Research on stepfamilies strongly supports the importance of positive parent-child relationships on child outcomes. However, most of this research has focused on one or two of these relationships failing to acknowledge the interconnected impact of all three parental figures. To fill this gap, I used latent class analysis and identified six classes of parent-child relationship constellations. The national sample in this study (n=1,159) were all participants in The Stepfamily Experiences Project (STEP). Parent-child relationship quality indicators were based on participants' retrospective reports on the warmth/closeness, communication, and level of active parenting they experienced in their stepfamily household. After identifying classes I examined how class membership was affected by resident parent relationships status, EA sex, stepparent sex, years spent in a stepfamily, the age the EA entered the stepfamily and the time spent with the nonresident parent. Finally, I examined how class membership impacted depression, drug use, and hooking up. Ultimately, the analysis indicated that there is much complexity in the stepfamily experience and its potential influence on later life outcomes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-8452 |
| Date | 01 July 2018 |
| Creators | Egginton, Braquel Rachel |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
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