Advice for New Stepparents from the Perspective of Stepchildren Who Experienced Stepfamily Formation During Adolescence.

Abstract

Stepfamilies are an increasingly common family structure and have drawn the attention of researchers and practitioners for decades; however, advancing research and intervention development focused on the relational and interactional dynamics between stepparents and adolescents, particularly from the perspective of stepchildren, remains urgent. The current study employed qualitative methods to seek an answer to the following research question: What specific advice for new stepparents do stepchildren have who experienced stepfamily formation during adolescence? Maximum variation sampling was used to recruit a socio-demographically diverse sample of 18 emerging adults (average age: 20.3 years) who experienced stepfamily formation during adolescence. Reflexive thematic analysis yielded the following six themes (some with several subthemes), reflecting detailed advice for new stepparents who will engage with adolescent stepchildren: (a) prepare for the role, (b) be real, (c) be patient, (d) don't force it, (e) carefully integrate (with six corresponding subthemes), and (f) prioritize the adolescent (with three corresponding subthemes). Taken together, the participants' insights largely cohere with and significantly augment extant literature, showcasing a relatively holistic and comprehensive view of common stepfamily issues and potential strategies to prevent or mitigate them. Practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.