Luke T. Russell

Resilience in Stepfamilies

Stepfamilies are common in the United States. An estimated 40–50 % of marriages are a remarriage for one or both partners (Cherlin, 2010), and although not all of these remarriages result in the formation of a stepfamily, a significant portion of them do. According to a recent study, 42 % of a national sample of US adults and more than half (52 %) of those younger than 30 had at least one steprelative (Pew Research Center, 2011). About 40 % of US families have a stepgrandparent (Szinovacz, 1998). What is more, these statistics do not account for the growing number of stepfamilies created through cohabitation (Sweeney, 2007), an often-overlooked group.

Divorce and Childhood Chronic Illness A Grounded Theory of Trust, Gender, and Third-Party Care Providers

Divorced parents face distinct challenges in providing care for chronically ill children. Children’s residence in two households necessitates the development of family-specific strategies to ensure coparents’ supervision of regimen adherence and the management of children’s health care. Utilizing a risk and resilience perspective, a grounded theory study was conducted with 14 divorced parents of children with chronic illnesses. The importance of trust, gender, and relationships with third-party care providers emerged as key themes related to the development of effective coparenting relationships for maintaining children’s health. Divorced parents were best able to support the management of their children’s chronic conditions when care providers operated as neutral third parties and intermediaries. Collaborative family care may require health care practitioners to avoid being drawn into contentious inter-parental conflicts.

Exploring the Complexity of Stepgrandparent-Stepgrandchild Relationships

Abstract Purpose Stepgrandparent-stepgrandchild relationships are increasingly common as a result of relatively high rates of divorce and remarriage and increased longevity. When relationships are close, stepgrandparents may be valuable resources for stepgrandchildren, but the relational processes salient to the development of these ties remain largely unknown. The purposes of our research were: (1) to explore the complexity of stepgrandparent-stepgrandchild relationships, and (2) to examine processes that affected stepgrandparent-stepgrandchild relationship development. Methodology/Approach We present results from four grounded theory projects, which were based on semistructured interviews with 58 stepgrandchildren who provided data about 165 relationships with stepgrandparents. Collectively, these studies highlighted key processes of stepgrandparent-stepgrandchild relationship development operating within four distinct pathways to stepgrandparenthood – long-term, later life, skip-generation, and inherited pathways. Findings Stepgrandchildren’s closeness to stepgrandparents was influenced by factors such as timing (the child’s age and when in their life courses intergenerational relationships began), stepgrandparents’ roles in the life of the middle-generation parent and the quality of those relationships, whether or not the stepfamily defined the stepgrandparent as kin (e.g., through the use of claiming language), intergenerational contact frequency, and stepgrandparents’ affinity-building. Originality/Value Our study furthers understanding of stepgrandparent-stepgrandchild by attending to the importance of context in examining the processes that affect intergenerational steprelationship development. Exploring processes related to intergenerational steprelationships strengthens our understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with steprelationship development. Our study also sheds light on the “new look at kinship” and the processes that inform the social construction of family in a changing familial landscape.

Family-Centered Care and Positive Developmental Outcomes for Youth With Special Health Care Needs: Variations Across Family Structures:

Drawing on a social determinants of health framework, we evaluated associations between perceived family-centered care (FCC) and positive developmental outcomes for youth with special health care needs across six different family structures (married biological families, cohabiting biological families, married stepfamilies, cohabiting stepfamilies, divorced/separated single-mother families, and never-married single-mother families). Using data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health, we found that married biological families perceive greater FCC than do other family structures. Perceived FCC was positively associated with all three positive youth outcomes evaluated (children’s health, participation in extracurricular activities, and flourishing) in married biological families, and two of the three outcomes (children’s health and flourishing) in married stepfamilies and divorced/separated single-mother families. Implications for health care provision and future research with structurally diverse families are discussed.

Family Structure and Family Management Practices: Associations With Positive Aspects of Youth Well-Being:

Using data from a national sample of 15-year-olds (N = 681), we tested if four family management practices (parental knowledge, behavioral control, parental academic involvement, and unsupervised time with peers) differed between family structures (i.e., biological-parent, stepfather, or single-mother family). We then identified the family management practices associated with positive youth well-being (psychosocial maturity, positive friendship networks, and school bonding) within each family structure. Parental knowledge, academic involvement, and behavioral control were greater in biological-parent than single-mother families. Stepfather families only differed from biological-parent and single-mother families on parental academic involvement. Although family management practices were associated with youth well-being in all family structures, the specific family management practices associated with each aspect of youth well-being varied across structures. Results have implications for how family-based interventions might be adjusted to better account for the specific characteristics of biological-parent, stepfather, and single-mother families.

Managing chronic conditions in college: Findings from prompted health incidents diaries

ABSTRACT Objective: This pilot study assessed an electronic health diary method designed to collect data about critical health incidents experienced by college students who have chronic health conditions. Participants: Nine university students with chronic medical conditions were recruited to complete a series of e-mail–based surveys, sent once every 3 days across the fall 2014 semester. Methods: In each survey, participants described a health-related incident that occurred within the past day and cited resources that helped or could have helped in that situation. They completed follow-up interviews and ranked the importance of cited resources. Results: The diary completion rate was 78.3% (141/180). Most frequently affected management areas were activities (61.3%), monitoring (34.9%), and problem-solving (34.3%). Resources considered helpful included situational knowledge, campus health professionals, peer support, and relaxation opportunities. Conclusions: Prompted health incidents diary method achieved a high completion rate and provided data that could be useful for college health researchers and practitioners.