title: Parent-Child Relationships in Stepfather Families and Adolescent Adjustment: A Latent Class Analysis.
abstract: In the current study the authors drew on Waves I and III from Add Health to examine the closeness of parent-adolescent relationships in married mother-stepfather families (N = 1,934). They used latent class analysis to identify family constellations defined by adolescents' relationships with all of their parents: mothers, stepfathers, and biological nonresident fathers. In particular, the authors (a) identified the most common underlying patterns of adolescent-parent relationships in stepfamilies; (b) determined the background characteristics that predict membership in these groups; and (c) examined how adolescents in these groups fare with respect to depressive symptoms, delinquency, and substance use. The results indicate that adolescents' relationships can be represented with 4 latent classes. Adolescents in these classes differ on measures of adjustment, and many of these differences persist into the early adult years.
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.forename: Valarie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Maggie L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Thorsen
keywords: National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; development/outcomes; parent–adolescent relations; stepfamilies