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Stepfamilies

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

  • 53 Accesses

Synonyms

Amalgamated families; Blended family; Bonus family

Definition

Stepfamily is defined as “a unit that is created when two adults form a household in which one or both brings a child from a previous relationship” (DiVerniero 2011, p. 3).

Introduction

There are many different types of stepfamilies. According to Papernow (2018), “Stepfamilies come in many forms. Stepcouples may be married, or unmarried” (p. 3). For example, a family that is shaped by two individuals and only one of them has children is called a “simple” stepfamily. A different type of stepfamily includes an adult who is either married to or cohabitating with another adult, and both adults have children; these are called “complex” families. A stepfamily is created once a parent takes a new partner, by living together, or due to divorce. Previous paternal relationships may have ended in divorce, death, or breakup in the case of unmarried couples. The divorce average has fallen in the United States, with the...

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References

  • AACAP. (2015). Stepfamily Problems, www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Stepfamily-Problems-027.aspx

  • Adler-Baeder, F., Russell, C., Lucier-Greer, M., Bradford, A., Kerpelman, J., Pittman, J., et al. (2010). Thriving in stepfamilies: Exploring competence and well-being among African American youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46, 396–398.

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  • Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1983). Sex, evolution, and behavior (2nd ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth. ISBN 0-87150-767-6.

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  • DiVerniero, R. A. (2011). Stepchildren’s communication to manage uncertainty in stepfamilies. Texas Speech Communication Journal, 36(1), 24–42.

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  • Papernow, P. L. (2013). Surviving and thriving in stepfamily relationships: What works and what doesn’t. New York: Routledge.

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  • Papernow, P. L. (2015). Becoming a stepfamily: Patterns of development in remarried families. CRC Press.

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  • 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.

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  • Wilson, L. (2014). A history of stepfamilies in early America. Chapel Hill: UNC Press Books.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

    Mona Alenezi

Authors
  1. Mona Alenezi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mona Alenezi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Oklamoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

    Jaimie Arona Krems

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Alenezi, M. (2020). Stepfamilies. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1157-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1157-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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