to predict future behavior in social interactions (Berger & Calabrese, 1975). The emphasis on explanation and prediction of behavior in "uncertainty reduction theory" shares an important link with the concept of future orientation in the marital commitment literature. One's uncertainty is reduced when family commitment is high, and the family relationships are expected to endure into the future. An individual who is highly committed to his or her family does not predict that family members will behave in a manner that would jeopardize family relationships. Similarly, the ability to explain and predict family members' behaviors may enhance an individual's family commitment. In sum, Downs' (2003) study examined several issues which had not been fully addressed in previous work. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between family commitment and uncertainty in a sample of 54 remarried individuals. Downs (2003) examined concepts of family commitment, role certainty, role clarity, and family supportiveness. Family commitment was examined in participants who were highly committed to their families, perceived moderately high levels of support for their current relationship from family members, and had a high degree of role certainty and role clarity. Support, particularly from the current relationship, was significantly related to both family commitment and to role clarity. Significant differences were also found in family commitment and the amount of perceived support, based on whether a mutual child was born in the remarriage. Overall, Downs' (2003) study extends previous research in a number of important ways. First, this purview of commitment went beyond the marital dyad to include the overall family unit, as defined by study participants. Given the trend toward increasingly complicated family structures, such as those found in remarried families, this conceptual extension is an important step toward refining theoretical and empirical strategies for research on family commitment. In addition, this study tied the concept of family commitment in remarried families to the phenomenon of uncertainty reduction, which appears to play a crucial role in family identity formation. Literature searches have yielded no other theoretical or empirical efforts examining whether family commitment is related to role uncertainty, role clarity, and family support. The results of this study confirmed the importance of these variables, and support the need for further exploration of how uncertainty and types of family commitment play out in a variety of family configurations. References Ahrons, C. R 1994, The good divorce: Keeping your family together when your marriage comes apart, New York, HarperCollins. Albrecht, S. L., Bahr, H. M., & Goodman, K. L 1983, Divorce and remarriage: problems, adaptations, and adjustments, Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press. Aquilino, W. S 2005, 'Impact of family structure on parental attitudes toward the economic support of adult stepchildren over the transition to adulthood', Journal of Family Issues, 26(2), 143-167 Beaudry, M., Boisvert, J., Simard, M., Parent, C., & Blais, M 2004, 'Communication: A key component to meeting the challenges of stepfamilies', Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 42(1/2), 85-104. Berg, E.C 2003, 'The effects of perceived closeness to custodial parents, stepparents and nonresident parents on adolescent self-esteem', Journal of Divorce and Remarriage Buunk, B. P. & Mutsaers, W 1999, 'The nature of the relationship between remarried individuals and former spouses and its impact on marital satisfaction', Journal of Family Psychology, 13(2), 165-174 Cartwright, C 2003 'Therapists' perceptions of bioparent-child relationships in stepfamilies: What hurts What helps', Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 38(3/4), 147-166. Down. 2003 'Short-term marital adjustment and prediction tests: Their reliability and their validity', Journal of Marriage and Family Living, 21, 251-255. Heatherington, E. M. & Kelly, J 2002, For better or for worse: Divorce reconsidered, New York, W.W. Norton & Company Marquardt, E 2005, Between two worlds: The inner lives of children of divorce. New York, Crown Publishers Wilkes, C., & Fromme, D. K, 2002, 'Stability and change in the experiences of parents, stepparents and adolescents in step families', Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 38, 109-124 PART II Research Proposal Introduction Stepfamilies are becoming an increasingly more common type of family in almost all countries, especially in the UK and USA. Increasing parental separation over past decades means that approximately one million children under 18 years of age will experience the divorce of their parents. A large population pool for remarriages and the formation of stepfamilies is created by high divorce rates. Estimates project that 50-60 percent of couples in first marriages will separate (Degarmo & Forgatch, 2002; Jones, 2003; Waite & Gallagher, 2000). Research indicates that women (mothers) ordinarily re-partner within 3-5 years post-separation and men (fathers) typically re-partner within 1-2 years of separation (Hughes, 2000), most of these include children from a prior marriage, and thus, stepfamilies are formed. While educational, social, and economic factors present unique barriers to stepfamilies, societal stereotyping is another major challenge that stepfamilies encounter (Aronson, 1992). The negative stereotyping of stepfamilies may lead new members of stepfamilies to expect negative outcomes which can then increase the chance of family disharmony. The stereotypes and cultural values may be associated with increased difficulties for stepfamilies in adjusting to a larger social system that sees them in a potentially negative manner. Statement of the Problem Notwithstanding the statistics on remarriage dissolution, the growing prevalence of stepfamilies, and clinical observation, relatively little empirical information is available to account for why remarriages are likely to end in divorce. From the literature on first marriages there is research evidence to suggest that cognitions, such as expectations, beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes, could account for a portion of the explanation. Findings from various studies have indicated