Do the Kids Think They're Okay? Adolescents' Views on the Impact of Marriage and Divorce

A sample (N?=?365) of middle school and high school students from both divorced and intact families were surveyed with regard to their opinions about the impact of their parents' relationships (divorced or married) on a variety of areas of their lives. Adolescents from separated or divorced (S/D) families tended to rate their parents' relationships and impact on them more negatively than adolescents from living together or married (L/M) families. However, both groups consistently rated their parents in the same direction on a variety of topics. Gender was not a factor in the responses of either group. However, age (middle school vs. high school) was related to significant differences in adolescents' views about parents.     

Social Selection and Social Causation in Marriage and Health: Longitudinal Evidence of Body Weight Change

Social selection proposes that health influences marriage, whereas social causation proposes that marriage influences health. We used biennial 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data to examine body weight 6 years before and 6 years after entering and exiting first marriages. For marital entry, social selection occurred as lighter women entered marriage. Social causation was not observed because all marital entry groups gained weight at comparable rates. Cohabitation was not associated with weight change after marital entry. For marital exit, short-term social causation occurred as men and women lost weight after marital exit and then regained equivalent weight. Overall, body weight change sometimes followed transitions into and out of marriage, but the associations were few in number, short-lived, and had no long-term impact on body weight.     

Long-Term Effects of a Parenting Preventive Intervention on Young Adults’ Attitudes Toward Divorce and Marriage

This study examined whether the New Beginnings Program (NBP), a parenting-focused preventive intervention designed to reduce children’s postdivorce mental health problems, affected attitudes toward divorce and marriage in young adults whose mothers had participated 15 years earlier. Participants (M = 25.6 years; 50% female; 88% White) were from 240 families that had participated in a randomized experimental trial (NBP vs. literature control). Analyses of covariance showed that program effects on both types of attitudes were moderated by gender. Males in the NBP reported more positive attitudes toward marriage and less favorable attitudes toward divorce than males in the literature control.     

Mid- and Late-Life Divorce and Parents’ Perceptions of Emerging Adult Children’s Emotional Reactions

A paucity of research exists pertaining to the experiences of emerging adult children in the context of parental divorce. This study uses Paul R. Amato’s divorce-stress-adjustment framework to organize a set of predictors that potentially influence parents’ perceptions of their emerging adult children’s emotional reactions to a divorce. Data come from a nationally representative AARP study, from which we analyzed a sample of 283 parents who experienced a divorce at age 40 years or older. Results indicate that parental gender, nature of contact with the ex-partner, divorce timing, time spent contemplating divorce, a history of parental divorce, and the reason for divorce influence parents’ perceptions of their emerging adult children’s reaction to the divorce. Implications, limitations, and future direction for research are discussed.     

China' s Divorce Trends in the Transition Toward a Market Economy1

Abstract

This study examines the changes in China' s divorce patterns since 1950, identifies major factors responsible for the upsurge of divorces since the 1978 economic reform, and discusses the likely trend and socioeconomic implications. Results indicate that the number of divorces per 1,000 population increased steadily from 0.327 in 1979 to 0.954 in 1998 and the number of divorces per 1,000 married population increased from 0.820 to 1.710 over the same period. This study suggests that China' s divorce rate is likely to increase under the economic transition but the rate of increase will be determined by many factors, including the forthcoming Marriage and Family Law.     

Unemployment and Family Behavior in Taiwan

This paper utilizes official monthly time series data of Taiwan from January 1978 to April 2000 and estimates of a Vector Auto-regressive model with centered seasonal dummy variables to investigate the interrelationships between unemployment and family behavior such as divorce, marriage, and conception in Taiwan. When using the unemployment rate as a proxy for the cycle indicator, the primary finding is that the unemployment rate has a positive influence on the divorce rate in Taiwan. In addition, the marriage rate turns out to be positively affected by the unemployment rate as well. However, the conception rate is found to be negatively affected by the unemployment rate.     

What Factors Influence Marital Satisfaction? Differences Between First and Second Marriages

This study examined differences in marital satisfaction between first and second marriages and how additional factors can help explain satisfaction differences between the marriage types. Participants in first marriages reported higher levels of satisfaction than remarried individuals. Regression analyses demonstrated marriage type to be a moderator of satisfaction in second marriages; as education increased, satisfaction also increased. Length of marriage was found to significantly influence satisfaction in first marriages, but not second marriages. In both first and second marriages, participants currently in counseling reported lower satisfaction scores. The need to understand remarriages' distinct characteristics apart from first marriages is discussed.     

Utilizing Children's Drawings in Working with Children Following Divorce

The dramatic rise of parental divorce affects a large number of children placing new and acute demands on the helping services to meet their needs. In addition to the conventional assessment tools for and methods for treating children, new and innovative ones are needed to help therapists understand the problems of these children. In the following article, the author presents new ways to utilize children's drawings to better understand how children of parental divorce see their world.     

How Will Reforms of Marital Institutions Influence Marital Commitment? A Theoretical Analysis

Many recently policy proposals are intended to alter the incentives to establish or terminate family relationships, often with the goal of encouraging marriage. This paper develops a model of family structure decisions and uses it to argue that some such reforms may actually have the opposite effect. A pro-marriage reform raises both the value of marrying ones current partner and the value of search. When the latter effect dominates, singles are less likely to form a match, and couples are more likely to separate and optimally make fewer commitments to their relationships.This paper has benefitted from conversations with Gary Becker, Robert Michael, Victor Lima, Janice Compton, Emek Basker, Shoshana Grossbard-Shechtman (the editor), several anonymous referees, and the participants of workshops at the University of Chicago and the Midwest Economics Association. I also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the University of Chicago and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (Grant number T32HD07302). Any remaining deficiencies are solely my responsibility.