Citation

Coleman M, Fine MA, Ganong LH, Downs KJM, Pauk N. Pers. Relatsh. 2001; 8(1): 55-73.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1475-6811.2001.tb00028.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study was a qualitative analysis of interviews from 58 members of 17 stepfamilies regarding the sources of conflict and conflict resolution strategies. The majority of conflicts resulted from negotiation of family boundaries and were manifested in the following ways: (a) disagreements over resources; (b) loyalty conflicts; (c) individuals holding a “guard and protect” ideology; and (d) conflict with extended family members Wide arrays of resolution strategies were used, and some, but not all, resulted in positive outcomes.