The New Extended Family.

The "new extended family," the stepfamily, the "recombinant family," the "blended family": by whatever name, such familial configurations became the standard in American society during the 1990s. The government estimated that by the year 2007, stepfamilies would outnumber traditional nuclear families. In 1999 there were already more than 5.5 million stepfamilies in the United States. Although the members of many stepfamilies made the necessary adjustments and compromises, there remained a sizable number of such families that struggled or failed. A variety of studies collectively demonstrated that stepchildren were more likely to become disciplinary problems, perform poorly in school, have to repeat a grade, or drop out of school altogether than children who lived in traditional, two-parent homes. American children living in stepfamilies were less likely to go to college or to receive financial support from their family if they did. Worse, according to...