Effects of Second Marriages to Kids
Families created following second marriages are not easy for children and have numerous challenges; one challenge is learning to function as one. This new transition presents various opportunities for new communication patterns, roles, and expectations. Minuchin established the family structural theory which provides specific therapeutic techniques that the structural family therapist may utilize to change communication patterns and systems within a family.
Family breakups such as divorce or remarriage obviously need shifting of family roles. Second marriages are not easy for children to cope with the transition given they were fixed on set norms and beliefs. Different families have different behavioral patterns and loyalties. These differences may establish dysfunctional family relationships in second marriages. The combination of two separate families creates both internal and external stressors.
The family structural theory enables therapists to temporarily observe family interactions to evaluate the unhealthy patterns and come up with productive means of family interaction. Children require good support to enable them to cope with the transition of going into two different families. In this regard, parents must set directions and rules of accommodating children in second marriages.