Supporting Postdivorce Stepfathering: Directions for Family Counselors

Abstract

With the growth in the numbers of stepfamilies, plus the scholarly and clinical attention paid to their sustainability and success, their dissolution rate still exceeds that of nuclear families. This process impacts all members of this family constellation. Over 85% of stepfamilies are created by the addition of a stepfather to an existing family unit of a biological mother and children, so stepfamily divorce separates the stepfather from his stepchildren. In those instances, counselors may need to assist stepfathers to maintain their ties of affection to their ex-stepchildren considering stepfathers’ absence of legal recourse ( n = 94).

Supporting Successful Stepfathering: An Integration of the Professional Literature and Online Stepfather Reflections

“…Attention to successful family functioning in the stepfamily constellation has emerged as a critical area of scholarly and clinical attention in the current professional literature (Blayert et al, 2016; Ganong et al, 2019; Gold, 2016a, 2016b, 2019a, 2019b; Jensen, 2018; Jensen & Pace, 2016). The increase in the numbers of stepfamilies, their higher dissolution rate than first-marrieds, and their unique dynamics prioritizing the stepparent–stepchild relationship over that of marital functioning (Ganong et al, 2019; Gold, 2016a, 2016b, 2019a) as a predictor of family sustainability present stepfamily members, and the mental health service providers that aspire to support these families, with the need for an understanding peculiar to the experiences of stepfathers in current stepfamily.…”