Researchers have examined differences in parenting processes to help explain differences in child adjustment between stepfamilies and intact families. Studies have found that stepfathers, on average, are less involved and communicative with their stepchildren, provide less warmth and nurturance, and hold a less positive view of their relationships with their stepchildren than birthfathers who live with their children (Hofferth, Pleck, Stueve, Bianchi & Sayer, 2002). Results regarding parental control have been mixed. Some studies have found that stepfathers exert less control than birthfathers (Hetherington, 2006) while other studies have shown no differences in parental control between stepfathers and resident birth fathers (Thomson, McLanahan, & Curtin, 1992). Parental monitoring has been found to be lower in stepfather families than in two-parent biological families (Fisher, Leve, O’Leary, & Leve, 2003).
