What is a Stepfamily?
A stepfamily is any spousal
union where at least one of the partners has a child, or children from a
previous relationship.
Stepfamily Statistics:1
- The family of the new
millennium is a stepfamily. There are now more stepfamilies than
"original" or nuclear families.
- Fifty percent of all
children under the age of 13 currently live in some form of a stepfamily.
- Approximately two thirds of
all stepfamilies fail.
- Thirty percent of all stepfamilies fail
within the first two years. Fifty percent fail within the first six years.2
- Children are seriously
impacted by family breakdown. Many experience persisting academic,
social, emotional, financial, and relationship difficulties as a direct
result of family breakdown.
- Traditional family therapy
only helps about 30% of stepfamilies on the verge of breakdown.
The Good News:1
- Most of the problems
stepfamilies experience are rooted in the stepfamily situation,
not in the people involved.
- When stepfamilies in
difficulty are provided with information and guidance in addressing issues
specific to the stepfamily situation, over 80% of them3 can go on to
become stable, loving and healthy family environments.
Click
here for more stepfamily facts.
1.
Stepfamily
Statistics: The numbers tell the story. The
Stepfamily
Foundation NY
2. Miller, Marla S. The
High Cost of Divorce.
3.
Over 95% of all couples who have taken Building
Stepfamilies That Work, provided by the
Stepfamily
Foundation of Alberta since 1998, remain together today.
The information contained
on this page is for the personal use of stepfamily members visiting this web
site. All other use, reproduction, distribution or storage of this work, in
whole or in part, by any and all means, without the express written
permission of the author, is strictly prohibited.
Stepfamily
Foundation of Alberta
