Relation between marital quality and (step)parent-child relationship quality for parents and stepparents in stepfamilies.

Abstract

This study examined the relation between perceived marital quality and the perceived quality of the (step)parent–child relationship in 2 independent samples of couples living in stepfamilies. In Sample 1, participants were both spouses in 111 stepmother families and 92 stepfather families recruited from the Stepfamily Association of America. In Sample 2, participants were both spouses in 442 stepfather families and 75 stepmother families who participated in the National Survey of Families and Households. Within families, for both samples, the relation between perceived marital quality and the perceived quality of the stepparent–stepchild relationship was stronger than that between perceived marital quality and the perceived quality of the biological parent–child relationship.