ABSTRACT
Men in stepfamily situations tend to have different expectations placed on them than have women. The wife feels that it is safer to be angry with the stepchildren so her anger is directed towards the children. The usual pattern is for the husband’s children to visit rather than live with their natural father, while the stepchildren live in his household. This father/stepfather has more familiarity with children than the man, who has had no children, but frequently the stepchildren may be very different in age or a different sex from his natural children and he feels baffled by their behavior. A stepfather who has had no children of his own appears to have an easier time because of minimal guilt about his relationships and no feelings that he has abandoned his children. The major stress under the contract arrangement comes in stepfamilies in which both the wife’s children and the husband’s children live under one roof.
