DO ADULTS IN STEPFAMILIES HAVE WORSE HEALTH? Paul Boyle, Zhiqiang Feng, Vernon Gayle, Elspeth Graham, Ali Zohoor

Background n The ‘second demographic transition’ (van de Kaa 1987) n Fewer and later marriages, rising rates of cohabitation, divorce and lone parenthood, and later childbirth n One outcome is a growing number of stepfamilies where a parent, whether single, separated, widowed or divorced, forms a new marriage or partnership n Despite the rising incidence of stepfamilies researchers have been slow to acknowledge the importance of such families (Ferri and Smith 1998)

n Of those marrying during the 1990s, nearly 50% will end up divorced (Allan 1999) n Haskey (1994) shows that 12% of British children will live in a stepfamily before their sixteenth birthday n About 40% of mothers will experience being a lone parent and about 75% of lone mothers will go on to form a stepfamily (Ermisch and Francesconi 2000) n Nearly 90% of stepfamilies involve children living with their mother and a new male partner (Finch 2002)

n Stepfamilies include more and older children than first families (Haskey 1994) n The greater complexity of intra-household relationships in stepfamilies provides scope for tensions to arise and, perhaps, increases the potential for negative health impacts (Kelley 1995)

n Numerous studies highlight the strains that every-day life in stepfamilies may entail and the effects on stepchildren’s health and well-being (Zeppa and Norem 1993; Pryor and Rodgers 2001) n Stepchildren experience the breakdown of their parent’s relationship, may feel neglected by the biological parent, and may have to divide their time between two homes n Most studies of the effects of remarriage on children fail to show a benefit, despite the financial advantages that usually result (Fergusson et al. 1994; Pagani et al. 1998; Walper 1995; Duncan and Hoffman 1985; Zill 1988)

n Various negative outcomes for stepchildren Perform worse at school (Pong 1997) More at risk for behavioural and developmental problems (Wadsworth et al. 1985) Higher risk of drinking alcohol, drug abuse and problem behaviour (del Carmen et al. 2002) n Some studies dispute some of the negative impacts on stepchildren (McMunn et al. 2001) n But, the majority of quantitative studies suggest that stepchildren are at greater risk of a range of problems (Ram and Hou 2003)

n Considerable literature on the effects of family arrangements and marital status on adult health Higher mortality rates among the unmarried, those who live alone and the divorced (Trovato and Lauris 1989) More depressive symptoms are apparent among the recently separated (Neff and Schluter 1993) In some studies, the beneficial effects of marriage are found for men but not women (Berkman and Syme 1979) Lone parents suffer higher levels of mental distress than other parents (Keirnan and Mueller 1998) n Very few studies examining explicitly the effects of living in a stepfamily on stepparents’ and their partner’s health

n Stepparents’ experience is potentially stressful Relationship with stepchildren may be difficult – may be resistant to new additions to the family The relationship between the mother/father and children often deeply established The stepparent may feel jealous of the time their partner devotes to her/his children Described as ‘polite strangers’ in the lives of partner’s children (Ganong and Coleman 2004)

n Partners of stepparents (usually women) may also find things stressful The mother is responsible for bringing the family together Axis around which the family revolves – devoted to ‘making it better for everyone’ (Horwitz 2001) Conflict that arises from their love for their children and their new spouse Some feel guilt because they are ‘betraying’ their children by remarrying (Papernow 1993) Caught between children’s need for stability and stepparent’s needs for change May experience problems with previous partner

Hypotheses 1.Stepparents have worse mental health outcomes than biological parents in first families 2.The partners of stepparents have worse mental health outcomes than biological parents in first families 3.The presence of a child born to both parents reduces the likelihood of poor mental health outcomes for both partners in stepfamilies

Defining stepfamilies Jacobsen (1995) Home-based family Visiting family 1. Mother 2. Mother & stepfather 3. Mother & stepfather 4. Father 5. Father & stepmother 6. Father & stepmother 1. Father & stepmother 2. Father & stepmother 3. Father 4. Mother & stepmother 5. Mother & stepmother 6. Mother

