A comparison of stepgrandchildren's perceptions of long-term and later-life stepgrandparents.

•Timing of remarriage and extent of linked lives influenced relationships with stepgrandparents.•Ties with long-term stepgrandparents were usually kin-like (emotionally close, supportive).•Ties with later-life stepgrandparents were typically perceived as distant or even threatening.•Middle-generation parents served as models for children and gatekeepers for stepgrandparents.