Sex after divorce: older adult women’s reflections

People who divorce experience a number of negative impacts, and yet divorce also offers opportunities for growth and transformation. This qualitative study of older adult women offers the possibility that divorce may be sexually empowering, especially for women, based on in-depth interviewing of women who had gone through one or more divorces. Detailed examples of the experiences of fourteen women with divorce and sexual expression are offered, focusing on in which situations divorce might be empowering and how it could contribute to sexual exploration and satisfaction. Overall, for the fourteen women in the study who had experienced divorce, the quality of sex in the marriage impacted the quality of sexual expression after the divorce. Also, these findings supported the idea of transformational learning through divorce, and expand divorce-stress-adjustment and transformational learning perspectives to apply more specifically to sexual expression. Understanding possible impacts of divorce over the lifespan, including strengths-based aspects, is important for social workers as the population they serve ages.     

我国法定离婚理由的社会性别分析

法定离婚理由是当事人请求国家审判机关作出离婚判决的法律依据,是离婚法律制度的重要内容之一。从历史角度进行考察,我国法定离婚理由的发展经历了漫长而曲折的过程;从社会性别视角进行审视,法定离婚理由的演进表现为从男性专权到男女平权的轨迹;从立法内容上看,我国现行《婚姻法》中已经明确规定法定离婚理由平等适用于男女两性;从法律适用上分析,我国法定离婚理由在司法实践中仍存在一定的性别差异。因此,我国法定离婚理由应根据时代发展的需要相应地增加列举内容,以增强司法实践中的可操作性,同时还应注意对司法人员社会性别意识进行培养,从而推进性别平等的法律进程,并最终实现促进社会和谐发展的立法目的。     

区域文化对婚姻稳定性的影响:基于跨省流动人口的研究

本文利用2013—2015年我国跨省流动人口数据,从动态的视角考察了流入地文化和流出地文化对流动人口婚姻稳定性的影响。数据结果显示,高离婚率地区形成了一种强势的离婚文化,无论是从低离婚率地区流入到高离婚率地区,还是从高离婚率地区流入到低离婚率地区,曾在高离婚率地区生活过的跨省流动人口都会保持较高的离婚概率。离婚文化对个人行为的影响表现为继承效应和浸染效应：继承效应即人们迁移到一个新的文化环境中,原有的离婚文化会持续产生影响;浸染效应即人们迁移到一个新的区域,会受到新接触的离婚文化的影响。年轻人更容易受到新迁入地文化浸染效应的影响,而年龄较大的人更容易受到流出地文化继承效应的影响。在新环境中,男性更容易接受新的文化,而女性则更多地保留了原有文化特征。     

“政策性离婚”的伦理考量

“政策性离婚”是指因国家政策的变化而出现的离婚现象,其实质是通过假离婚等非常规方式规避政策的限制,以实现个人或家庭利益的最大化。诱发“政策性离婚”的伦理因素包括：经济利益至上导致的婚姻伦理关系的淡化、道德监督缺失带来的婚姻主体道德责任的弱化以及制度伦理失范引发的社会道德环境的恶化。为了减少“政策性离婚”等类似社会现象的发生,必须强化个体道德自律,坚守婚姻的道德底线;健全道德监督机制,促进社会生活的规范化;推进制度伦理建设,维护社会的正义与和谐。     

国内离婚问题研究综述

离婚水平高和离婚率上升作为一个世界性现象,已经引起了学术界的关注和探索,本文对前者有关离婚问题的研究进行文献综述,通过这种方式对于以往离婚问题研究的视角进行一定的整合,进而寻求一种更为新颖的视角去探索中国离婚问题的研究。     

The economic consequences of divorce in six OECD countries

This article uses longitudinal data to estimate the short‐ and medium‐term economic effects of divorce in the USA, the UK, Switzerland, Korea, Germany and Australia during the first decade of the 21st century. Based on the data collected during the 2000s, in all of the countries studied, divorce had, on average, negative effects on the equivalised household incomes of women. However, the extent and duration of the negative effects of divorce differed markedly between countries. In all of the countries, the effects of divorce on the equivalised household income of men were smaller than for women. Although, using the available data, it is not possible to definitely explain the differences between countries, the analysis presented in this article has demonstrated that the average economic effects of divorce, particularly for women, are heavily influenced by the social security system, the labour market, family models and the family law system of each country. While the social security system and institutional arrangements such as child support and spousal maintenance do influence women's post‐divorce economic outcomes, what is most important in explaining cross‐country differences is women's labour market earnings and the extent to which re‐partnering occurs.     

