5
(Smith, Zick, and Duncan 1991). Today’s stepfamilies are often formed through a
variety of complex pathways, which include divorce, remarriage, cohabitation, and
nonmarital childbearing. It is because of these diverse pathways that the profile of
American stepfamily has changed so dramatically during the 20
th
Century.
These demographic changes have also complicated the definition of
stepparenthood. At one time marriage was a defining feature of step-families. But with
the rise in nonmarital births and cohabitation, unmarried men’s and women’s living
arrangements often include the presence of a child. The decoupling of marriage and
childbearing means that marriage is no longer the only signal of a transition into a
potential biological or social parenting role. Therefore, a broader definition of
stepfamilies must consider cohabitation, together with marriage. When cohabitation is
taken into consideration, only 41% of stepfamilies are characterized by marriage (Stewart
2001).
A more appropriate measure of stepparenthood is to consider any adult living with
a child of their partner, who is not biologically their own, a social or stepparent. This
definition eliminates the problem of treating biological parents who marry after the
child’s birth as stepparents, as well as the problem of ignoring the social parenting role
that a cohabiting partner may play in a child’s life, even if that person is not the child’s
biological parent, or legal stepparent. Using this definition, roughly two-thirds of all
women and 30% of all children will spend some time in a step-family (Bumpass, Raley
and Sweet 1995).
Gendered Differences in Stepparenting
Convention