%0 Journal Article
%T Stepfamily Closeness and Depression Among American Indian Emerging Adults: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach
%A Gordon E. Limb
%A Helena Haueter
%A Kaitlin P. Ward
%A Sarah Higbee
%J Journal of Family Issues
%@ 1552-5481
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0192513X18808574
%X Stepfamilies are one of the fastest growing family structures among all racial groups in the United States. Stepfamily research among many racial groups, specifically American Indians, is virtually nonexistent. This is unfortunate, as American Indians are more likely to divorce and remarry compared with other populations. From a family systems perspective, this study examined whether retrospectively perceived closeness in three stepfamily relationships, namely child每residential biological parent, child每residential stepparent, and child每stepsibling, were negatively associated with depression scores in 226 American Indian emerging adults. A structural equation model showed that increased child每residential biological parent and child每stepsibling closeness predicted decreased depression scores, whereas child每residential stepparent closeness did not. We also found that depression scores significantly predicted retrospective perceptions of child每residential biological parent, child每residential stepparent, and child每stepsibling closeness. Findings encourage interventions that strengthen American Indian child每residential biological parent and child每stepsibling relationships, and underscore the need for further research that explores American Indian stepfamily relationships
%K stepfamilies
%K depression
%K American Indian
%K parent/child relations
%K family theory
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0192513X18808574