Turning points in the development of blended families

A modified retrospective interview technique (RIT) was employed with member s of 53 blended families to determine the types of turning points they repo rted experiencing and the developmental trajectories of their respective bl ended family's first 4 years. Findings revealed 15 primary types of turning points, of which 'Changes in Household Configuration', 'Conflict', 'Holida ys/Special Events', 'Quality Time' and 'Family Crisis' were the most freque nt. A cluster analysis revealed five basic trajectories of development for the first 48 months of family development: Accelerated, Prolonged, Stagnati ng, Declining and High-amplitude Turbulent. The trajectories differed in th e overall positive-to-negative valence ratio, the frequency of conflict rel ated events, the average amplitude of change in feeling like a family, and the current reported level of feeling like a family.