Blended families: A recipe for academic distress

Hey, kids: Hate your half- or stepsibling? Sure you do. Well, here's something to like: You can now blame them for your lousy grades and trouble at school.

A Florida State University researcher has found that teenagers living with half- or stepsiblings have worse grades and more academic behavior problems than those living with full siblings. Such a home life is apparently harder for boys than for girls. Their GPAs are a quarter of a letter grade lower than their counterparts living with full siblings. But both boys and girls in blended families have more difficulty paying attention, finishing their homework and getting along well with teachers and students.

It's a complex issue, of course, with multiple factors affecting the behavior of all involved - stress, conflict, ambiguous family roles, competition for parental attention, etc. And get this: The school-performance situation doesn't generally improve over time.

But on the bright side, help is out there. Check out the the National Stepfamily Resource Center, the Stepfamily Network, some very practical advice at Step Family Tips ... and last (and definitely least), the lyrics to "The Brady Bunch," which the Florida State University news release describes as somewhat unrealistic. Perhaps not. But take hope and inspiration where you can get it, I say.

- Tami Dennis

Photo: Los Angeles Times file

Comments

[Chris R]

Finally, a credible source that is saying what is painfully obvious to anyone who is in or knows of someone in a blended family.

[Ben]

I see that in a lot of people I know from blended families. Either they were high-achieving A students with a Rhodes scholar, or they constantly got Ds and Fs in high school.

[Michael]

This is another example of the media misrepresenting social science data by confusing correlation with causation.

[Ed C.]

While their findings are scientifically valid it doesn't let underachievers off the hook. It just simply means they need much more attention and help.

[John Faulkner]

Interesting, especially considering that my stepdaughter achieved an almost perfect score at high school and is now in her final year of university.

[Susan]

I believe that kids in blended families may quite possibly be distracted by the complexities they are faced with... however, I think that it's more likely due to the parents who can't seem to keep the kids out of the crossfire of conflict between the divorced (bio-parents) parents. I highly doubt that the problem lies with step siblings. I was a stepmother for many years. My son, and my stepdaughter actually shared classrooms and teachers, and that enabled them to do homework together, to help each other, and it also helped us as parents to be more aware of what they were doing in school. Kids learn what they live, and if they live surrounded by combative or alienating parents, of course their grades are more susceptible to decline.