Layout 1

Divorce and Remarriage

parents bring a
child from a
previous,never-
married
relationship into
the new
marriage.Many
cohabiting
couples,who go
on to marry,have
a child or
children from
previous
relationships.In
2001,25% of
children lived in single-parent families; 15%
lived in stepfamilies; 3% lived with two
cohabiting parents; and nearly 2% lived with
at least one adoptive parent.Figure 13.3
graphically illustrates these percentages
(Kreider and Fields,2005).

Types of Stepfamilies

Bray (1999) categorizes stepfamilies
according to their adaptive styles for
parenting, managing change, separating
the first from the second marriage, and
nonresidential parent(s). He identifies the
first type of family as theneotraditional
stepfamily. This family type ends up
looking much like a nuclear family and
has the best success for surviving the trials
and disappointments of stepfamily life.
Neotraditional families are close, loving

families with compatible values. They

score high on marital satisfaction and

conflict resolution. Children in this type

of family have a lower incidence of

behavioral problems.

The second stepfamily type Bray

describes is theromantic stepfamily. The

romantic stepfamily strives for the same

goals as neotraditional families—except

they want to achieve everything

immediately. They expect love, harmony,

and closeness to happen almost

instantaneously after the stepfamily is

formed. In the critical first 2 years,

romantic stepfamilies exhibit the highest

degree of conflict and result in the highest

failure rate. These families tend to either

dissolve or develop into another type of

family.

Bray’s third stepfamily type is the

matriarchal stepfamily. In this family form,

Figure 13.3

Family Composition in 2001

25

15

3

2

Single-Parent Family

Blended Family

Cohabiting-Parent Family

At Least 1 Adoptive Parent

2 Biological Parents

65

Source:Kreider and Fields 2005.