Remarriage: patterns, challenges, and psychological outcomes

Pasley, Dolahite & Ihinger-Tallman (1993) offer a review of the literature focusing on marriage and remarriage. In particular, the authors set out to compare and contrast features of first vs. re-marriages. Issues include the spousal relationship, family functionality, the role of the stepparent, and effective stepparenting behaviors. The researchers also investigate variables that might impact family relations within either a first or a re-marriage situation. Pasley et al. (1993) present the literature review and then offer nine recommendations for therapists based on their summaries and analyses of the research. The study appears to offer some sound suggestions for counselors and family therapists, based on empirical data published in peer-reviewed journals. However, "Bridging the Gap" is replete with problems that undermine its efficacy as reliable research.

Although the title suggests that the research focuses on spouse and stepparent roles in remarriage, in reality the authors access a large and broad body of knowledge. The authors paint a broad portrait of how stepfamilies function, with only a few clues as to what specific variables might affect that functionality. Variables such as demographics are not discussed with clarity. As a result, the article seems cluttered and unfocused. More importantly, the authors do not mention how they performed their research. No methods section is included. The authors do not indicate which databases were used, or what search criteria helped them narrow down which studies to include and which to omit. The authors only note that they accessed "professional journals" and studies that dated before 1980.

Such blatant flaws in the research design invalidate the research because of the potential for bias. After all, the researchers do not note how many studies they sifted through, how many they selected to review, and why they selected some and not others. Future researchers should clearly indicate where and how the studies were accessed, and why those studies were chosen over others. The authors discuss on the one hand what makes some marriages work and others fail, and then later address issues related to role conflict. Furthermore, the authors tend to paint with broad strokes, discussing dysfunction as if it were not the complex issue that it is.

Pasley et al. (1993) do not perform any experimental research. Rather, the authors conduct a meta-analysis of existing research. The concept behind the literature review is fine for illuminating research trends. However, the authors do not offer a clear definition of terms that might clarify the study. For example, a section on the role of the stepparent does not mention what variables might affect that role including ethnicity or socio-economic class. Other demographic variables are not mentioned with sufficient frequency to validate the study.