Patterns of Courtship for Remarriage: Implications for Child Adjustment and Parent-Child Relationships

Most children who experience their parents\u27 divorce also experience their custodial parent\u27s remarriage. However, research has not addressed how patterns of courtship for remarriage influence the developing child and his or her relationships in the new family. This longitudinal study focuses on 57 remarried, stepfather families with a target child aged 9 to 13, using multimethod, multi-informant measures of child adjustment and parent-child relationships. Comparisons were made to determine whether the custodial mother\u27s number of dating partners, remarriage courtship length, or the timing and sequence of typical courtship stages affected the child\u27s adjustment and his or her relationships with the residential parents after remarriage. Results indicated that a longer time spent in a divorced, mother-custody household was associated with continuing difficulty in stepfather-stepchild relationships and lower levels of the child\u27s social competence during the initial months following remarriage. In addition, children whose custodial mother cohabited before remarriage appeared to be more socially competent throughout the two years after remarriage, while also experiencing less negative family relationships. Assertions about the ideal timing of courtship for remarriage are challenged

Book reviews

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45586/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00289303.pd

Childhood in Sociology and Society: The US Perspective

The field of childhood studies in the US is comprised of cross-disciplinary researchers who theorize and conduct research on both children and youth. US sociologists who study childhood largely draw on the childhood literature published in English. This article focuses on American sociological contributions, but notes relevant contributions from non-American scholars published in English that have shaped and fueled American research. This article also profiles the institutional support of childhood research in the US, specifically outlining the activities of the ‘Children and Youth’ Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA), and assesses the contributions of this area of study for sociology as well as the implications for an interdisciplinary field.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Contemporary readings in child psychology

New Yorkxviii, 419 p.: illus.; 23 c

Child Psychology : A Contemporary Viewpoint

New Yorkxxii, 680 P.: illus.; 24 c

Contemporary readings in child psychology, 2nd.ed/ Hetherington

xviii, 419 hal.: tab.; 24 cm

Child psychology : a contemporary viewpoint, updated 5th.ed/ Hetherington

xxvii, 703 hal. : ill. : tab. ; 28 cm