A stepchild's emotional experience across two households: An investigation of response patterns by P-technique factor analysis

A multivariate, replicated, single-subject, repeated measures (MRSRM) design was used to explore intraindividual variability in emotional response patterns of the stepchild both within and between two households: the mother's and that of the stepfamily. Within this intensive measurement framework, two 12-year-old male stepchildren who resided in their respective single-parent household (mother's) and visited in a stepfamily household (father's) on a regular basis responded to the Subjective Feelings Inventory (SFI) over a two-month period. P-technique factor analysis of the intercorrelations of repeated measurements of the items for the eight self- reported emotions measured by the SFI revealed consistent differences between the participants in factorial complexity. The analyses also showed that differences in emotional response patterns exist from one household to the next. A more complex factor pattern was found for each stepchild in the stepfamily household than in the single-parent household. A repeated measures analysis of variance to compare the intensity and range of emotion across households for each child indicated very different patterns for the two participants.