Marital History and Intergenerational Solidarity: The Impact of Divorce and Unmarried Cohabitation

Among the more recent challenges for the family are the increasing divorce rates and the decline in marriages. This article examines the possible consequences of these trends for intergenerational family relationships. How does divorce in the parent generation, and the shift from marriage to unmarried cohabitation among adult children, affect intergenerational solidarity? These questions are explored with data from the Norwegian Life Course, Ageing and Generation Study (NorLAG, n = 5,589, age 40–79). Scandinavian countries have high divorce and cohabitation rates and may therefore be of interest as comparative cases for countries where these events are less institutionalized. The findings suggest, however, that Norway accommodates to the general norm in the sense that divorce among parents is associated with lower solidarity with adult children on most solidarity dimensions. This is more true for fathers than for mothers. There is, on the other hand, no difference in solidarity between married and cohabitating children vis à vis the parent generation. The explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.     

Social integration and suicide: Denmark, 1906–2006

Research on the relationship between social integration and suicide rates has neglected a historical perspective. Analyses are often based on relatively short time periods where there may not be enough variation in integration to affect the national suicide rate, or where overall integration levels are not low enough to buttress a link between a specific index of low integration, such as divorce, and suicide. The present investigation contributes to the literature by testing a hypothesis on domestic integration and suicide over a century, the longest period studied to date, encompassing periods of low and high overall social integration, and emergent risk and protective factors. Data are available for core variables for Denmark, 1906–2006. Annual data include those on suicide, and indicators of integration (divorces, births, marriages), as well as for economic strain (unemployment) and time trends. A log linear Poisson model is estimated, which explores the central divorce–suicide relationship under controls for confounders. Controlling for confounders, a one percent increase in divorce increases male suicides by 0.52% and female suicides by 1.12%. As anticipated, marriages decrease suicide: a one percent increase in marriages reduces suicide by 0.77% for men and by 0.63% for women. The trend in divorce, in particular, offers accurate predictions of suicide throughout the century. The relationship between divorce and suicide over a century is robust. The results offer the strongest support to date in support of a social integration model based on long term historical data on suicide and divorce.     

关于离婚损害赔偿制度的若干思考

离婚损害赔偿制度是我国《婚姻法》中新增加的制度。如何适用和完善这一制度为理论界所关注。文章试图从立法反思、立法定位、立法完善诸环节就离婚损害赔偿制度作一深入探讨 ,以有益于该制度的完善与操作。     

Parental Reports of Children's Post-Divorce Adjustment

Two years after the final decree, 560 divorced parents, fathers as well as mothers, were asked to assess the impact of the divorce on their children. Their responses to this question—as well as to other questions—seemed to divide into a "his" and "hers" perspective. Other variables having to do with the parents and their children, the marriage, the divorce and the changes necessitated by the divorce were analyzed in relation to these parental assessments. Factors associated with fathers' responses differed from those associated with mothers', but the majority of each group felt that their children had been negatively affected by the divorce.     

北京市近年离婚水平与年龄分布的变动趋势分析

2004年以来,北京市的离婚总量持续上升,粗离婚率和离结率在全国均居于中等偏上的位次,其中在民政部门登记离婚的比重逐年提高.基于2004-2011年北京市登记离婚数据的分析表明,男性和女性的平均离婚年龄、平均婚后年数相比上世纪90年代初均有较大推迟；离婚者的年龄结构近年也出现较大变化,30岁以下年轻人和50岁以上中老年人的离婚率以及在离婚总量中所占比重均有明显上升趋势；平均婚后年数在3年以内和21年以上的离婚夫妇的数量和比重也呈增长态势.     

Post-Divorce Family Relationships as Mediating Factors in the Consequences of Divorce for Children

In this study, the psychological structure of the family after divorce is seen as mediating the impact of divorce upon children. Divorce affects primary bonds with parents, presents challenges to conceptions of social reality, and creates stress which interferes with normal development. The effects of divorce upon child behavior (peer relations, stress, aggression, work effectiveness at school) were examined through two contrasting research strategies: 1) a comparison of the behavior of children in divorced and intact families, and 2) analysis of the association between family processes and child outcomes in intact and divorced families. Family processes examined were: (a) the affective relationships between the father and mother, (b) the affective relationships between the child and each parent separately, and (c) for divorced families, the amount of contact between child and non-custodial parent. For divorced and intact groups combined, the relationships among family members appeared to be more potent influences on child behavior than was marital status. The negative effects of divorce were greatly mitigated when positive relationships with both parents were maintained. The child's relationship with the non-custodial parent (father) was as important as the continuing relationship with the mother. Implications for research and for public policy are discussed.     

