Stepparent Family Membership Status

In this study, 143 participants experiencing a parental divorce completed surveys regarding their relationship with a stepparent. Using semantic-differential items, participants were asked to indicate how much they trusted their stepmother, stepfather, or both. Participants were then asked to indicate why (and if) they considered the stepparent to be family. Most participants considered their stepparent to be part of their family, and were able to articulate reasons or events that caused them to see the stepparent as a family member. These reasons were coded and compared to trust scores. Results indicate that participants reporting positive, positive-neutral, neutral, negative-neutral, and negative responses about their stepparent were significantly different on trust scores. Analyses also reveal that stepfather trust scores were significantly related to the participant residing with the stepfather, but this was not the case for stepmothers.