Childless stepmothers: Communicating with other stepmothers about spouses and stepchildren

Elizabeth A. Craig, Jacquelyn A. Harvey-Knowles, Amy Janan Johnson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

With little known about the stepmother/father household, recent efforts have been made to explore the role of the childless stepmother within the stepfamily. The purpose of the project was to examine what childless stepmothers were discussing regarding their stepfamilies. An inductive approach was utilized for 35 discussion board postings in an online support group for childless stepmothers. Findings suggest that childless stepmothers discuss issues related to their relationship with the significant other. Additionally, stepmothers stress the importance of relationships with other stepmothers in coping with their role as stepmother. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)71-79
Number of pages9
JournalQualitative Research Reports in Communication
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012

Keywords

  • Family systems
  • Stepfamily
  • Stepmother

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