IMPACT OF STEPPARENT–CHILD RELATIONSHIP QUALITY ON ADULT’S PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL OUTCOMES

Abstract

This study focused at how adults who grew up in blended families behaved psychologically and behaviorally in relation to the quality of their relationships with their stepparents. The present study highlighted on how the quality of the step-parent-child bond leads to long-term well-being and adjustment, given the fact that previous research has often highlighted the difficulties related to stepfamily dynamics. The study consisted of 100 individuals (N = 100) who were raised by a stepparent. To evaluate the influence of the step-parent-child relationship quality on psychological and behavioral outcomes, data were analyzed through simple linear regression. Gender disparities were further examined using independent samples t-tests. It is also observed that the quality of the parent-stepchild relationship has predicted psychological well-being significantly (p<.001), accounting for about 17% variance. But the quality of the relationship did not have any impact on the behaviors of children (p=.49). Moreover, the sex of the stepparents was observed to affect the quality of the relationship between stepparent and child (p=.03). It is also observed that stepdaughter’s and stepson’s psychological well-being does not have much variation (p=.324). These findings emphasize that a good emotional tie between stepparent and stepchild can make future psychological well-being better. The findings are very useful in family therapy practices.