Stepfamily structure (for stepfamily)

Status: This standard was approved as a departmental standard on July 31, 2026.

Definition

Stepfamily structure refers to the nature of parent-child relationships within a stepfamily, including whether the couple has any biological or adopted children in common, and the presence of children having a biological or adopted relationship to only one spouse or partner in the couple.

Stepfamily refers to a couple family with children in which at least one child is the biological or adopted child of only one member of the couple.

Conformity to relevant internationally recognized standards

This standard is compatible with the recommendations for censuses contained in the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Conference of European Statisticians (UNECE-CES) "Recommendations for the 2030 Round of Population and Housing Censuses", 2025. The UNECE-CES recommendations include the definition (section 16.3.1) of a "reconstituted family" as a family nucleus composed of a couple with children in which at least one child is the biological or adopted child of only one spouse or partner in the couple. Further, the UNECE-CES recommendations include a classification of reconstituted families distinguishing (section 16.3.2.8):

1. No common children - only one spouse/partner has at least one biological/adopted child;
2. No common children - each spouse/partner has at least one biological/adopted child who is not the biological/adopted child of the other spouse/partner;
3. With at least one common child - the spouses/partners have at least one common child and only one spouse/partner has at least one biological/adopted child who is not the biological/adopted child of the other spouse/partner; and
4. With at least one common child - the spouses/partners have at least one common child and each spouse/partner has at least one biological/adopted child who is not the biological/adopted child of the other spouse/partner.

Classifications

• Classification of stepfamily structure July 31, 2026 to current

Relation to previous version

• Stepfamily structure (for stepfamily) July 31, 2026 to current

  The name of the concept has been changed from "relationship structure" to "stepfamily structure." The definition of the concept and the statistical unit have been modified, and the classification has been expanded with the addition of new categories.

• Relationship structure of stepfamily May 26, 2021 to July 30, 2026

  The terminology used in the definition and the classification has been modified in French from 'partenaire en union libre' to 'conjoint de fait'.

• Relationship structure of stepfamily September 19, 2011 to May 25, 2021

  This was the departmental standard from September 19, 2011 to May 25, 2021.