A generation ago, research on stepfamilies painted a not-so-favorable portrait of stepfathers: Children living with stepfathers by marriage—who already experienced poorer developmental outcomes than children living with married biological parents—fared no better emotionally, behaviorally, or academically than children raised by single mothers, despite stepfathers’ material contributions to family resources.

Today the way stepfathers picture their roles, and the importance of those roles to mothers when choosing a new partner, may be changing, with positive consequences for adolescent well-being—this according to new findings by Sarah (Gold) Pachman and Kathryn Edin of Princeton University.¹

Stepfathers’ Active Involvement and Closeness Drive Positive Outcomes; Marriage Does Not

Pachman and Edin analyzed data from two waves of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal survey of children born between 1998 and 2000 in large U.S. cities. Examining both married and unmarried stepfamilies, they looked at associations between stepfather-stepchild relationship quality and three indicators of children’s socio-emotional well-being at ages 9 and 15:

• School connectedness—how often the child feels like a part of their school and feels happy, safe, and close to people at school, as reported by the child.
• Internalizing behaviors—whether the child is unhappy, sad, depressed, fearful/anxious, or cries frequently, as reported by the child’s caregiver.
• Externalizing behaviors—whether the child talks too much, is disobedient at school, lies/cheats, threatens people, vandalizes, or sets fires, as reported by the child’s caregiver.

The researchers measured relationship quality using children’s reported participation in activities with their stepfather in the previous month and feelings of closeness to their stepfather. Overall, nearly 75% of children reported feeling quite close or extremely close to their stepfather at age 9, and nearly 60% felt this way at age 15.

Shared activities with stepfathers were linked to higher school connectedness at both ages and to reduced internalizing behaviors at age 15. Youth who felt close to their stepfather also reported higher school connectedness at age 15. The researchers found no significant differences in these associations for stepfathers who were married to the child’s mother and those who were not, contrary to previous research.

The researchers found no link between a child’s relationship with their stepfather and externalizing behaviors.

Stepfamilies Are Adapting to Evolving Family Norms

Living with a stepfather, especially a cohabitating stepfather, is a more common family arrangement for American children today than in previous generations. Pachman and Edin’s findings suggest that family roles also are changing, with more stepfathers embracing the “New Father” movement—a cultural shift “that has led men to draw a strong sense of meaning and identity from their parental roles.”

“As family life is shifting away from the biological two-parent form, stepfathers’ roles may be evolving in ways that are more beneficial to their adolescent stepchildren,” the researchers write.

This article was produced under a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).