Conference Agenda

Many adolescents will live with a stepparent before reaching adulthood, and stepparent-adolescent relationship quality is associated with stepfamily functioning, broader family relationship quality, and adolescent well-being. Despite this, few measurement tools exist to capture detailed information about the interactional processes through which stepparent–adolescent relationship quality is cultivated, particularly from adolescents’ perspectives. Efforts to advance attachment-related theorizing and research in stepfamilies will benefit from in-depth, developmentally sensitive assessments of how stepparents and adolescents interact and how those interactions are experienced.

The aims of the current study were (a) to explore, identify, and confirm the optimal factor structure governing response variability across a set of survey items recently developed to measure ten empirically grounded attributes of stepparent–adolescent interaction (e.g., tone, depth, fluidity, agency), and (b) to evaluate construct validity by examining associations between the resulting factors and conceptually plausible correlates, including adolescent characteristics, stepfamily relationship dynamics, and indicators of adolescent well-being. Data were drawn from a socio-demographically diverse sample of 507 adolescents in the United States who were residing with a stepparent they acquired at age 10 or later.

Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded initial evidentiary support for two core constructs—stepparent interactional attunement and stepparent interactional misattunement—that govern adolescents’ responses across a refined set of 35 items. Together, these findings provide the basis for a new measure, the Adolescent Perceptions of Stepparent Attunement in Interaction Scale (APSAIS). Analyses further revealed significant and theoretically coherent correlates of both attunement and misattunement, suggesting that each uniquely contributes to shaping stepfamily relationship dynamics and adolescent well-being.

By centering adolescents’ perceptions of everyday interactional processes, this work advances measurement efforts in attachment-relevant theorizing and research on structurally complex families. Implications will be discussed for future research and applied efforts aimed at fostering relational security and connection in stepfamilies.

Special guardianship was introduced to prevent children with adverse early life experiences from entering the care system and to provide them with safe and stable caregiving environments. While research has demonstrated positive outcomes for children placed under special guardianship, comparatively little is known about the experiences and wellbeing of special guardians themselves. Given that grandparents constitute the largest group of special guardians in the UK, this study aimed to explore grandmothers’ lived experiences of special guardianship, with a particular focus on relational, systemic, and attachment-related processes.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight grandmothers from two geographical areas in England and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Three group experiential themes were identified: 'a life changing experience with losses and adaptations', ‘a new family structure; SGs as the family saviours’ and ‘rejection from the world vs inclusivity from the SG community’. Participants described significant emotional, practical, and relational challenges associated with assuming the caregiving role later in life, including managing children’s complex attachment needs arising from early adversity, renegotiating intergenerational family roles, and navigating relationships with birth parents.

Interactions with statutory services and legal systems were frequently experienced as invalidating or exclusionary, contributing to feelings of isolation and burden. In contrast, connection with other special guardians was described as protective, fostering understanding, validation, and shared meaning-making. These experiences had implications for caregivers’ wellbeing, identity, and capacity to provide consistent, attuned care.

The findings underscore the importance of recognising special guardianship as a relational and attachment-focused caregiving context that requires sustained support. Clinical implications include the provision of attachment-informed and trauma-sensitive interventions, access to individual psychological support from trained clinicians, the development of peer support networks, and improved collaboration across services. Supporting the wellbeing and attachment security of special guardians is essential to promoting stable caregiving relationships and positive long-term outcomes for children.

Attachment theory has highlighted the importance of secure relationships for children’s socio-emotional development, yet the literature has disproportionately focused on biologically related caregiver–child dyads in infancy and early childhood. As a result, there is limited theoretical integration regarding how attachment processes operate in later-formed, non-biological relationships, particularly within stepfamilies and culturally diverse contexts. This individual talk presents a critical, integrative literature review examining stepparent–stepchild attachment in middle childhood (ages 6–9), with a specific focus on the South African context.

Middle childhood represents a developmentally significant period characterised by the consolidation of internal working models, increasing relational complexity and heightened sensitivity to family transitions such as parental re-partnering. Drawing on classical attachment theory alongside contemporary literature on middle childhood, attachment networks, epistemic trust and cross-cultural caregiving, this review advances the conceptualisation of stepparent–stepchild attachment as an earned relational process rather than a biologically assumed bond.

The presentation synthesises existing scholarship across three core domains: (1) attachment-relevant processes in later-formed caregiving relationships, including secure-base and safe-haven functions in non-biological contexts; (2) culturally informed caregiving practices and kinship structures in South Africa, such as communal child-rearing and extended family involvement, that shape attachment meanings and expectations; and (3) attachment-related challenges identified in stepfamily literature, including role ambiguity, loyalty conflicts, socio-economic stressors and culturally mediated constructions of caregiving.

By integrating global attachment theory with culturally situated understandings of family life, this talk bridges conceptual gaps between attachment research and applied practice. It proposes a theoretically grounded framework to inform clinical thinking, professional training and future empirical research on stepparent–stepchild attachment in middle childhood. The contribution lies in advancing culturally responsive attachment theory while offering clinicians and researchers a coherent lens for understanding non-biological caregiving relationships formed through care, commitment and relational continuity across diverse family systems within South Africa.

An increasing number of children from Quebec’s public child‑protection adoption system are being placed with male same‑sex couples. Their double minority status (being adopted and raised by gay fathers) may heighten their risk of school bullying, a phenomenon with well‑documented harmful effects. This study examines whether having two gay fathers constitutes an individual risk factor for bullying across school years, and whether attachment to parents and friends may act as protective factors. Two well‑established individual predictors were included as controls: reactive aggression and anxiety.

A total of 127 children aged 7 to 16, from 91 families in Quebec, participated. To distinguish the effect of adoption from that of being raised by two gay fathers, two comparison groups were included, resulting in three family types: 38 children adopted by gay fathers, 41 adopted by heterosexual parents, and 46 non-adopted raised by heterosexual parents. They completed questionnaires assessing perceived bullying, reactive aggression, anxiety, and attachment security to parents and friends.

Children adopted by gay fathers did not differ significantly from the two other groups on any of the variables. In contrast, children adopted by heterosexual parents reported significantly higher reactive aggression (t(75) = –2.92, p = .013) and lower attachment security to parents (t(85.3) = 3.56, p = .002) compared to non‑adopted children. A linear mixed‑effects model showed that family type (adopted or not; gay fathers or not) was not a significant predictor of perceived bullying. Attachment security to parents and attachment security to friends were also not individually associated with lower bullying. However, their interaction was significant (b = −0.20, p = .01), attachment security appeared protective only when both parent and friend attachment were high. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions focusing on reactive aggression and attachment security to effectively reduce bullying, shifting attention away from family structure.