Clingempeel (1987)Pasley (1982) 1. Remarried 2. Nonresidential stepmother 3. Residential stepmother 4. Nonresidential stepfather 5. Residential stepfather 6. Nonresidential stepparent 7. Residential stepparent 8. Mixed stepparent (stepmother) 9. Mixed stepparent (stepfather) 1. No children 2. Children of this marriage only 3. Residential children from prior marriage only 4. Nonresidential children from prior marriage only 5. Adult children only 6. Residential children from prior and this marriage 7. Nonresidential children from prior and children from this marriage 8. Nonresidential and residential children from prior marriage 9. Nonresidential and residential children from prior marriage and children from this marriage

General Household Survey data n Annual cross-sectional British survey (since 1971) n Large representative sample of ~13,000 households n Individual, family and household information provided, including household grid n Merged data from to n Focus on parents aged 16-59

GHS sample (parents) 1. First family with children 2. First family without children 3. Lone parent 4. Stepparent with prior children 5. Stepparent without prior children 6. Stepparent with prior children & common children 7. Stepparent without prior children & common children 8. Partner with prior children 9. Partner without prior children 10. Partner with prior children & common children 11. Partner without prior children & common children 12. Both stepparents with or without prior children 13. Both stepparents with prior children & common children 14. Both stepparents without prior children & common children Note, ‘without’ children means children are not resident in household

GHS sample (parents)Cases 1. First family 2. Lone parent 3. Stepparent without common children 4. Stepparent with common children 5. Partner without common children 6. Partner with common children 7. Both stepparents without common children 8. Both stepparents with common children Total 17,986 2, ,183 Note, ‘without’ children means children are not resident in household

Other variablesCategories Illness (y) General health (y) Age group Sex Economic activity Qualifications Income Ethnicity Smoking Drinking Long-standing illness or disability (1); None (0) Not good (1); Good/fairly good (0) 16-24; 25-29; 30-44; 45+ Male; Female Full-time; Part-time; Unemployed; Retired; Other Higher; Other; None Quintiles (equivalised net family weekly income) White; Mixed; Asian; Black; Chinese & Other Not smoke; Smoke; Don’t know Not/little drinking; Heavy drinking

VariablesCategoriesIllness (n=21,423) General health (n=21,419) Constant Age group Sex Economic activity Qualifications Income Ethnicity Smoking Drinking Female Part-time Unemployed Retired Other Other, not higher None Quintile 2 (low) Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5 (high) Not reported Mixed Asian Black Chinese & Other Smoke Don’t know Heavy -1.77* 0.25* 0.52* 1.17* -0.31* 0.16* 0.67* 0.95* 0.58* 0.08* 0.13* * -0.34* -0.23* * -0.33* * * -3.61* 0.37* 0.72* 1.28* -0.22* 0.27* 0.82* 1.53* 1.04* * * -0.39* -0.72* * * *

VariablesCategoriesIllnessGeneral health Family groupLone parent Stepparent without common children Stepparent with common children Partner without common children Partner with common children Both stepparents without common children Both stepparents with common children 0.14* * * *

n Lone parents have worse health than those in first families n Stepparents with, or without, mutual children do not have worse health than those in first families n Partners of stepparents have worse health than first families, stepparents and lone parents n However, mutual children appear to attenuate the risk of poor health for partners of stepparents

Limitations n However, cross-sectional studies cannot control adequately for selection effects Those who become stepparents (or their partners) may be more prone to having poor mental health compared to other groups (Amato 2000) n Coleman et al. (2000) state that more longitudinal quantitative studies of the effects of stepparenting are required n Data that allow us to identify complex household arrangements and how they change through time

n We also require attitudinal data n Although stepfamilies are becoming more common, the numbers are too small for a primary survey; we need to exploit a large- scale secondary data n Next stage, using the British Household Panel Study

ESRC funded UPTAP project Ali Zohoor (Research Fellow)