“Stop going in my room”: A grounded theory study of conflict among stepsiblings

Abstract

Objective: This research explores how, and under what conditions, stepsiblings engage in, manage, and resolve conflict. Background: Interpersonal conflict is widely recognized as a meaningful and consequential relational dynamic. Although stepfamily conflict has been studied in a variety of family contexts (e.g., spousal, parent-child, stepparentstepchild), conflict among stepsiblings has received scant attention. The growing prevalence of stepsiblings, coupled with the role of conflict in shaping family dynamics, warrants greater attention be paid to stepsibling conflict. Method: Twenty-five adults were interviewed about their relationships with 71 stepsiblings. Grounded theory procedures were used. Results: For conflict between stepsiblings to occur, three conditions had to be in place: (a) opportunity (i.e., shared time, shared space), (b) intimacy (i.e., perceived closeness between stepsiblings or familiarity), and (c) similarity (i.e., age, gender, or role). Sources of conflict included (a) stepsibling behaviors, (b) territory violations (e.g., bedrooms), and (c) differential treatment by stepparents/parents. Conflict management included both intrapersonal and interpersonal strategies. Conclusion:Stepsibling conflict should be normalized as an indication of relational closeness, trust, and security. Implications: Stepsibling conflicts may help them develop closer bonds. Parents should make space for children, maintain bonds with children, promote stepsibling ties, monitor stepsibling conflicts, and consider children's perspectives.

Adolescents' experiences with ambiguity in postdivorce stepfamilies

“…Consistent with qualitative investigations about how individuals manage stepfamily relationships (Ganong et al, 2011; Ganong et al, 2019; Landon et al, 2022), we found that adolescents developed three distinct strategies to deal with ambiguous family relationships: improving relationships, accepting ambiguity, and creating distance. This heterogeneity in how the participants tried to handle ambiguity highlights that individuals have agency in dealing with ambiguity, even though it is emotionally difficult to handle it.…”

“…Ambiguity in relations with other step‐relatives might be the result of similar mechanisms. For example, stepsiblings may be distant if they dislike each other from the start (Ganong, Sanner, et al, 2022), thus fail to establish a meaningful connection (Landon et al, 2022), or perceive differential treatment by their (step)parents (Noller, 2005). Therefore, children might find it difficult to clarify unknowns about them.…”

Effective parenting in stepfamilies: Empirical evidence of what works

“…Youth perceptions of parent–child ties indicate less closeness, warmth, and parental involvement after remarriage (Day & Acock, 2004; McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994). Many stepchildren worry about and are sensitive to perceived changes in their relationships with parents when parents repartner, describing fear, jealousy, and sadness over perceptions that parent–child relationships have taken a back seat to their parents' efforts to nurture bonds with new partners and their partners' children (Cartwright, 2005; Landon et al, 2022). Although parents may feel that they are successfully sharing their time between children, new partners, and new stepchildren, children may have very different perceptions of the changing nature of parent–child bonds.…”

Studying stepfamilies, surfacing secrets: A reflection on the private motivations behind efforts to humanize family complexity

“…We explored how stepparents develop close relationships with stepchildren, identifying factors that facilitate stepparents' efforts to bond with stepchildren and finding that close stepparent‐stepchild relationships promote marital quality and stepfamily cohesion (Ganong, Jensen, Sanner, Russell, & Coleman, 2019; Ganong, Jensen, Sanner, Russell, Chapman, & Coleman, 2019; Ganong et al, 2020). We explored relationship development among half‐ and stepsiblings, illuminating the perspectives of younger half‐siblings and exploring how stepsiblings manage conflict and develop close ties (Ganong, Landon, et al, 2022; Landon et al, 2022; Sanner, Russell, et al, 2018). In a series of projects, we conducted systematic reviews of the literature about what works in stepfamilies, distilling research evidence about actions employed by parents and stepparents that are linked to children's positive outcomes (Ganong et al, 2022a, 2022b, 2022c, 2022d; Sanner et al, 2022).…”