that one's expectations about how relationships function and perceptions about why they should function in a particular way influence one's behavior in a relationship (Higgins, Strauman, & Klein, 1986). Entering into a stepfamily presents a new experience, with new perceptions, beliefs, expectations and family schemas. Just as instruments that identify general dysfunctional beliefs/expectations in first marriages have been invaluable to researchers who study relationships, and therapists who work with couples, a reliable and valid instrument that empirically assesses perceptions of dysfunctional and functional remarriage or stepfamily living would be of great value toward development of more informed interventions. Yet, despite the increasing number of individuals entering remarriages and/or stepfamilies (Bramlett & Mosher, 2002) and the existence of unique remarriage beliefs (Ganong & Coleman, 2004) and stepfamily perceptions, there are limited validated instruments of stepfamily living to guide empirical research on the effects of remarriage and stepfamily perceptions on remarriage quality. Purpose of the Study In light of this gap in our knowledge, there are two purposes to this study. The first is to examine the perceptions held by stepfamily members to determine the extent to which these perceptions affect the adjustment to remarriage and stepfamily living. The study will focus on individual characteristics of perception, and therefore take into consideration the often overlooked perspective of the child, as well as the perspective of the biological parent who remarried, and the stepparent. The second goal is to examine the possible connections between these individual characteristics of perception, from the child, the biological parent who remarried, and the stepparent, and the relationship with past and present utilization of therapeutic processes. This study will help stepfamilies themselves, by allowing them to gain a better understanding of their unique family situation and what differences in perception may contribute to adjustment outcomes. In addition, such information would be particularly valuable to professionals in the field who can draw on the findings to assist them as they work with stepfamilies in their daily practice, as they create treatment plans that are designed to meet the needs of this ever-increasing population, to begin to generate new models of stepfamily dynamics, and to ultimately determine to what extent the therapeutic process effects adjustment to stepfamily living. Research Design This project will utilize descriptive research methodology to explore perceptions of adjustment to stepfamily living, as reported by biological parent, stepparent and the often overlooked perspective of the child. Participants The participants in this study will be stepfamilies, in which biological parents with physical and legal custody of their children have entered into a new relationship with a spouse, defined as a stepfamily. Utilizing Moser and Kalton's (1972) formula to calculate the size of the sample needed, with an acceptable error of two percent and an estimate of the proportion of the population that has the particular criteria described, it will be necessary to acquire a conservative sample of 30 participants from each category (adolescent, biological parent, stepparent). Recruitment of participants will occur through advertisement/flyer (Appendix A) at the Camden County Partnership for Children (CCPFC), a behavioral and mental health agency located within Camden County, New Jersey. Therefore, the participants will be from a clinical sample, with participants either currently or previously in therapy. The families will be classified for demographic purposes in that the child is the father's/mother's biological child with a step-mother/-father present. Unlike much of the past research when only parents reported on adjustment factors, a child will also participate in completion of inventories in this research study. Participants will consist of stepmothers and biological fathers, stepfathers and biological mothers, and the oldest child of the biological parent living within the home. The criterion being a stepfather or stepmother family, as opposed to families in which both spouses brought children into the remarriage. The selection criteria for stepfamilies will stipulate that the duration of the stepfamily relationship be at least six months and that at least one biological child reside in the household at least six months. This duration of stepfamily living has been chosen so as to prevent limiting the sample too aggressively, and whereby family perception and adjustment can be best addressed, assessed, and understood. The age of the child to be included will be limited from age thirteen to eighteen, since the research instruments chosen for this study are valid for use with this age range. Measures While self-report inventories are sometimes considered unreliable, due to social desirability factors, it also has been noted that self-report scores from well-constructed instruments are sometimes more useful and more accurate than clinical interviews or even behavioral observations (Ganong & Coleman, 1986). This current project will make use of a number of self-report inventories to assess various aspects of stepfamily life. Biological parents, stepparents, and children will respond to items about 1) demographic data, and 2) stepfamily adjustment. A detailed description of the measures to be utilized follows. Demographic Data Demographic Inventory (DI) The Demographic Inventory (DI) has been adapted from the larger scale inventory developed by Crosbie-Burnett (1984). The DI is a self-report instrument developed for the purpose of assessing predictor variables, such as demographic data associated within remarried families. The DI contains questions about characteristics of the participants, such as socioeconomic data, educational background, employment information, religious preference, and marital history. The questions are grouped pertaining to family, couple, and youth. As the inventory has been devised for use by parent, stepparent, and youth, it will be completed by each participant during this research study. A copy of the DI can be located in Appendix B. Relevant items of stepfamilies were compiled, combined, and organized into