Are You My Grandmother?: Constructing and Maintaining Stepgrandparent Identity and Roles

Abstract

The disruption of the biological family unit due to divorce or separation followed by remarriage or re-partnering has a profound impact on every family member, including extended family members. An individual becomes a stepgrandparent through later life re-partnering, when an adult child becomes a stepparent, or when a stepchild becomes a parent. In order to gain a greater understanding of the communication influencing the development and maintenance of stepgrandparent roles and identity, a qualitative interpretive analysis method was employed as a guide for interviews with 41 adult stepfamily members across two generations of stepfamily membership: stepparents and stepgrandparents.

Keywords:

• Stepfamily Identity
• Stepfamily Identity Maintenance
• Stepfamily Role
• Stepgrandparent