Attitudes Toward Stepfamily Relationships and Biological Relatedness: The Role of Family Experiences in Youth

Abstract

Objective This research describes the attitudes that people have toward biological and nonbiological parenting and examines how living arrangements during youth affect people's attitudes as adults. Background It is generally believed that people have negative beliefs about nonbiological (i.e., step) family relationships, but there is little systematic research on such attitudes, and even less is known about how these come about. This topic is important given the long‐term increase in the number of stepfamilies, a trend that raises concerns as to whether attitudes toward stepfamilies can become more positive over time. Method We used Dutch survey data from 5,949 respondents aged 25 to 45 years with an oversample of people who grew up with a stepparent. The respondents' parents also were interviewed. Attitudes were measured in the same way for the two generations, and elaborate retrospective questions were asked about respondents' living arrangements in youth. Results People who grew up in a stepfamily had more positive attitudes about stepfamily relationships and more negative views on the relevance of biological relatedness. This effect was only present for stepfather and not for stepmother families. Part of this effect was due to parental attitudes, but even after these were taken into account, the effect of living arrangements in youth remained. Conclusion The general public is divided about the relevance of biology for family relationships. Value socialization and observational learning in youth are both important for understanding people's attitudes toward stepfamily relationships. Implications As the number of stepfamilies keeps growing, normative support for stepparents may increase.

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