How a Divorcee’s Sexual Life Is Socially Constructed and Understood in the Iranian Culture

Sexual well-being is an important factor in postdivorce adjustment and presents various challenges for divorced women in Iran. With an alarming number of marriages ending in divorce in Iran, the postdivorce sexuality adjustment process has become a major concern. Meanings attached to the sexuality of a divorcee necessitate different adjustment and coping strategies among women. How these meanings are generated, negotiated, and modified in Iranian contexts has yet to be explored. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze the extensive, rich data obtained through sustained interaction with the informants as well as through in-depth individual interviews and focus group discussions. “Sociosexual problems” was found to be one of the main domains in our study. Participants experienced a negative impact from divorce on their sexual lives, including sexual interactions. Social isolation and social exclusion resulted from the avoidance of stereotypic interactions and were often a consequence of difficulties with concealment of sexual needs due to stigma. Women discussed a range of negative experiences arising in response to their sexual needs in postdivorce life. The analysis revealed the complexities of gendered postdivorce sexual trajectories. Based on the findings, articulating a sexual health model specific for divorced women seems important.     

Facilitating Postdivorce Adjustment Among Women:

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of communication skills training on adjustment to divorce and separation among women. Divorcees in the experimental group (N = 13) received 15 hours of training in interpersonal communication skills, along with didactic information regarding various aspects of the postdivorce adjustment process. Divorcees in the control group (N = 15) received no treatment. Results indicated that the experimental group, relative to the control group, significantly increased in overall divorce adjustment and in empathy skills. Although the experimental group, relative to the control group, showed some increase in selfesteem, the results were not conclusive. No significant differences were found between the experimental group and the control group in either perceived social support or selfdisclosure skill. Discussion centered on the advantages of structured skills training as a strategy for intervention in the postdivorce adjustment process.     

Locus of control and saving: The role of saving motives

Using data from a longitudinal survey representative of the Dutch population, we analyze the relationship between saving and locus of control, and we study the underlying mechanisms. Locus of control measures the extent to which individuals perceive their life outcomes to be determined by their own actions, as opposed to external factors. Those who believe to be in control of future outcomes turn out to save more, both at the extensive (decision to save) and intensive margins (amount saved). We investigate the mechanisms behind this relationship. We implement a mediation analysis to examine the role of saving motives, distinguishing between specific and non-specific purposes. The effect of external locus of control is direct, while the effect of internal locus of control is indirect, largely driven by (non-specific) saving motives.     

A Study of Sex Role Expectancy and Female Postdivorce Adjustment

The purpose of this study was to identify factors significantly related to the postdivorce adjustment of women. Fifty-three divorced Caucasian women were administered four instruments: Demographic Data-Checklist; Expressed Acceptance of Self Scale; Social Avoidance and Distress Scale; and a modified form of the Marriage Role Expectation Inventory. The study results indicated that women with more equalitarian sex role expectations were significantly better adjusted than women who were less equalitarian in their attitudes. Older women and those who had been married longer were also found to be better adjusted. Lack of communication and conflicts regarding family responsibilities and roles were also found to be predominant factors in the decision to divorce. Findings are discussed in relation to previous research, and implications for future research are indicated.     

Significant Family Dynamics Related to Postdivorce Adjustment in Parents and Children

ABSTRACT

This study concentrates on the postdivorce adjustment of parents and children in families with shared parenting time arrangements. Thirty divorcing parents with children aged 12 to 59 months old were interviewed using a semistructured telephone interview regarding their early experiences in the divorce process. Findings showed that work–family balance issues were related to postdivorce parental adjustment for mothers. Interparental hostility was related to child alienation and paternal overnight stays. Length of time since physical separation was related to number of overnight stays. These results shed light on the early experiences of families with young children going through the divorce process.     

