Case Illustrations

Abstract

In this chapter we present four case illustrations from our interviews. As noted at the end of the last chapter, these examples cannot be regarded as necessarily typical of some wider population of stepfamily networks. However we have selected them to represent key aspects of the issues which our respondents discussed in their interviews, and to reflect key debates which can be found in the research literature. They consequently provide a sense of the different relational dynamics which occur in stepfamilies. We will draw on these examples to illustrate arguments made in the chapters that follow. In this chapter we will not comment on what is being reported, instead we are simply summarising the issues as they were expressed in the interviews. The names and certain other identifying details of the individuals in these case illustrations have been changed to protect the anonymity of the respondents.