Norms are guidelines that tell us how to act in certain roles. Especially during the early stages of stepfamily development, it can be difficult deciding how to act and to determine one's place in the family. Stepfamilies are different in structure from first marriage families . According to experts Emily and John Visher, there are at least seven characteristics that distinguish stepfamilies from first marriage families. In divorce, which most commonly precedes the establishment of a stepfamily, a relationship has ended.
People often find new places to live, new jobs, new schools and new friends.
A first marriage family begins under far different circumstances. One of the adults in the remarriage may have been a parent for several years while the other parent has never had children. There may be teens who have been fantasizing finally being on their own who are now being drawn in to integrate with the new family. It's natural that persons with different family experiences have different ideas about how a family ought to be run. In first marriage relationships this is the opposite, except in cases of unmarried parenthood.