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Social & Demographic Trends
A Portrait of Stepfamilies
Today, more than four-in-ten American adults have at least one step relative in their family -- either a stepparent, a step or half sibling or a stepchild, according to a nationwide Pew Research Center survey.
People with step relatives are just as likely as others to say that family is the most important element of their life. However, they typically feel a stronger sense of obligation to their biological family members (be it a parent, a child or a sibling) than to their step relatives, the survey finds.
Several sweeping changes in the demography of American family life in the past half century -- including increases in divorce and in the share of babies born out of wedlock -- have contributed to the prevalence of step relatives.
Among the 2,691 adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center from Oct. 1-21, 2010, 42% say they have at least one step relative. Three-in-ten have a step or half sibling, 18% have a living stepparent, and 13% have at least one stepchild.1
Having a stepfamily is not something most people anticipate or plan for, and that is reflected in the survey findings. When asked whether their family life has turned out about as they expected or if it is different than they expected, a 54%-majority of those who have at least one step relative say things have turned out differently than they expected. This compares with only 41% of those who have no step relatives.
However, different doesn't necessarily mean worse. Seven-in-ten adults who have at least one step relative say they are very satisfied with their family life. Those who don't have any step relatives register slightly higher levels of family satisfaction (78% very satisfied).
In the Pew Research survey, all married adults were asked to compare the closeness of their own marriage with that of their parents' marriage when they were growing up. Among married adults with no step relatives, 45% say their marriage is closer than their parents' marriage was, while 50% say their marriage is about the same as their parents'. By contrast, among married adults who have step siblings or stepparents -- many of whom presumably had divorced parents -- more than six-in-ten say their marriage is closer than their parents' marriage was, while roughly 30% say it's about the same.
Continue reading the full report at pewsocialtrends.org.
1.Government statistics on stepfamilies are limited. For instance, estimates of the number of step families from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey are based upon information about the householder’s co-residing step relatives only. Cases where a household member other than the householder has a step-relative, and cases where step relatives are living in a separate household, are excluded from the count. Estimates based on the Pew Research survey may differ from Census and other data sources, as some respondents may include people they are connected to through a cohabiting partner, while the Census definition is limited to relationships connected through marriage.