6
Although research has shown that a substantial proportion of women and children
spend a significant part of their lives in stepfamilies (Bumpass et al. 1995), less is known
about men’s time in such families. While remarriage rates have fallen in recent decades,
the majority of men and women go on to form new unions and often remarry after
divorce. At the same time, many of these men and women have children at the start of
these new unions and as a result stepfamilies are often formed. Several historical and
demographic factors have led to a situation in which men are more likely than women to
be living apart from their biological children, which in turn makes them more likely to be
social parents.
Prior to the 20
th
century, children were treated as the property of their fathers,
remaining in their custody after marital dissolution. But with the turn of the century and
the development of the “tender years” doctrine, children were believed to be best served
living with their biological mothers. By the 1920’s, maternal preference for child
custody was adopted throughout the United States. The view held that the parent who
performs the bulk of care giving needs remain the primary caregiver after divorce. Due
separate spheres phenomenon, coupled with future increasing divorce rates, men in the
mid to late 20
th
century found themselves removed from day to day living with biological
children.
However, this custody preference is slowly changing. Maternal preference for
custody began to be challenged in the 1960’s and 1970’s, but has made little headway.
Divorce courts today are still more likely to award full-custody of children to women
when parents divorce. Only 14% of custodial parents today are men (Scoon-Rogers and
Lester 1995). This gendered judicial policy of custody awards has, in turn, created a
Convention