Eat, drink and remarry: Strategies for negotiating remarriage in a stepfamily environment

This qualitative study of long term remarrieds in complex stepfamily environments determines and identifies strategies used by remarrieds to negotiate success and endurance of remarriage. Interviews conducted with long term remarried men and women reveal similarities in some problem and stress producing areas, while also showing distinct differences in approaches to problem-solving. While it may be assumed that once one identifies a problem, a solution is sought. Remarrieds admit and accept that unresolvable problems are simply a fact of remarried life. Moreover, findings contradict the psychological notion of the necessity of open communication for a healthy, functioning relationship. Respondents frequently utilize tacit agreements to ignore certain problems as a stress reducer and rely on this selective tacitness in managing their remarital relationship in the face of unresolvable problems. Data collected is used to construct a typology of remarital orientation that addresses motive to remarry and reasons for staying remarried.