Based on Research Conducted at OSLC

A study of the processes that account for adjustment in stepfamilies and of the efficacy of a program designed to promote healthy child adjustment.

Project Overview

Stepfamilies represent an increasingly common family structure in America today. Marriage and Parenting in Stepfamilies (MAPS) had two main goals: 1) to better understand processes that account for healthy or problematic adjustment in stepfamilies, and 2) to develop and test the efficacy of a program designed to promote healthy child adjustment by strengthening parenting practices and couple relationships. The MAPS study employed a randomized experimental longitudinal design with 113 stepfamilies shortly after marriage. In the experimental group, families participated in a series of intervention sessions that taught couple-enhancement skills and effective parenting strategies. Families in the control condition participated in the assessment procedures but did not receive the intervention. Children in the project were boys and girls in the early years of elementary school. Assessments for both groups were conducted four times over the course of 2 years.

Funder: National Institute of Mental Health

Principal Investigator:

Co-Investigator: