The Impact of Stepfamilies on the Health and Health Behaviors of Adolescents

Megan M. Sweeney, University of California at Los Angeles
Tami Videon, Institute for Health Research

Although encouraging marriage among women with children has been an important focus of recent welfare policy debates, our understanding of the implications of parental remarriage for youth well-being remains largely incomplete. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the current research investigates the impact of stepfamilies on adolescents' subjective assessments of health, health behaviors, and access to health care services. While most previous studies of the effects of family-structure on youth well-being have failed to clearly define stepfamilies, this research distinguishes between stepfamilies formed after marital dissolution and those formed after a non-marital birth. Although approximately one-third of all children are currently born outside of marriage in the United States, remarkably little is known about stepfamilies formed through the latter route. Finally, careful attention is paid to racial and gender differences in the impact of stepfamilies on adolescent health.