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This study examined the utility of an intergroup-relations perspective in studying stepfamily harmony. University students who identified themselves as stepfamily members completed a survey revealing that the relationship between favorable intergroup contact conditions (e.g., cooperation, equal status) and stepfamily harmony was mediated by the perception of the stepfamily as 1 group rather than 2. Additionally, a 1-group representation of the stepfamily partially mediated the relation between a positive stepparent-stepchild relationship and increased harmony. The more the stepfamily was perceived as 1 group, the greater was the stepfamily harmony. These results offer an explanatory model of stepfamily harmony, involving members' perception of social categorization within the stepfamily unit.
Banker et al. (Tue,) studied this question.