Abstract

This study explores the trajectory of maternal gatekeeping to the stepmother. This theoretical setting tries to actualize the classic theory of maternal gatekeeping (Allen & Hawkins, 1999) by developing a framework that answers to the current societal context of which the post-divorce/ new formed family is an integral part (Kind & Gezin, 2010). On the one hand, the emphasis is on the perception of mothers about step motherhood. There is an ambiguity when ideas about motherhood (Hay, 1996) and gender roles (Reger, 2001) are not coordinated. On the other hand, this study focuses on how the definition about step motherhood is used by mothers to evaluate their presence. It is being investigated which factors give rise to certain strategies of maternal gatekeeping (partnership, manager, detachment, enmity). These motivations and interventions are mapped on the basis of eighteen in-depth interviews with mothers. The families involved have different post-divorce accommodation arrangements, but mainly the children spent as much time with their father as with their mother. These families found themselves in different phases of the divorce procedure. The interviews were conducted in three different data collection rounds wherein the method of the grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was followed.

How to Cite:

Maene, C., (2018) “Moeders over stiefmoederschap: de mythe voorbij?: een kwalitatieve studie over het traject van maternal gatekeeping tegenover de stiefmoeder”, Sociologos 39(2), 107–125. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.86972