Stepfamilies with Adolescents - Counseling Interventions Pertaining to Case Study

Stepfamilies with Adolescents - Counseling Interventions Pertaining to Communication and Discipline - Case Study Example Parenting is the most difficult aspects of a stepfamily. It is more difficult to form a stepfamily with adolescent children compared to forming a family with younger children. The main cause could be because of developmental stages. Research indicates that children who are between the ages of 10 and 14 may have a hard time in adjusting into a stepfamily. However, both children above the age of 15 and under the age of 10 may need to have a stepparent. The older or the children who are over 15 may need little or less parenting and will be less involved in the family. Finally, the children who are under 10 may be willing to have another adult in the family. Family structure has recently transformed due to both demographic and social changes. According to the Office of National Statistic, marriage rates have drastically while the number of divorce cases has remained constant. In recent years, people become parents and have their first child easily in a cohabiting union rather than within a marriage. Moreover, between 1975 and 2004, non-marital childbirth has drastically increased, from 9% to 43%, in which two-thirds is of unmarried parents. Several factors may affect how a child adjusts to a stepfamily this include, gender of the child. Girls attend to be more difficult than boys are and they may take time in adjusting in a stepfamily. For instance, stepfamilies that include the natural mother and a stepfather, the girls are more likely than boys to oppose the new male figure. In divorced families, where there is only a single parent that is involved, mother-daughter relationships tend to be extremely close. Consequently, girls may see the stepfather as a threat to the relationship with her mother when the mother decides to remarry. Alternatively, boys would quickly adjust since they yearn for a masculine figure.