ABSTRACT
The social environment in which children develop in contemporary American society has changed dramatically during the last few decades. In particular, the living arrangements and parenting situations of children have been adapted to meet increases in the proportions of children who are born to unmarried mothers, who experience parental divorce, and who experience parental remarriage (Hernandez, 1988). Indeed, nearly half of all American children born during the late 1970s and 1980s will spend part of their lives in a single-parent household (Glick & Lin, 1986). Moreover, the majority of youngsters whose parents divorce will live in step-family homes (Furstenberg, 1990), and because 62% of all remarriages end in divorce, many of these children will experience multiple home environments (Sorrentino, 1990). During recent decades, researchers have recognized these alternative family environments and have examined their effects on child development and adjustment.
