Overview
The Supporting Healthy Marriage in Step-Families project looked at the strengths and difficulties associated with step-families in order to better design healthy marriage education programs applicable for this family type. About half of all marriages are remarriages. Step-families are more likely to be economically disadvantaged as compared to first married families. In addition, the presence of former partners, additional parents and half- and step-siblings make for more complex relationship dynamics. Stepfamilies also have higher dissolution rates than first marriages.
This project was threefold: (1) to summarize and synthesize the existing literature concerning the situations of stepfamilies, (2) to catalogue and document various marriage support and education programs that focus on step-blended families, and (3) to develop a conceptual framework that can help guide future programmatic and research agendas aimed at stabilizing and supporting step-families, with a specific focus on lower income households.
The project period was from 9/30/05-9/30/06.