Early abuse experiences and subsequent gender differences in couple adjustment

The main purpose of the current study was to evaluate the relationship between early abusive experiences (sexual abuse, parental violence, and witnessing parental violence) and subsequent couple adjustment with a theoretical model that incorporates attachment and psychological distress as mediator variables. We specifically examined the variability in long-term psychosocial characteristics of child abuse survivors across women and men. A representative sample of French-Canadian couples composed of 632 men and women completed measures of child abuse, attachment, psychological distress, and dyadic adjustment. Structural equation analyses showed that, for both women and men, sexual abuse was related to dyadic adjustment through anxiety about abandonment and psychological distress. For men, experiencing physical or psychological violence was associated with dyadic adjustment through psychological distress. For women, there was an indirect relationship between witnessing physical violence and dyadic adjustment through abandonment anxiety. Differences between men and women in the long-term adjustment to childhood sexual abuse were small and not consistent with a gender-specific model of psychosocial repercussions.     

Randomized controlled trial of the Marriage Checkup: Stress outcomes

Several couple interventions targeting relationship distress also show beneficial effects on individual mental health. Yet, strikingly few studies report effects on perceived stress. This study examined the effects of a brief couple intervention, the Marriage Checkup (MC), on perceived stress. We randomly assigned 231 couples to receive two MCs (Weeks 7 and 51) or to a waitlist control. Survey data were collected at seven time points over 2 years and analyzed using multilevel models. We found no significant between-group treatment effects on average stress at any time point. However, women, but not men, in the intervention group experienced decreased stress after the second MC (d = −0.23) and more women in the intervention group (26.5%) compared with the control group (14.9%) experienced reliable improvements in stress after the second MC. Overall, the MC did not result in main effects on stress but caused temporary reliable change in terms of stress relief for women.     

Splitting the Marital Home: Gendered Property Division and Postdivorce Foreclosure

Divorce proceedings often involve splitting the marital home and contested claims over property and other assets. This case study examines the divorce–foreclosure nexus through key informant interviews, analysis of divorce files and foreclosure notices, and a review of court records on debt, remarriage, and criminal offending. We found that property disposition is a gendered process, with men receiving the marital home 1.7 times more often than women, even though they had more court debt, job instability, and criminal offending than their wives. Male defendants who hired an attorney received the house 85% of the time (52% for women defendants with an attorney). In postdivorce, men were more likely than women to remarry, have second mortgages, and to reoffend. We conclude that “equal” rather than “equitable” property division would reduce women’s structural disadvantage in divorce settlements and postdivorce home ownership.     

The Role of Social Participation in Postseparation and Postdivorce Adjustment

This study examines the role of social participation in postseparation and postdivorce adjustment. The subjects, 277 members of Parents with-out Partners chapters in two metropolitan areas, were administered a 273-item questionnaire containing the Postdivorce Problems and Stress Scale especially constructed for this research. It was found that higher levels of social participation were strongly related to lower stress. The following questions were also explored: (a) When do people participate more? (b) When is social participation particularly important for alleviating stress? and (c) Why do older males participate more than younger males and all females?     

Postdivorce Adjustment in Singapore: Factors,Themes, and Positive Growth

Although there is a fairly large literature on postdivorce adjustment in the United States, comparatively little research has been conducted on the topic in Singapore. In addition, the majority of research to date has focused on the negative impacts of divorce and has tended to ignore potential positive growth opportunities that might result from the experience. This study seeks to address this gap in the literature through a thematic analysis of interviews with divorcees in Singapore. Specifically, this study identifies factors contributing to positive postdivorce adjustments within the multicultural, multiethnic, and multireligious context found in Singapore. A review of participant responses identified 15 specific factors related to the potential for experiencing a positive postdivorce adjustment. Further review indicates that these factors can be grouped into 6 themes that could specifically inform counselors and other mental health professionals working in Singapore to assist with the adjustment process.     

Moderators of Stress in Salvadoran Refugees: The Role of Social and Personal Resources1

Refugee research has tended to focus exclusively on the mental health consequences of migration with little attention being devoted to factors that facilitate adjustment. Recently, several cross‐cultural researchers have suggested that the growing literature on moderators of stress may elucidate why some migrants experience adverse effects whereas others remain relatively unscathed. This study examines the moderating effects of social and personal resources on the relationship between stress and subjective well‐being in 60 recently‐arrived and 60 established Salvadoran refugees in Canada. The participants completed a questionnaire that included scales pertaining to stress (life events, hassles, migration‐related events), resources (social support, locus of control, self‐esteem) and well‐being (quality of life, life satisfaction). Varying results were found for both groups. For Recent Refugees, personal resources were found to moderate migration stress. In particular, locus of control buffered the relationships between migration stress and quality of life and life satisfaction, whereas self‐esteem buffered the migration stress‐quality of life relation. For Established Refugees, social support and self‐esteem moderated the relationship between life events and life satisfaction. In addition, social support buffered the effects of hassles on quality of life. The findings underscore the relevance of integrating more firmly the study of refugee adjustment with current developments in stress research.     

