Abstract

This study explores the difficulties which arise in complex stepfamilies, where both partners have children from previous marriages. Problems of family integration which create discord among family members include boundary ambiguity, contact consistency and role confusion. Boundary ambiguity refers to the uncertainty surrounding family membership which develops because of the extended network of family members acquired in the previous marriage(s) and the present one. Contact consistency relates to the consistency/inconsistency of patterns of contact between stepfamily members and the non-residential children or stepchildren. Role confusion applies primarily to the lack of clarity in respect to the roles and responsibilities of stepparents vis-a-vis their stepchildren. The sample in this study consists of eight remarried/cohabiting couples, with children from previous marriages. The sixteen men and women participants were interviewed separately in their homes. Their perceptions were examined in an attempt to verify whether or not these issues are indeed part of the common and recurring problems they face as parents and stepparents. The findings indicate that the most serious and recurring problems for members of this sample involve their children and stepchildren. Out of the three concepts examined in this research, role confusion represents the most crucial and difficult one, followed by contact consistency, whereas boundary ambiguity seems to be the least problematic of the three