Stepfamilies are at a much higher risk of experiencing domestic violence than are traditional families. Conflict, neglect, abuse, and incest are more frequently found in stepfamilies than in those whose members are all biologically related to all the others. Feelings of guilt and rejection are also more common in stepfamilies.
Research by psychologists at a Canadian university found that the rate of infanticide is 60 times as high and sexual abuse is about 8 times as high in stepfamilies than it is in biologically related families.