Implications of remarriage and stepfamily formation for marriage education

Couples in remarriages with stepchildren are a significant portion of the marriage population and have unique educational needs regarding aspects of couple functioning within the context of stepfamily development. From a review of the literature, we examine current curricula focused on these couples. Information is offered on implementation issues regarding recruitment, delivery context, facilitator and participant characteristics, and evaluation. Key Words: education, program, remarriage, stepfamily. For practitioners to best meet the needs of couples through marriage education, recognition of the diversity of couples' experiences is important. Best practices involve the consideration of developmental differences between couples in first marriages, and those who remarry and have children from previous unions (Halford, Markman, Kline, & Stanley, 2003). Recent figures show that approximately half of marriages annually are remarriages for one or both partners, and the majority (approximately 65%) of those adults have children from a previous relationship, thus forming stepfamilies (e.g., Chadwick & Heaton, 1999; U.S. Census Bureau, 1998, Table 157). Research suggests that remarriages are at slightly greater risk of dissolution than first marriages (Bramlett & Mosher, 2001). Estimates do not differentiate remarriages without children from stepfamilies, so little is known about the dissolution of stepfami lies in comparison with dissolution of remarriages in general. However, the research on remarriages that form stepfamilies has grown steadily and provides an empirical base to inform practice aimed at reducing risks of redivorce. Stepfamilies are complex; their dynamics differ from those of first families. For example, parenting roles among biological and stepparents have to be negotiated (Cissna, Cox, & Bochner, 1990), former partners affect the decision making that goes on within the household (Brown, Eichenberger, Portes, & Christensen, 1991), and stepparent-stepchild relationships have to be developed (Visher, Visher, & Pasley, 2003). These issues do not exist for couples entering first marriages without children. Because of the added complexity, researchers and clinicians argue that effective interventions to promote satisfying stepfamily couple relationships should address factors that are unique to stepfamilies, as well as factors that are common to all couples (e.g., Halford et al., 2003; Lawton & Sanders, 1994). Little evidence shows that the processes affecting couple functioning in first marriages differ from those affecting functioning in stepfamilies (e.g., communication skills, empathy, values and beliefs, social skills, and positive marital illusions). However, it is our observation that the general research on marital couples offers an incomplete examination of the full range of factors related to couple functioning in stepfamilies. Relying solely on the general couple and marital research to inform practice with couples in stepfamilies may result in educational experiences that are inadequate to meet their unique needs. Thus, educators run the risk of leaving out important information and skills. Previous efforts to organize the empirical knowledge on stepfamilies and remarriage suggest implications for clinical intervention (Pasley, Dollahite, & Ihinger-Tallman, 1993) and policy (e.g., Giles-Sims & Crosbie-Burnett, 1989); however, no recent efforts suggest linkages between empirical information and remarriage education for couples in stepfamilies. Based on a review of relevant research and information on best practices for effective family life education, we examine available educational curricula targeting couples in stepfamilies regarding the programs' content and design. We also offer information and suggestions for implementation of marriage education for couples in stepfamilies. Methods We applied recommended procedures for the development of effective family life education (Hughes, 1994) as a guide for examining existing curricula. …