THE IMPORTANCE OF MOTHER-CHILD RELATIONS IN STUDYING STEPFAMILIES

Increasing numbers of children are living in stepfamilies. The majorit y of such children are living with their biological mothers and a step father. When compared to children from nondivorced families they are o verrepresented amongst the numbers of children manifesting social, emo tional and behavior problems. Many of the children report themselves t o feel less affection and warmth for their mothers than do children fr om nondivorced families. The author briefly summarizes the major findi ngs concerning mother-child relations in stepfather families. She conc ludes that although logic would dictate that a solid positive relation ship between mother and child might buffer the child against the possi ble negative effects of a series of important changes in the child's l ife, this essential factor has rarely been addressed. She argues for t he need to conduct more research on mother-child relations and interac tions in order to integrate the findings with other data concerning st epfamilies. This would lead to a better understanding of stepfamily fu nctioning and its relation to positive and negative outcomes for child ren in remarried families.