by mother discipline occurred in stepfamilies) moderation by mothering overall was not limited to a single family type or ethnicity, suggesting modest generalizability of this effect. However, the data tentatively suggest that parental agreement/disagreement may be more critical in stepfamilies in light of the less scripted and more conflict prone nature of stepfamilies (Amato & Sobolewski, 2004). This finding has implications for intervention programs for stepfamilies and underscores the importance of a “united front “ as a goal for stepparent families as a way of reducing risk of negative developmental outcomes for adolescents in stepfamilies.
