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This study draws upon 22,680 children from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families to investigate the demographic and family characteristics and well-being of stepchildren who have been adopted by a stepparent (n = 140) relative to children with 2 biological parents, children with 2 adoptive parents, and children with 1 biological parent and 1 nonadoptive stepparent. Five percent of all stepchildren and one quarter of all adopted children have been adopted by a stepparent. How the characteristics of adopted stepchildren compare to those of other children depends on the child's age-whereas younger adopted stepchildren are most similar to children with 2 biological parents, older adopted stepchildren are most similar to nonadopted stepchildren. Adopted stepchildren of all ages have significantly more behavior and emotional problems than children with 2 biological parents, but have similar levels of school engagement. There were no significant differences between children with 2 adoptive parents, nonadopted stepchildren, and adopted stepchildren on any measure of well-being regardless of the child's age. Implications for practice and policy include increasing awareness of adopted stepchildren and paying greater attention to the legal context under which stepchildren are adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One third of all children in the United States have a nonresident parent. On the basis of 13,085 children with a nonresident parent drawn from the 1997 National Survey of America's Families, this study examines nonresident mothers' and fathers' involvement (visitation and child support) with children who reside in different household types: single-parent families, married and cohabiting stepfamilies, and families headed by grandparents, other relatives, or nonrelatives. The relationship between children's living arrangements" and nonresident parent involvement is complex and depends on both the gender of the nonresident parent and the type of involvement. Because nonresident parent involvement is low regardless of household type, policies and programs designed to increase involvement should include children in a variety of family forms [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of childbearing on parental involvement in stepfamilies and intact families, based on the reports of 1,905 stepparents and biological parents from the National Survey of Families and Households. Regression analysis indicates that involvement with children declines over time, especially among respondents with only stepchildren in the household. Respondents who have had a child between waves of the survey reduce parental involvement at a slower rate than respondents who did not have a child. These effects are explained by the children's age. The birth of a child has a similar effect on parental involvement in stepfamilies and intact families. These findings suggest that the addition of a half-sibling is not particularly beneficial to stepchildren and provides further evidence that couples with children from prior relationships should not make the decision to reproduce to“cement” stepfamily bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study investigates whether fatherhood, and specifically involvement with nonresident children, influence men's entrance into marital and cohabiting unions. Using the National Survey of Families and Households, our findings suggest that neither resident nor nonresident children affect men's chances of entering a new marriage, but nonresident children have a positive effect on cohabitation. The positive association between nonresident children and men's union formation is not uniform: instead, we find that it is involvement with nonresident children, specifically visitution, that enhances men's chances of forming new unions. Whereas women's obligations to children from prior unions represent a resource drain that lowers their chances of union formation, our analysis suggests that involved nonresident fathers are more likely to enter subsequent unions than other men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates sex differences in nonresident parents' level of contact with biological children with whom they do not live. With data from the 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households, I assess social contact using nonresident parents' own reports of frequency of telephone calls and letters, in-person visits, and extended visitation. Multivariate results show that nonresident mothers and fathers are similar with respect to in-person visits, but mothers exhibit higher levels of telephone and letter contact and extended visitation. These results suggest that nonresident mothers' and fathers' relative frequencies of involvement with their absent children are not as straightforward as previously thought. Although traditional gender roles may encourage greater contact between nonresident mothers and absent children on some dimensions of contact, results suggest that nonresident mothers and fathers may encounter circumstances that make frequent in-person contacts with absent children difficult to maintain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]