Family Compositions and Marital Conflicts in Cross-border Remarriages in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article examines the sources of marital conflicts in cross-border remarriages in Hong Kong among Mainland Chinese women who migrated with their children from previous unions and those who did not. Drawing on in-depth interviews with remarried Mainland mothers, the study compares the ways in which different family compositions, that is, the presence or absence of non-shared and common children, may shape marital conflicts and affect remarital relations in cross-border stepfamilies. Results indicate that although cross-border remarriages with different family compositions may share certain sources of conflicts, each specific type of remarriage is prone to particular sources of conflicts. This study also demonstrates how the migration of Mainland children can greatly change remarital dynamics and stepparent–stepchild conflicts often entangled with disputes over other issues. The research fills a major gap in the literature on stepfamilies and marriage migration that pays little attention to the post-migration marital dynamics of international remarriages.