The Role of Stepparents in Child Custody Disputes

Divorce has become a part of the fabric of an ever-increasing number of American families. Few extended families are untouched by its ramifica-tions. In many families of divorce. boundaries are redrawn and relationships are redefined. Frequently, remarriage imposes yet another complicating factor for the members ofthe new families. Visher and Visher l have defined "stepfamily " as a family in which at least one of the adults is a stepparent. There are no well-established norms for behavior among these new family members. While there may be potential for enrichment of family relation-ships and expansion offamily support systems on the one hand, on the other hand new relationships may threaten family members because of the lack of defined roles, unanticipated problems, and expectations of conflicting loyalties. Divorce entails more than just a return to an unmarried state. Especially when children are involved, marriage is not a fully reversible operation. Divorce does not magically undo the ties that were established during th