My name is Kathleen McCollum, and I am a doctoral student at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. I am currently working on my dissertation examining the experiences of people who were part of a stepfamily as children, and are currently stepparents themselves.

I am looking for study participants who meet inclusion criteria and are willing to discuss their experiences with me during an audio-recorded interview. Interviews will be conducted face-to-face, via telephone, or via Skype. The interview will be scheduled at the participant’s convenience and strict measures of confidentiality will be maintained. Participants will not be paid for their participation, but they will be offered results of the study. Participation will help mental health professionals better understand how childhood stepfamily experience impacts adult stepparenting experience.

I am looking for participants who meet the following criteria:

• They are between 20 and 55 years of age.
• They have the experience of being part of a stepfamily before the age of 16 years.
• A stepparent will have been a part of the participant’s life for at least one year.
• They have the experience of being a stepparent to at least one stepchild who was 16 years of age or younger at the time of stepfamily formation.
• They have been a stepparent for at least one year.

Please have interested persons contact me by e-mail (kathleen_mccollum@mspp.edu). Thank you very much for your consideration.