Between Fathers: The Role of Multiple Liminality in Children’s Attribution of Fatherhood in Stepfamilies

Abstract

With shifting family structures, an increasing number of children experience more than two parental figures throughout their upbringing. While existing research has predominantly focused on dyadic relationships between children and either their parents or stepparents, this study, through the lens of liminality, examines how children raised in stepfamilies perceive the fathering role of both biological fathers and stepfathers.  We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 adult children and mothers living in stepfamilies. All interviews were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, which identified overarching patterns. Subsequently, interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied to the children's interviews to capture the individualized processes through which they attribute the fathering role. While children's accounts revealed their meaning-making, mothers’ interviews provided contextual insight. We identified three patterns in how children attributed fatherhood: 1) the biological father as the only father, 2) the stepfather as a father figure, and 3) no one is the father. Across all patterns, children experienced both father figures as liminal, both “both fathers and non-fathers” and “neither fathers nor non-fathers”, while still attributing the fathering role to one of them or none.  It depended on factors such as the child's age and agency, emotional ties, maternal gatekeeping, and the father's investment.