three content areas (general background demographic information; couple adjustment; and family adjustment). Education, income, religious preference, and racial group information is also of importance, since it will further describe the participants of interest. In addition, to address the couple's adjustment, particular questions focused on both ex-spouse and current spouse information. Finally, stepfamily demographics were summed up with current living arrangement and determining if the couple or family has taken part in therapy. This final question is relevant in determining if the possibility of having taken part in therapy is predictive of stepfamily/remarriage adjustment in some fashion. Stepfamily Adjustment Stepfamily Adjustment Scale (SAS) The Stepfamily Adjustment Scale (SAS) (Crosbie-Burnett, 1984, 2003) is a self-report instrument developed for the purpose of assessing the criterion variable of stepfamily adjustment. There are three forms of the instrument: biological parent, stepparent, and adolescent (13-22 years). The SAS is designed in a Likert-format so as to be readily interpreted by researchers and clinicians. The biological parent, stepparent, and adolescent forms of the present generation of the SAS consist respectively of 76, 73, and 72 psychologically oriented questions, generated to operationalize 10 constructs that relate to stepfamily adjustment. Each form has identical or analogous items, making composite scores between dyads, triads, or members of the entire family possible. The questions are grouped conceptually and each group of questions is designed to be a subscale measuring one construct. The biological parent and stepparent questionnaire consist of questions pertaining to "my family" and "my child/my stepchild". Additionally, there are general family questions for spouses and partners that target family, parenting and marital satisfaction concerns, as well as encompassing stepfamily satisfaction. Likewise, the adolescent form also contains questions about general family functioning. For a copy of each form of this inventory [Biological Mother's Questionnaire, Biological Father's Questionnaire, Stepmother's Questionnaire, Stepfather's Questionnaire, Adolescent's Questionnaire (Adolescent of Biological Mother), and Adolescent's Questionnaire (Adolescent of Biological Father)], refer to Appendices C-H; refer to Appendix I for reliability measures. The factors within the SAS include the following: Biological Parent: Factor #1 - Psychological exclusion of the stepparent and presence of triangulation; problematic boundaries, roles, and relationships, including ex-spouse (marital problems); Factor #2 - Lack of support of, and dissatisfaction with, stepparent's role performance as a parental figure (role problems); Factor #3 - Problems in stepparent and stepchild relationship (stepparent/child problems). Stepparent: Factor #1 - Problems in the stepparent and stepchild relationship (stepparent/child problems); Factor #2 - Dissatisfaction with roles of family members (role problems); Factor #3 - Lack of support from biological parent; feeling disempowered (marital problems). Adolescent: Factor #1 - Psychological exclusion of the stepparent and problems in the stepparent and stepchild relationship (stepparent/child problems); Factor #2 - Problematic boundaries and relationships (role problems); Factor #3 - Problems in the biological parent and child relationship (parent/child problems); Factor #4 - Presence of child in executive or leadership subsystem (role problems). The SAS factors will measure the dependent variables identified within this study. Therefore, the dependant variable of stepfamily adjustment will be measured through utilization of the entire SAS instrument, recognizing that it will invalidate the psychometric overview of the whole measure if not utilized in its entirety. With few exceptions, the response options are on a four-point Likert scale. The mean of the items in each subscale form the individual family member's score for that subscale. The present items include questions pertaining to: (1) unresolved emotions from the prior marriage and family, (2) issues related to the children's movement between two households (visitation), (3) divided loyalties, (4) psychological inclusion of the stepparent into the family, (5) biological parent's alliance with children, (6) the children inhibiting the stepparent from exercising leadership in the family, (7) the quality of the step relationship, (8) nurturance in the step relationship, (9) discipline by the stepparent, (10) biological parent's support of the stepparent, (11) issues related to money, (12) decision-making power in the marriage, (13) marital happiness, (14) family cohesion, (15) happiness with the family, (16) ambiguity of the stepparent role (a dyadic and family level subscale), (17) the mutual suitability of the step relationship (a dyadic and family level subscale), (18) the quality of the relationship with the non-residential biological parent, (19) the quality of the child-biological parent relationship, (20) the effect of the remarriage on the child-biological parent relationship, (21) self-efficacy with respect to the attainment of family-related needs, and (22) social support. Proposed Data Analyses All questionnaire data will be analyzed and tabulated for both positive and negative adjustment, the frequency of responses will be calculated and descriptive statistics will be reported as means + SD. Statistically, a measure of correlation analysis will be employed to evaluate the degree of relationship (correlation) between the scores in the distributions from the biological parent, stepparent, and the child. Since the SAS will be utilized with a population of test takers that differs from the population on which the test was standardized, validation studies will be necessary. Finally, variables associated with either past or present utilization of therapy, will be analyzed to further determine if these categorical variables have an influence on the outcome variable of adjustment to stepfamily living, for each of the stepfamily members, the biological parent, the stepparent, and the child. Since the mathematical procedures used in factor analysis are very complex, this researcher will utilize the SPSS statistical software package for all data analysis. Read More