Based on a developmental stage model, five pathways to feeling like a family have been described for stepfamilies. Rachel had great hopes for bonding with her new stepchildren - right after the wedding they went on a wonderful family retreat where all the family members engaged in a range of bonding exercises, built a family mission statement, and all ended up feeling very connected and high in family feeling. However, when they came home to the demands and conflicts of ordinary life, these feelings declined quickly. What pattern does this typify?
- declining trajectory
- high-amplitude turbulent pattern
- artificial acceleration
- the happily ever after narrative