1st International Conference on Strong Blended Families

About the Project

Our inspiration for this conference on blended families emerged from a national, representative study of families in Malta, which indicated a high rate of repartnering among separated and divorced persons, many of whom had children. Our subsequent qualitative research among blended families has brought to the fore the joys and challenges shared by blended families in the Maltese social context. But what is the same and what is different in other cultural realities?

This event will be a research and teaching conference of interest to all those who work with blended families or who conduct studies to inform practice and policy. It aims to bring together world-class scholars, family researchers, and practitioners in various fields to share their expertise and experience, adding to over four decades of blended family research.

The conference will revolve around the dynamics that feature in strong blended families. It is intended to give voice to the perspectives of different members in blended families, the challenges they often face, and the ways in which they have managed them in the process of becoming resilient family units.

The conference will have a rich agenda with keynote speeches, workshops, oral presentations and roundtables.

We are thrilled to announce the participation of three renowned scholars in the field of blended families.

Dawn O Braithwaite (Willa Cather Emeritus Professor of Communication Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln) will make a keynote address on Turning points in Finding what Works: Communication to create positive stepfamily relationships.

Lawrence Ganong (Emeritus Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science and Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri) will make a keynote address on Research on What Works in Childrearing in Stepfamilies.

Patricia Papernow (Director of the Institute for Stepfamily Education) will make a keynote address on Surviving and Thriving in “Blended Families”: A clinician’s view of what works and what doesn’t.