Gender and Implicit Representations of Stepparents in Adolescents and Emerging Adults

The growing diversification of family structures has increased the prevalence of stepfamilies, yet implicit representations of stepfather and stepmother figures remain understudied, particularly among adolescents and emerging adults. This study examines these representations, considering the influence of gender, developmental group, and prior stepfamily experience. A cross-sectional, ex post facto quantitative design was used with 372 participants aged 15–25 (198 women, 174 men), divided into adolescents (15–18 years) and emerging adults (19–25 years). Participants completed an adapted questionnaire measuring implicit representations across three dimensions: structural-conjugal, affective-relational, and parental-functional. Exploratory factor analyses confirmed the instrument’s three-factor structure for both stepfigures. Both figures were primarily associated with the parental-functional and structural-conjugal dimensions. Women assigned greater relevance to the affective-relational dimension of the stepmother figure. Participants without stepfamily experience showed more idealized representations of both figures across the affective-relational and parental-functional dimensions. Minor differences between developmental groups emerged only for the parental-functional dimension of the stepfather figure. Implicit representations of stepfathers and stepmothers remain shaped by sociocultural processes linked to gender, parenthood, and care, reflecting persistent differential expectations regarding emotional availability and relational functions within reconstituted family contexts.