A study focusing on the relationships between older couples and their children revealed that those in stepfamilies generally reported less positive and more negative interactions with their children compared to couples in non-stepfamilies. In general, mothers reported more positive relationships than fathers. The paper was published in Journal of Marriage and Family.
Stepfamilies, also known as blended families, are formed when one or both partners in a relationship have children from previous relationships, and these children become part of the new family dynamic. This type of family structure emerges when parents remarry or form a new cohabiting relationship, bringing together children from their previous unions. Stepfamilies often face unique challenges, such as navigating relationships between step-siblings and step-parents, and establishing new family norms and boundaries.
The increasing rates of divorce and remarriage in the latter part of the 20th century, a trend continuing today, imply that middle-aged and older couples are now more likely to have children from previous relationships. In the United States, approximately 40% of older couples with children (where at least one partner is over 50 years of age) are part of stepfamilies.
In their new study, I-Fen Lin of Bowling Green State University and her colleagues sought to understand how the stepfamily structure might influence parent-child relationships. They were particularly interested in examining the association between stepfamily structure and the quality of relationships between older couples and their children, and how this varied for fathers and mothers.
They hypothesized that couples in stepfamilies would report less positive relationships with their children compared to those in non-stepfamilies. They also believed that having a joint child would enhance positive parent-child interactions in stepfamilies and that longer duration in stepfamilies would correlate with more positive relationships. Conversely, they expected more negative relationships in stepfamilies formed when children were older.
The data for this study were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study’s 2016 and 2018 data collections. This longitudinal study focuses on a large group of individuals aged 51 or older, along with their partners, in the United States. The study commenced in 1992 with individuals born between 1931 and 1941 and has conducted annual interviews since then. In later years, it expanded to include younger participants through “refresher samples.”
The information on parent-child relationships was collected using the Leave Behind questionnaire. Participants completed this questionnaire after completing the core interview of the Health and Retirement study. This questionnaire provided data on positive and negative parent-child relationships.
Positive relationships were defined by study participants’ perceptions of how much children in their family understand the way participants feel about things, how much they rely on their children if they have a serious problem, and how much they open up to children if they need to talk about their worries. Negative relationships reflected participants’ perceptions of how often children make too many demands on them, how much children criticize them, how much children let them down when participants are counting on them, and how much children get on their nerves.
The study analyzed responses from 2,150 married couples. The researchers considered various factors, such as whether couples in stepfamilies had a joint child, the age of the youngest or oldest stepchild when acquiring a stepparent, the cause of the previous union’s termination (divorce or widowhood), and the duration of the current marriage.
Results showed that fathers in stepfamilies reported lower levels of positive parent-child relationships compared to fathers in non-stepfamilies. However, there were no differences in negative father-child relationships. Mothers in stepfamilies also reported lower levels of positive parent-child relationships, but also higher levels of negative mother-child relationships.
Stepfamilies in this study were less likely to have a child living in their household (11% vs 18%) and less likely to have at least one spouse with a college degree or higher. They were more likely to have at least one spouse who is a minority. In more than 9 out of 10 cases, the previous union of the partners ended in divorce.
Overall, couples in stepfamilies tended to rate parent-child relationships as less positive and more negative compared to couples in non-stepfamilies. Couples in stepfamilies, but with joint children tended to rate parent-child relationships as better compared to couples in stepfamilies without joint children. Mothers evaluated parent-child relationships more positively than did fathers.
“We found that couples in stepfamilies perceived relationships with their children less positively than did couples in non-stepfamilies, in line with Hypothesis 1. Having a joint child was associated with more positive parent–child relationships in stepfamilies, supporting the concrete baby effect [a joint child cementing the bond between partners] specified in Hypothesis 2. Non-stepfamilies had more positive parent–child relationships than in all of the stepfamily configurations (except “hers and ours” families, families where the mother has children from previous relationships), but stepfamily types did not differ from one another,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on the links between family structure and parent-child relationships. However, it also has limitations that need to be taken into account. Notably, study authors report that stepfamilies in which both spouses have children tended to be underrepresented in the study. Additionally, conclusions were based on parents’ reports of the parent-child relationships. Results might not be the same if the study was based on children’s reports of these relationships.
The paper, “Stepfamily variation in parent–child relationship quality in later life”, was authored by I-Fen Lin, Judith A. Seltzer.