Identity salience as a moderator of psychological and marital distress in stepfather families

Using 115 couples from stepfather families, we tested the hypothesis that identity salience would moderate effects of threatening or enhancing family interaction on psychological and marital distress. Data were taken from structured interaction tasks at two separate visits to the center: a couple and a family assessment. Measures included observed behaviors directed from one spouse toward another and behaviors directed from a child to mother or stepfather Five of eight hypothesized moderation effects were supported. Negative engagement from a mother to a stepfather with high spousal salience predicted higher levels of stepfather distress. For both spouses, negative interactions were moderated in the couple interaction tasks, and positive interactions were moderated in family tasks. Contrary to expectations, parental salience did not moderate children's behavior toward parents. Predictors in the couple interaction tasks but not in the family tasks explained within-couple distress. Finally, stepfather stress showed spillover effects predicting mother distress, but not vice versa.