Answer to Question 1
b
Answer to Question 2
Early Remarriage:
As its name implies, early remarriage refers to the early stages of the new relationship, and brings with it not only the developmental difficulties of a traditional marriage, but also carries with it difficulties unique to stepfamilies. When one or both of the married partners bring children from a previous relationship into the new marital relationship, the newly merged family is referred to as a stepfamily. Members of this stepfamily bring into the newly formed family system their own unique, intimate histories that they share or shared with another parent who has either died, deserted the family, or is no longer sharing a household because of divorce.
Middle Remarriage:
During the middle remarriage stage of development, which takes most families about three to five years to complete, the family becomes a more cohesive unit and functions less along strictly biological lines. In order to successfully transition to this stage of remarried family life, the family needs to restructure family boundaries and identify family member's roles.
Late Remarriage:
It takes approximately six to ten (or more) years after the remarriage for the family's boundaries and roles to be restructured to the point where there is a greater deal of authenticity in interactions and shared intimacy within the family system (Anderson & Sabatelli, 2003). If the family is flexible and successful in realigning their boundaries to accommodate the realities of remarried and/or stepfamily living, then closer, warmer, more endearing relationships are likely to form among stepfamily members. As with any family, there will be times of conflict, anger, and hurt feelings. There will be times when one family member feels excluded or when another family member feels awkward including a non-biological family member in decision-making or family rituals. In some remarried families, members may simply agree to accept more distant, less involved relationships with one another (Anderson and Sabatelli, 2003).