Raising her daughter: A phenomenological study of the African American stepfather\u27s perception of his relationship with his stepdaughter

In this phenomenological study based on semi-structured interviews with a nonrandom sample of African American stepfathers, I explored stepfather\u27s understanding of their role in the lives of their stepdaughters. Thirteen African American stepfathers described the values and behaviors that they imparted to their stepdaughters. Using a conceptual framework as depicted by Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, I clearly delineate how African American stepfather/stepdaughter relationships relate to the four basic dimensions of relational reality: facts, psychology, transactions, and relational ethics. This study contributes to the emerging literature on African American family ideologies and stepfamilies by producing a deep, clear, and accurate understanding of the experiences of African American stepfathers