Remarriage

Stepfamilies

Where did the term stepfamily begin? It originated in England, and its history is informative about the current meaning. The prefix step is from the Anglo-Saxon word steop, meaning to bereave or to make orphan. This name was applied to children whose parents had died. Prior to the divorce revolution, steprelations were primarily established because of loss through death. Today, a stepfamily is usually created after divorce.

The most common type of stepfamily is the divorce-engendered stepfather family. The man, who may or may not have been previously married, marries a woman who has children from a previous marriage or relationship. Other types of stepfamilies include stepmother and blended families. Blended families have both parents who have custody of children from a previous marriage. Most stepfamilies are created after a remarriage, but with the increase in cohabitation, many repart-nered families are formed without the legal sanction of matrimony. This entry uses the term remarried family, which encompasses families that have custody of the children and those that do not, married and unmarried couples, opposite-gender and same-gender couples, families with one or two biological parents, and divorced, widowed, and previously unmarried families.

Remarriages

Although the divorce rate is high, it appears that Americans are in love with the institution of marriage, but with a series of partners. The divorce rate for second and subsequent marriages is higher than for first marriages. Remarried people are also likely to divorce and remarry for a third time; thus, a common pattern for many adults is serial monogamy. It is estimated that between 70 and 75 percent of women and 80 and 85 percent of men previously married will eventually remarry. The percentages vary because younger adults are more likely to remarry, whereas older adults are less likely to remarry. Most adults remarry quickly, within 5 years of their divorce. White and Hispanic adults are more likely to remarry than Black adults.

Most research and clinical writings are based on remarried couples involving White, middle-class individuals. Further research is needed to examine ethnic and economic diversity in response to marital and nonmarital transitions because of the different patterns of marriage, divorce, and remarriage rates among ethnic groups. For example, for many low-income African-American families, children are more likely to come from nonmarital unions, and the role of the nonresidential parent and his family may vary in relationship quality and access. In these families, grandparents and nonbiological kin (often called Aunties) play an important role in childrearing. It is unclear how these multigenerational and nonkin relationships affect remarried couples and what role they play in successful couple relationships. Given the increasing diversity of the population, these potential differences warrant further exploration as well as the development of cultural specific marital interventions.

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