Cl. Pruett et al., SOCIAL SUPPORT RECEIVED BY CHILDREN IN STEPMOTHER, STEPFATHER, AND INTACT FAMILIES, Journal of divorce & remarriage, 19(3-4), 1993, pp. 165-179
This study compared the (step)mother-(step)child relationship among co
llege students using social support concepts in three family types: st
epmother, stepfather, and intact. As predicted, when compared to the r
elationship between children and their biological mothers in other fam
ily types, children in stepmother families perceived less relationship
quality, less support and more conflict with their stepmother. Howeve
r, children in stepmother families did not perceive more overall famil
y conflict or less family cohesion than children in the other family t
ypes. Similarly, children in the stepmother families were no less sati
sfied with the overall social support they received from their entire
social network than children in the other family types.