Article2005

“You're My Parent but You're Not”: Dialectical Tensions in Stepchildren's Perceptions About Communicating with the Nonresidential Parent An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at the annual meeting of the Western States Communication Association, Long Beach, CA, in February 2002.

85 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Applied Communication Research

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Family Dynamics and Relationships Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Communication Studies and Media

Abstract

The nonresidential parent plays a role in the lives of stepchildren and in stepfamily households. The focus of the present study was on the interaction between the nonresidential parent and his/her child who resides as part of a stepfamily household. Grounded in relational dialectics theory, the researchers performed an interpretive analysis of 50 transcribed interviews with college-aged stepchildren. Stepchildren's perceptions of communication with the nonresidential parent were animated by two contradictions: parenting/nonparenting and openness/closedness. These two contradictions form a totality, interwoven with one another. The parenting/nonparenting contradiction reflected stepchildren's ambivalence over parenting attempts of nonresidential parents. Stepchildren wanted nonresidential parent involvement and parenting, and at the same time they resisted it, often finding communication to be awkward and challenging. In addition, stepchildren wanted open and intimate communication with their nonresidential parents, yet they found openness to be problematic and managed these contradictory demands via segmentation. Implications of these findings are discussed, along with insights to guide professionals working with stepfamilies and adults co-parenting children to better understand and interact in ways that promote healthy stepfamilies.

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References

1985Naturalistic inquiry 1998Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five traditions.2008Qualitative Data Analysis 2017Ethnographic Interview 1996Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed)1994Qualitative Communication Research Methods 1988The Long Interview 1994Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods.

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