Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Doctor of Social Work (DSW)

School

Social Work

Advisor

Yvonne Chase

Abstract

Family dynamics have experienced an immense transformation in the last 4 decades. Children are less likely to live in a 2-parent household with parents that are both biologically related to them due to various factors. Blended families (especially the children) face many adversities during the initial stages of formation and rarely receive specialized intervention when compared to nuclear families. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand the long-term biopsychosocial effects experienced by young adults who lived in a blended family household. In addition, what services or interventions were offered to newly established blended family systems were also explored in this study. Family systems theory was used as the theoretical framework to assist in understanding that families are interconnected, a change in 1 aspect of the family can impact all members, and families can form healthy bonds when they obtain homeostasis. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit 9 participants who were individually interviewed by phone for about 15–20 minutes using a semistructured interview format. Data were transcribed, coded, and arranged by themes to understand how the experience of living in a blended family impacted these young adults in their present lives. The results from the study indicated that families were not offered professional interventions during the initial formation of their family structure due to various barriers. Furthermore, young adults are guarded about intimate relationships and prefer not to have children or are choosing to have children later in life. The results imply a need for specialized interventions to meet the needs of blended families at all systemic levels.

Download

Share

 
COinS