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Abstract

Stepchildren and their nonresidential parent's side of the family (NRPF) may encounter unique challenges in negotiating new questions of family membership as the child transitions into stepfamily life. The researcher conducted turning point interviews with 29 stepchildren to examine how they perceived and described communication surrounding shifting perceptions of family belonging with their NRPF during this transition. Data analysis yielded categories of turning points that made participants feel more like family with their NRPF, less like family with their NRPF, and several that depended on the situation, illustrating that the communication surrounding these events impacted perceptions and response to nonresidential kin.

Journal Title

Iowa Journal of Communication

Volume

44

Issue

1

First Page

43

Last Page

63

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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