Family resources as mediators in the relation between divorce and children's school engagement

Children are increasingly growing up in non-intact families. Because the family is a vital developmental part of growing-up, parental divorce can have far-reaching effects on children. This article investigates whether divorce interferes with children's engagement in school. According to the deprivation perspective, the effect of a parental divorce on children is mediated through the availability of family resources. Structural equation models are performed on the Leuven's Adolescent and Family Study. We conclude that the parental divorce effect on school engagement is mediated by the parent-child relationship, parental conflict, and financial problems at home.     

Issues Related to the Use of Short-Term Groups for Adjustment to Divorce

Programs for divorce adjustment which utilize short-term groups provide a viable treatment intervention for meeting the needs of divorced clients. Through a comparison of such programs, this article identifies and discusses some of the issues and gaps in our present knowledge about the use of short-term groups for adjustment to divorce. Guidelines are provided for practitioners and agencies interested in developing divorce adjustment group programs or modifying existing ones.     

Play and Social Interaction in Children Following Divorce

This paper presents the results of a longitudinal study of the effects of divorce on play and social interaction in children. Forty-eight middle class white preschool children from divorced families and a matched group of forty-eight non divorced families were studied at 2 months, 1 year and 2 years after divorce. In the first year following divorce disruptions were found in both play and social relations for boys and girls from divorced families. The adverse effects had largely disappeared for girls by two years after divorce; however, the effects were more intense and enduring for boys. The play patterns of children from divorced families, in comparison to those of children in non divorced families, were less socially and cognitively mature when measured shortly after divorce. Limitations and rigidity in fantasy play were particularly notable. In the year following divorce both boys and girls showed high rates of dependent helpseeking behavior and acting out, non-compliant behavior. This again was more enduring in boys than girls. Even when the behavior of boys from divorced families had improved they were viewed and responded to more negatively by peers and teachers than were children from non divorced families or girls from divorced families.     

Remarriage Among Divorced Persons in New Zealand

Trends in the remarriage of divorced persons in New Zealand since World War Two are examined with special attention to the period since 1968 during which the divorce rate has risen rapidly. While remarrying divorcees have formed increasing proportions of marriage cohorts since the late 1960s the remarriage rate, especially for females, has risen only because the divorced population has become more youthful. Comparison of the remarriage experience of synthetic divorce cohorts for 1961 and 1976 suggests that the likelihood of remarriage has fallen for both sexes where divorce occurs at ages below forty, but in particular for females divorced in their thirties.     

Children of Divorce: Can We Meet Their Needs?

The high incidence of divorce, coupled with its profound consequences, suggest that the psychological needs of the children involved, the degree to which these needs are being met, and the measures that might be taken to better meet them must be explored. This paper outlines some of the service needs of children of divorce, examines existing systems for the delivery of services, and assesses the extent to which the systems are meeting those needs. It concludes that existing services are essentially inadequate and describes the major characteristics of a model program designed to deal appropriately with the specific needs of children of divorce. Research to develop and evaluate services and programs is urged.     

The Impact of Divorce Laws on Divorce Rate in Australia: A Time Series Analysis

This paper investigates the impact of the two major divorce law changes in Australia on the level and the trend of divorce rates. A time series analysis indicated that the impact of the Matrimonial Causes Act was negligible, while that of the Family Law Act was substantial, but temporary in its nature. A non-linear regression equation indicated that by 1979 the divorce rate was returning to a level consonant with the pre-1975 trends. The authors concentrated on explaining the change related to the emergence of the 1975 law and addressed the question whether the post-1976 increase could be regarded as indicating that the FLA undermined the stability of Australian marriages.     

Divorced mothers' self‐perception of their divorce‐related communication with their children

This is a qualitative study of divorce‐related communication between mothers and children, as recounted by 20 Jewish Israeli mothers. We adopt the communication privacy management theory, focusing on mothers' subjective experiences of communication, their management of dialectic tension between concealment and disclosure – namely, not only what mothers choose to disclose to and hide from their children, but also the feelings, concerns and perceptions that drove their communication. The mothers' reports convey the challenges and dilemmas they faced when communicating with their children about their divorce and its repercussions; the main one being their obligation to maintain a good father image and their wish to preserve a strong maternal figure. The ‘child's well‐being’ was the dominant criterion in the mothers' decision to reveal or conceal divorce‐related information. Clinical suggestions are made.