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Chapter Thirteen
Divorce
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Three Eras of Divorce
Changes over the past two centuries
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The Era of Restricted Divorce Western nations until mid-1800s
Marriage seen as institutional Divorce rare - only granted on
grounds of adultery or desertion and usually only granted to men
Annulments were the only alternative Ruled that marriage never properly
formed
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The Era of Divorce Tolerance Mid-1800s until 1970
Grounds for divorce widened, more accessible to women
Habitual drunkenness, mental cruelty added to grounds for divorce
Marriage went from economic partnership to emotional partnership Based on love and companionship Failure to achieve this seen as valid reason
for divorce
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The Era of Divorce Tolerance Divorce rate rose substantially
from late 1800s to early 1900s 8% in 1880s 12% in early 1900s 18% in 1920s
Steady rise broken by spikes after World Wars I and II and a dip during the Great Depression
To obtain divorce, still had to prove spouse had done wrong
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The Era of Unrestricted Divorce 1970s to present Divorce usually granted without
restrictions to any married person California first state to endorse “no
fault” divorce laws - divorce for marriage breakdown
Shift from companionship marriage to independent marriage Person should not be forced to continue in
marriage s/he finds unacceptable
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The Society-wide Rise Surge appeared after no-fault
laws appeared “Backlog effect” - couples in troubled
marriages quick to take advantage of new rules
Appears more a consequence of trend than the cause of it
Cultural Change Commitment vs. personal well-being
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The Society-wide Rise Women’s employment
Income effect – lower divorce rate Economic opportunity effect- increase
divorce rate Appears to be more powerful than income
effect
Men’s employment Opportunities down Society still expects husband to earn a
steady income
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Individual Risk Factors
Low Income and Unemployment Divorce more likely if
Man unemployed Low-income family
Age at Marriage Teen marriages at high risk for divorce Higher for those who marry for first
time over age 35
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Individual Risk Factors Race and ethnicity
African Americans have higher rates of marital separation than most racial-ethnic groups
One-half marriages of black women end in 10 years Separation less likely to end in divorce
Personal and family background Cohabitation prior to marriage has higher divorce rates Children of parents who divorce are more likely to divorce Children of parent who died when they were young are
not more likely to become divorced Indicates effect of divorce on sustaining marriage
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Individual Risk Factors People who are similar are less likely
to divorce - more compatible in interests and values
Catholics married to Catholics and Protestants married to Protestants less likely to divorce than Catholics married to Protestants
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The Emotional Divorce Initiator = the person in a marriage who
first becomes dissatisfied and begins the process of ending the marriage
Early Warning Signs Initiator begins to express discontent
May try to change the other person’s behavior or the relationship
If unsuccessful, may invest more energy and emotion outside of marriage
At some point, dissatisfaction is expressed and confrontation occurs
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The Emotional Divorce Separation
Initiator decides marriage should not continue
Announces breakup to the couple’s world
Attachment which has occurred during marriage is expressed in separation distress
Eventually most people do adjust – 2 to 4 years to recover
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The Legal Divorce
Property and Assets No children – just a split or agreement
to divide property and assets Intangible assets
Professional license, educational credential Alimony = maintenance payments from
ex-husband to ex-wife Few couples now agree to it, and few
judges order it
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The Legal Divorce Child Custody - who will have
responsibility and where will they live? Legal custody = right to make important
decisions about the children and the obligation to have legal responsibility for them
Physical custody = right of a divorced spouse to have one’s children live with him/her
Joint legal custody = both parents retain responsibility and decision-making about child
Joint physical custody = arrangement where child spends substantial time in both parents’ households
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The Coparental Divorce In reality, most children still remain in
care of their mothers Creates an imbalance with women having
more responsibilities Level of contact between fathers and
children is low Coparenting = parents coordinate
activities and cooperate in raising children
Parallel parenting = gravitate toward more detached style, both parents operating separately
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The Economic Divorce
Many fathers fade from children’s lives because they cannot or will not contribute to their support
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The Economic Divorce
Many mothers are hit with a financial double whammy Lose husband’s income Less than half receive any economic
support Average mother’s standard of living
goes down 30% in the first year
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The Economic Divorce Breadwinner-Homemaker Couples
Inequality worst for older women in this family style
Income can be cut in half during the first year
Single-father families Number growing
Almost tripled between 1980 and 1998 !8% had incomes below poverty line 21% had incomes less than twice the poverty line 4% of all children lived in single-father families in
1998
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The Effects of Divorce on Children Children do not choose parents’
divorce In many cases, their well-being is
diminished by the divorce
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The Crisis Period Period during the first year or two after
parents separate when both custodial parent and children experience difficulties dealing with the situation One consequence is diminished parenting
Distracted, distressed parents have difficulty providing emotional support and moderate, consistent discipline on a daily basis
Parents may be seen as emotionally distant and prone to ignore child misbehavior
Parents and children drawn into “coercive cycles” Economics also cause distress
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The Crisis Period Loss of a Parent
When one parent leaves, it makes other parent’s job harder
Parental Conflict When parents fight, children tend to
become fearful and distressed Ameliorated if parents coparent or
parallel parent Conflict may begin before separation
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The Crisis Period
Multiple Transitions Departure of parent from home Loss of house and neighborhood and
possibly school Other adults moving in and out of
household
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After the Crisis Period The majority of children resume
normal development Young adolescents may display
serious behavior problems 5 years after divorce: 25-30% from
divorced homes, as opposed to 10% from intact families
Girls displayed as many problems as boys
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Long-Term Adjustment The Sleeper Effect
Wallerstein reported a widespread, lasting difficulty in personal relationships
British study Mental health of divorced children as adults
was somewhat worse than that of children from intact families
Overall, the majority did not show serious mental health problems
Problems more likely to occur in troubled divorced families
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Long-Term Adjustment
Education and employment Children from divorced or single-parent
families more likely to drop out of school
Marital Happiness People whose parents divorced were
just as happy with their marriages, on average, as people whose parents did not divorce
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Long-Term Adjustment
In Sum Almost all children experience intense
emotional upset after parents separate
Most resume normal development without serious problems within about 2 years
A minority experience some long-term problems which may persist into adulthood
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