An estimated 15 million children are living in stepfamilies. Children may feel threatened by the new relationship, and their behavior can create stress for the rest of the family.
Children commonly experience loyalty conflicts between biological parent and stepparent.
Stepparents may find themselves in a bind, caught between the need to establish authority and the desire to be accepted. These are just a few of the complications that confront stepfamilies. All the members are called upon to readjust primary relationships. The realities are often different from the expectations. Stepfamilies of Pittsburgh is a self-help group for persons in a stepfamily relationship.