The Stepfamily: An Adolescent Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate what adolescents believe to be the stressful and non-stressful aspects of stepfamily living. One hundred three adolescents between the ages 12 and 18 who were living in stepfamilies comprised the sample under investigation. Issues pertaining to divided loyalties and discipline were perceived to be stressful by the greatest number of adolescents; and issues pertaining to social attitudes and being a member of two households were perceived to be stressful by the least number of adolescents. Significant relationships were found between the subjects'perceived level of stress and various demographic data.