Chapter 16, Remarriage and Stepfamilies

Remarriage: Some Basic Facts Choosing Partners the Next Time: Variations

on a Theme Spouse’s Happiness/satisfaction and Stability

in Remarriage

Chapter 16, Remarriage and Stepfamilies

Remarried Families: A Normless Norm Children’s Well-being in Stepfamilies Step Parenting: A Challenge in Remarriage Creating Supportive Stepfamilies

Remarriage: Some Basic Facts

75% of divorced women remarry within ten years.

83% of divorced women remarry after 15 years.

1/5 of all marriages are between two formerly divorced people.

20% more likely to end in divorce.

The Traditional Exchange in Remarriage

Ex-wives are likely to gain financially by being remarried.

Men’s remarriage rates are higher than women’s particularly after age 30.

Children lower the likelihood of remarriage for both men and women.

Homogamy in Remarriage

Remarriages are less homogamous than first marriages.

Partners vary in age, educational background and religious background.

Stability in Remarriage

People who divorce:– From lower middle and lower-class groups

with higher divorce rates.– Are already more accepting of divorce.– Receive less support from families and are

less integrated with parents and in-laws.

Why Step Parenting Is Difficult

1. Financial strains - husbands feel caught between demands of former and present family.

2. Role ambiguity - roles of stepchild and stepparent are not understood by stepfamily members.

3. Stepchildren’s hostility -some don’t want the new marriage to work out.

Stepfamily Development: 7 Stage Model

1. Fantasy - adults expect a quick adjustment while children expect stepparent to disappear so their parents can reunite.

2. Immersion - conflict emerges between the stepfamily's two biological subunits.

Stepfamily Development: 7 Stage Model

3. Awareness - family members realize their early fantasies are not becoming reality.

4. Mobilization - family members initiate efforts toward change.

Stepfamily Development: 7 Stage Model

5. Action - remarried adults form a solid alliance.

6. Contact - stepparent becomes a significant adult family figure.

7. Resolution - stepfamily achieves integration and appreciates it’s unique identity as a stepfamily.