Early Psychosocial Stress Affects Men's Relationship Length

Life history theory predicts that the optimal reproductive strategy for individuals in risky and uncertain environments (subjectively experienced as early psychosocial stress) is to maximize current reproduction to minimize the chances of lineage extinction. Having many short-term relationships and many lifetime sex partners are ways to maximize current reproduction, but they come at a cost (e.g., decreased resources for future reproduction, decreased desirability as a future mate, etc.). This study, therefore, examined whether sexually active individuals with high levels of early psychosocial stress report more terminated short-term relationships, a shorter relationship length with their current partner, and more lifetime sex partners than those with less early psychosocial stress. Early psychosocial stress in men was associated with more terminated short-term relationships and a greater number of lifetime sex partners, but not with current relationship length; in women, high early psychosocial stress was associated with shorter current relationship length but not with the number of terminated short-term relationships or number of lifetime sex partners. Results are discussed from the perspective of life history theory and gender differences in preferences for short- and long-term relationships.     

THE PARENTAL ALLIANCE FOLLOWING DIVORCE: AN OVERVIEW

The empirical literature on the postdivorce parental alliance was reviewed with a focus on implications for clinical interventions by family therapists. Variables of cooperation and conflict between parents, individual parenting style, and personal adjustment were significantly interrelated and a range of co-parenting behaviors related to these variables was documented. A typology of divorcing families can be useful in predicting risks for child difficulties and in developing appropriate parenting plans. Clinical interventions need to be tailored to the unique characteristics and resources of a given family and can speak to multiple points of the family system.     

Non‐erotic thoughts: Content and relation to sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction

We examined the possible range of content of non‐erotic thoughts experienced during typical sexual activities with a partner. Undergraduate men (n = 47) and women (n = 50) were administered a measure of non‐erotic thought content, frequency, and anxiety, along with measures of sexual attitude, satisfaction, and functioning. Men were more likely to report performance‐related thoughts, and women were more likely to report thoughts about body image. However, men and women were equally likely to report thoughts about the external consequences of the activity (e.g., pregnancy, being caught) and the emotional consequences of the activity (e.g., morality, implications of the activity for the relationship). Women reported that their thoughts occurred more frequently and caused more anxiety. Greater thought frequency and greater anxiety over thoughts were associated with poorer sexual functioning for both men and women. For women, greater frequency of and anxiety evoked by thoughts was associated with lower sexual satisfaction. These data provide modest support for cognitive‐behavioral models of sexual dysfunction and indicate the importance of both examining a broad range of non‐erotic thought content and taking gender into account when applying these models to understanding and treating sexual difficulties.     

Adjustment to Separation Among Former Cohabiters

A series of hypothesized relationships between adjustment to separation and specified personality, demographic, and situational variables were investigated among 15 men and 35 women who had cohabited a minimum of three months and had since separated. Poorer adjustment was associated with a more traditional sex role orientation, greater discrepancies between self and ideal self, a less satisfying postseparation relationship with one's ex-partner, fewer and less use cf social supports, greater postseparation employment difficulties, and one's partner having initiated the decision to separate. Significant sex differences were found in attitudes toward the cohabiting relationship and its ending. The most useful explanatory concepts in interpreting thc data are the ability 10 control and anticipate life change events, and the persistence of emotional attachment bonds between separating intimates.     

A Phenomenological Study of Postdivorce Adjustment in Midlife

Today, 50% of all U.S. marriages are expected to end in divorce, with the majority of the divorces being granted to individuals between the ages of 45 and 54. Gaining an understanding of the lived experience of postdivorce adjustment as seen in midlife was the aim of this study. A phenomenological research design was used. The themes that emerged from the data included time, emotional pain, changes in postdivorce parenting, and a sense of starting over. The clinical implications of this study suggest that obtaining an understanding of the postdivorce adjustment experience might help mental health practitioners enhance care for divorced individuals, divorcing couples, and their family members.     

