Data for this study are from simultaneous, independent interviews with husbands and wives in 232 remarried and 102 first-married families. Information was collected on husbands' and wives' relationships with various categories of (step)children and on effects of these various relationships on spousal relations. Findings may be summarized as indicating that in remarried families there are “first-class” (shared) children, “second-class” (wive's unshared) children, and “third-class” (husbands' unshared) children. Each “class” experiences qualitatively distinctive relationships with (step)parents, and these various relationships have differing positive and negative effects on spousal relationships.
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