ABSTRACT
When many people think of “family” they imagine two people getting married, having children, and growing old together. This image of the American family is perhaps more stereotypical than it is typical. Because of divorce and widowhood many people will get married more than once in their lifetime. When people with children remarry they create a stepfamily. However, not all stepfamilies are formed after divorce or widowhood. More people are having children outside marriage and if these people eventually marry a different partner, their fi rst marriage will generate a stepfamily. Remarriages and stepfamilies face all of the same challenges as fi rst marriages and their associated families. However, remarriages and stepfamilies appear to have their own unique qualities and burdens that distinguish them from fi rst marriage families. Communication and relationship development issues in stepfamilies have a different character than what might be observed in fi rst marriage families. Even though there has been a lot of attention to the negative aspects of remarriage and stepfamilies, there is reason to believe that they enjoy many of the benefi ts of fi rst marriage families, and that their relationships are not necessarily more troubled.
