Investigating Stepparent-Stepchild Interactions: The Role of Communication Accommodation

Abstract

This study examined the utility of communication accommodation theory (CAT) to investigate stepchildren's perceptions of communication patterns in typical interactions with their stepparents. A total of 133 stepchildren completed an online survey about their perceptions of their stepparents’ accommodative and nonaccommodative behaviors. A measure of accommodation, overaccommodation, and underaccommodation was created for this study and items were tested with factor analysis. Findings indicate support for CAT's predictions: perceptions of stepparent accommodation, underaccommodation and overaccommodation predict stepchildren's accommodative behavior in typical interactions, as well as their conversation satisfaction, relational closeness and perceptions of shared family identity with their stepparents. Further, stepchildren's perceptions of shared family identity with stepparents correlate positively with their reports of satisfaction with blended family life.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Tamara Afifi, Daniel Linz, Jake Harwood, Jordan Soliz, and Christopher Seaman for their assistance at different phases of this research project. We also deeply appreciate the editor's and the three anonymous reviewers’ assistance, insightful questions, and comments that facilitated the enhancement of this manuscript from its original version.

Notes

¹We use the term biological to refer to nonstepfamily members throughout this manuscript. However, we acknowledge that nonstepfamily members may also include adoptive parents.