“My Favorite One Is the One Who Is There Right Now”: Socioeconomic Differences in Support Exchanges within Stepfamilies

Abstract

Family scholars have raised concerns that the reshaping of American families over the last decades might have changed kin support networks and resource sharing within families. Much of this concern stems from documented socioeconomic inequalities in exposure to divorce and separation, formation of new marital or cohabiting unions, and multiple-partner fertility. There is a dearth of research, however, on whether and how the experience of different family structures is shaped by socioeconomic status. This study draws on in-depth interviews with 47 older stepparents in order to investigate exchanges of support with biological and stepchildren in different socioeconomic contexts. Results suggest that scarcity of resources among socioeconomically disadvantaged stepparents and the instability of their (and their children’s) social and economic environments promote a specific type of supportive tie—contingent ties. This study shows that ambiguity and contingency in the establishment of supportive relationships with children may represent an adaptive, healthy, and reasonable strategy among older stepparents with scarce resources.

Race and ethnic differences in step‐ versus biological parent support to adult children

“…Previous research documents the numerous advantages of biological families compared to stepfamilies, including recent work that examines more frequent levels of intergenerational support in biological families compared to stepfamilies (Amorim, 2021; Cooney, 2021; Kalmijn, 2013; Seltzer, 2019; Wiemers et al, 2019). Yet recently, scholars have called into question the uniform effect of different family structures across racial/ethnic groups.…”

“…These patterns shift the landscape of family relationships, especially as the share of step‐ and quasi‐stepfamilies (formed through cohabitation) has increased. The growing number of stepfamilies raises questions about family support, with prior work broadly finding that stepfamily ties are weaker than biological ties (Amorim, 2021; Cherlin & Seltzer, 2014; Kalmijn, 2013; Seltzer et al, 2013; Wiemers et al, 2019). Despite this, less attention has been paid to racial/ethnic variation in the “step‐biological” support gap.…”