Effects of the Blended Family on Parenting Styles and Emotional Regulation among Tertiary Students

This research examines the blended family effects on parenting styles and emotional regulation among tertiary students through a sequential explanatory mixed-method design. Through quantitative data gathered, an interview was conducted to have a deeper sense of the information collected. A total of 113 respondents were purposively selected to answer the instruments and 10 of them were chosen to participate in an interview for the qualitative part of the study. It was revealed that most respondents have authoritarian parents and are emotionally adjusting. In addition, there is no significant relationship between parenting style and emotional regulation. Furthermore, there is no significant difference in parenting styles and emotional regulation when grouped according to profile such as age and duration. The results gathered were supported by sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology) which discussed the maturity, culture, and values of Filipinos and their families. These data were used to construct a counseling program to help students with blended families adapt to the changes that they will encounter.

The Influence of Blended family Structures on Socio-emotional Development of Pre-priamry School Learners in Ganze Sub-county, Kilifi County, Kenya

Families provide a conducive environment that necessitates the acquisition of self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy amongst learners in pre-primary schools. However, pre-primary school learners have manifested and continue to manifest instances of low self-esteem, low self-confidence, and self-efficacy levels. This study sought to assess the influence of contemporary blended family structures on the socio-emotional development of pre-primary school learners. The study was guided by the family systems theory. The study adopted a mixed methodology and thus applied concurrent triangulation research design. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically along the objectives and presented in narrative forms. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages and inferentially using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis in Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 23) and presented using tables. The study established that pre-primary school learners manifest instances of low self-esteem, low self-confidence and low self-efficacy. The study also established that there are different dimensions of blended family structures that influence socio-emotional development, that is, self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy, of pre-primary school learners. Thus, the study recommends that parents who are in blended family structures should adopt the mechanism of enhancing the socio-emotional development of their children. The government and other stakeholders should provide necessary support meant to help such families improve the socio-emotional development of their children. Government agencies should create funds and kitties meant for the upkeep of children who are orphans and vulnerable.

Becoming Multicultural: Kinship Development of Korean Adolescents With Asian Cross-Border Marriage Migrant Stepmothers

In Korea, more than one-third of cross-border marriages are remarriages for at least one spouse, yet little is known about the experiences of Korean adolescents who enter into a blended multicultural family through their father’s remarriages. The current study examined the experiences of 10 Korean (seven female) adolescents ( Mage = 15.9 years) primarily from low-income families with Korean fathers and non-Korean stepmothers using content analysis of in-depth interviews with adolescents, supplemented with field observations at after-school mentoring program. The analysis suggested that many of the Korean adolescents gained a new sense of identity as a member of a multicultural family primarily through new kinship bonds they experienced through the intimate labor of caretaking for their new half-siblings. Many of the adolescents had grown up without close kinship ties to their biological parents, thus the introduction of foreign stepmothers to the family provided opportunities for the adolescents to claim them as kins despite language and cultural barriers. At the same time, the adolescents also experienced challenges and tensions that often accompany new blended family formation. These results have implications for understanding formations of kinship and new cultural identity in blended families across borders.