Emotional and Relational Consequences of Coping in Stepfamilies

SUMMARY One hundred and fifty-four remarried couples were interviewed at two time-points 20 months apart and provided ratings of closeness and tension in their relationships with both their own children and their stepchildren. The difference in emotional relationship quality for stepchildren and own children was described as the “stepgap.” Eighty-one of these couples also completed structured diaries daily for 1 week reporting on daily family stressors and ways of coping. Compromise, confrontation, and interpersonal withdrawal were examined as ways of coping with interpersonal stress. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze family data. Results suggest that in stepfamilies where wives use confrontation to cope with family stressors, husbands withdraw emotionally from stepchildren. When husbands withdraw consistently, emotional closeness between wives and stepchildren deteriorates, and tension between wives and their own children increases