When Mr. Right Becomes Mr. Wrong: Women’s Postdivorce Name Choice

ABSTRACT

Divorced women (N = 185) who had changed to their husband’s name responded to a survey about their postdivorce name choice, which included demographic questions, Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction in General Scale. Resumers were younger and had more education than women maintainers. Resumers were married for fewer years and had fewer children at the time of divorce. Gender attitudes were not related to postdivorce name choice. Bivariate results provided some support for the hypothesis that name choice would be related to well-being measures. Maintainers reported significantly higher levels of autonomy and competence, but there was no difference in relatedness and self-esteem. Further analysis showed these relationships were moderated by age. Higher levels of autonomy and competence were seen in maintainers, but only among younger women. Possible explanations and the need for further research are discussed.     

AFTER DIVORCE

This paper reports the findings of a study designed to consider personality variables related to postdivorce adjustment. It was hypothesized that the more-or-less enduring personal characteristics of individuals are as important. and possibly more so, than variables such as age, sex, and length of time divorced. 58 females and 31 males completed the Blair Divorce Adjustment Inventory, the 16 PF, and a Personal Data Sheet. The top 25% of the sample in adjustment scores and the lowest 25% were selected for comparison. t-tests were used to determine significance of differences of the mean scores for each of the scales of the 16 PF. Significant differences were found between the Best Adjusted and Poorest Adjusted groups on 9 dimensions of personality. Persons who had achieved the best adjustment lo divorce scored significantly higher on measures of dominance1 assertiveness, self-assurance, intelligence, creativitylimagination. social boldness, liberalism, self-sufficiency. ego strength and tranquillity. The hypothesis that basic personality Factors are important in postdivorce adjustment was supported by the results of this study. These results contribute to our knowledge about the complicated process of sociallpsychological adjustment to the crisis of divorce.     

The role of cohabitation in remarriage: a replication

Previous research has demonstrated that the effects of postdivorce cohabitation on the quality of intimate relationships are similar to those of premarital cohabitation. Thus, like premarital cohabitation in first marriage, postdivorce cohabitation in general and multi-partnered postdivorce cohabitation in particular delay remarriage and diminish relationship quality (i.e. undermine happiness and stability). However, such findings are based on survey data from the 1980s, such as the first wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. Using pooled samples from the National Survey of Family Growth (1995, 2002), the present study determines whether such findings can be replicated with more recent nationally representative data collected from remarried women between the ages of 15 and 44 (n=1915). Multivariate regression analyses reveal two major findings. First, as anticipated, premarital and postdivorce cohabitation, including multi-partnered forms of cohabitation, delay remarriage. Moreover, serial cohabitation also significantly delays remarriage. Second, remarriages preceded by either postdivorce cohabitation or serial cohabitation exhibit a higher likelihood of remarital disruption (i.e. dissolution or separation). Consequently, while premarital and postdivorce cohabitation have become common in the USA, postdivorce and serial cohabitation continue to exert disruptive effects on remarriages among young American women. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

The Burden of Sexual Problems: Perceived Effects on Men’s and Women’s Sexual Partners

Sexual dysfunction sometimes negatively affects the individual, his or her partner, and the relationship. We investigated the relationship between the distress experienced by men and women with orgasmic phase difficulties and the perceived distress of their partner(s). We also identified predictors of perceived partner distress, and related self and partner distress to severity of the problem and relationship quality. Data were drawn from 374 men with premature ejaculation (PE) and 377 women with anorgasmia who responded to a survey regarding their sexual functioning, including their distress about their condition and the perceived distress of their partners. Results yielded an overall distress score consisting of combined self and perceived partners distress, with women showing a higher overall score and higher perceived partner distress than men. For men, significant predictors of perceived partner distress included self-distress, relationship quality, interest in sex, and arousal difficulty; for women, only the level of self-distress significantly predicted perceived partner distress. These findings indicate the burden of experiencing sexual difficulty, identify factors related to perceived partner distress, and demonstrate differences in self versus partner distress across men and women. Overall, such findings reiterate the strong need for the inclusion of the partner in any attempted remediation of a sexual problem.