Exploring the Factor Structure and Concurrent Validity of Two Stepfamily Measures for Japanese Couples

ABSTRACT

We examined the validity of the Japanese versions of the Revised Questionnaire for Couples in Stepfamilies and the Remarriage Belief Inventory in Japan where social and cultural patterns of divorce and remarriage are substantially different from the West. Participants were 548 married Japanese individuals in stepfamilies. Both scales’ validity, factor structure, and internal consistency were confirmed. The links between remarriage beliefs, marital adjustment and various challenges experienced by couples in stepfamilies were examined. Stepparents’ belief that success is slim was associated with biological parents’ low marital quality and the difficulties they experienced as spouses. Biological fathers’ belief that adjustment should come quickly was related to stepmothers’ difficulties in fulfilling the social and family dimension in stepfamilies.

KEYWORDS:

• stepfamily
• remarriage
• stepparent
• beliefs
• Dyadic data analysis
• actor–partner

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all parents for their participation in our study. Portions of the study findings were presented as oral presentations at the 4th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association for Research on Children of Divorced Families and Stepfamilies, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan and the 31st Annual Meeting of Japan Society of Family Sociology [online], Japan.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2023.2242751

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).