55 summaries of movie plots that mentioned a stepparent by name were examined. 58.2% of these 55 plot summaries portrayed the stepparent in negative terms. The remaining 41.8% of the plot summaries contained no evaluative comments. None of the plot summaries presented the stepparents in a specifically positive manner. It was concluded that the negative perception of stepparents in our society may be associated, at least in part, with the unsavoury way in which stepparents are portrayed in the movies.
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