Citation

Saint-Jacques MC, Lépine R. Can. J. Behav. Sci. 2009; 41(1): 22-30.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Canadian Psychological Association, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1037/a0013566

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Several studies have shown the importance of the stepfather-stepchild relationship in the successful adaptation of young people to stepfamilies. Indeed, when there is a good affective relationship between a stepfather and stepchild, there is a lower risk of the stepchild having problems. Though it is known that the quality of this relationship has an impact, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the best way for stepfathers to fulfill their role. This article examines how the stepfather's parenting style influences the externalised and internalised behaviour problems of young people in stepfamilies. The data were obtained from interviews with 104 adolescents (63.5 % girls; 36.5 % boys) who answered the Youth Self-Report (Achenbach, 1991), the Parental Authority Questionnaire (Buri, 1991), and the Child Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (Rohner, 1984). The results show that the majority of young people saw their stepfather as being involved in their upbringing. More than a third of the sample considered that their stepfather was authoritarian, and another third saw him as authoritative. The young people's level of adaptation was associated with the stepfather's parenting style. Young people who saw their stepfather as being authoritative or warm particularly benefited from the relationship.