ABSTRACT
It has been estimated that 35% of all children born in the United States in the early 1980s will spend part of their childhood living in a stepfamily (Glick, 1984). Despite this statistic, few empirical studies have examined the interdependencies of multiple dyadic relationships within stepfamilies and the extent to which qualitative dimensions of these relationships mediate children's psychological adjustment. Yet, the quality of husband—wife, stepparent-stepchild, and nonresidential parent-child relationships may be critical to stepfamily functioning and positive child outcomes.
