ABSTRACT
The common tendency for stepfamilies to be viewed as comparable to intact or nuclear families leads to many difficulties, including strong feelings of isolation and alienation on the part of stepfamilies. There is confusion as to the characteristics of stepfamilies, adoptive families, and foster families. In stepfamilies and single-parent families, and occasionally in foster families, the fact that the children are members of two households may cause considerable strain for both the children and the adults. Stepfamilies are often considered to be similar to nuclear families. There are important similarities between stepfamilies and single-parent families: the need to deal with separation and loss, a biological parent elsewhere, and children who may be members of two separate households. Thus stepfamilies share certain structural elements with other family types, but appear to be structurally the most complex of all the families. In stepfamilies there are many variations in custody arrangements, in visiting arrangements, and in financial arrangements.
