Reinvestigating Remarriage: Another Decade of Progress

TLDR

Stepfamily research in the past decade has produced more work than the previous 90 years, with improved samples, methods, longitudinal designs, and overall methodological gains, yet many unknowns about remarriages and stepfamilies remain. The study reviews trends in topics, methods, and theories, critiques unproductive methods, and identifies scholarly advances. The authors analyze research methods and theories to assess progress in stepfamily studies. The authors propose new conceptual, methodological, and theoretical directions for future scholarship on remarriages and stepfamilies.

Abstract

The body of stepfamily research published this decade exceeded the entire output of the previous 90 years of the century. The complexity and quality of the scholarly work in this decade improved as well—better samples were obtained, methods were more sensitive to stepfamily complexity, longitudinal designs were more frequently employed, and other important methodological gains were made. Unfortunately, many unknowns regarding remarriages and stepfamilies remain. We present an overview of trends regarding topics, research methods, and theories; we critique research methods that have not been productive; and we identify scholarly advances. Finally, new conceptual, methodological, and theoretical directions for future scholarship on remarriages and stepfamilies are proposed.