Blended Families

Blended Families
Name
Institution Affiliation
Introduction
A blended family is defined as “family which includes children of a previous marriage of one spouse or both” (Kumar, 2017). Nearly 9% of households of married couples and 11.5% where the parents live together but aren’t married have step kids living in the households (Teachman & Teadrow, 2008). Researchers have reported a drastic rise in marital conflicts since the 1970s (Portrie & Hill, 2005). Such conflicts lead to the end of many marriages either with or without kids in their failing relationships. As much as some parents chose to remain single, other decide to remarry which lead to the increasing number of blended families. Blended families encounter unique which differ from those faced by nuclear families (Basinger, 2013).
What are the consequences for blended families on:
Couple: Some of the consequences of a blended family on the family include legal disputes arising from the previous or even the current couples and emotional trauma from divorce.
Family: The family can be faced by the Issues of violence, aggression, companionships, and empathy.
Children: children are very vulnerable in the blended family set-ups. They may face issues of sibling rivalry and identity confusion.
Society: Under society, the consequences may be the changes in family structures
How do these changes to the family structure impact:
The family of origin: They have led to changes in marriage patterns and the decline in customs such as polygamy.

Blended family: They have led to the evolution of laws that protects women from domestic violence such as the Domestic Violence Act, 2015.
Society: They have altered the understanding of the family.
Divorce and Remarriage:
What is the product of divorce or remarriage in the given society?
Long-standing issues of domestic such as abuse
Legal issues
How does this impact the couples and families
Emotionally, these causes people not to be able to love and trust again.
What are the benefits and consequences of going through a legal process?
The legal process provides avenues for getting out of abusive marriages
It might also invite more legal issues such as child custody.
Theories that apply to marriage and family to explain blended families:
The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective: It views the family as a social reproduction site where “meanings are negotiated and maintained by family members” (Dingwall, DeGloma & Newmahr, 2012).
A feminist perspective which views it as a historical institution which has perpetuated sexual inequalities.
Structural functionalism sees society in terms of the functions of its constituent elements which include customs, norms, traditions, and institutions (Preston, 1984).
Reference
Basinger, E. (2013). Communication for Families in Crisis: Theories, Research, Strategies, by Dickson, F. C., & Webb, L. M. (Eds.). Health Communication, 29(3), 321-322. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2012.753675
Dingwall, R., DeGloma, T., & Newmahr, S. (2012). Symbolic Interaction – Serving the Whole Interactionist Family. Symbolic Interaction, 35(1), 1-5. doi: 10.1002/symb.6
Kumar, K. (2017). The Blended Family Life Cycle. Journal Of Divorce & Remarriage, 58(2), 110-125. doi: 10.1080/10502556.2016.1268019
Portrie, T., & Hill, N. (2005). Blended Families: A Critical Review of the Current Research. The Family Journal, 13(4), 445-451. doi: 10.1177/1066480705279014
Preston, G. (1984). Structural Problems in the Formation and Function of Blended Families. Australian Journal Of Family Therapy, 5(1), 17-26. doi: 10.1002/j.1467-8438.1984.tb00076.x
Teachman, J. D., & Tedrow, L. (2008). Divorce, race, and military service: More than equal pay and equal opportunity. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70(4), 1030-1044.