Constellations of Dyadic Relationship Quality in Stepfamilies and Youth Adjustment

Background and Purpose: Amid family structural transitions and stress, family processes are a proximal determinant of family resilience and well-being. Past research on stepfamily processes highlights the centrality of resident parent-child, stepparent-child, nonresident parent-child, and couple relationship quality; however, less is known about the ways in which relationship quality across these four dyads cluster together and interrelate to form distinct patterns of family processes. Using family systems theory and conflict theory as a frame, the aim of the current study was to identify the presence of distinct stepfamily-process patterns with respect to mother-child, stepfather-child, nonresident father-child, and couple relationship quality in a representative sample of youth.

Methods: The final analytical sample included 1,182 adolescents (mean age: 15.64 years, SD = 1.70; 53% female; 62% non-Hispanic White) from Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health who had primary residence in mother-stepfather families and living nonresident fathers. Key measures included youth reports of mother-child relationship quality (5 items), stepfather-child relationship quality (5 items), and nonresident father-child relationship quality (3 items). Mother reports of couple relationship quality were also used (2 items). Factor mixture modeling was employed to model latent factors for each relationship-quality construct, handle measurement error, and detect unobserved population heterogeneity with respect to factor means and factor covariances. Using the 3-step approach, latent-class differences were explored with respect to youth depression, delinquency, and self-esteem.

Results: The best-fitting model yielded a four-class solution. Class 1 (25.5%), the residence-centered pattern, was marked by high-quality residential relationships. Class 2 (26%), the inclusive pattern, was marked by high-quality relationship across all four dyads, with especially high-quality nonresident father-child relationships. Class 3 (29.6%), the conflictual couple pattern, was marked by very low couple relationship quality. Class 4 (18.9%), the disconnected pattern, was marked by low-quality relationships between youth and their mothers, stepfathers, and nonresident fathers. Youth embedded in the disconnected pattern reported the highest levels of depression (Z = .83) and lowest levels of self-esteem (Z = -.91), whereas youth in the conflictual couple pattern reported the highest level of delinquency (Z = .26).

Conclusions and Implications: Consistent with family systems theory, the residence-centered pattern reflects an integrated stepfamily system with boundaries set around the household residence. Similarly, the inclusive pattern reflects an integrated stepfamily system, but with boundaries expanded to effectively include the nonresident father in maintaining a close relationship with youth. More consistent with conflict theory, the conflictual couple pattern highlights the role and presence of conflict, particularly within the parental subsystem. The disconnected pattern uncovers additional forms of conflict, but specifically between youth and each of their parental figures. Intervention developers should be mindful of the needs of families that reflect the disconnected and conflictual couple patterns, as they appear linked to youth internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. Moreover, efforts to promote social justice and build a just and equitable society that works for all youth and families will be optimized with a focus on the increasingly prevalent family structures that deviate from the biological-nuclear model.