Freedom of Divorce

MS. Zhang and her husband came to realize they were not right for each other after three years of marriage. According to the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China, citizens have freedom of marriage and divorce so the couple sought to end their unhappiness and begin new lives separately. As they had no children, and were in agreement on the divorce, the only     

Divorce and Children

Zang Xiaoping (editor of the Literary Gazette) Whether or not to get divorced for the sake of the children is an important question for every couple that is having problems. I think the key to solving the problem is to start by considering what would be best for the healthy development of their children.     

Paying the Price of Divorce

IN the 1990s,a woman divorcee is nolonger a scandal nor a disgrace.Womenno longer feel obliged to continue withunhappy,unsuitable marriages andthose in such a position are freeingthemselves and gaining their social and     

Breaking Up,Breaking Hearts? Characteristics of the Divorce Process and Well-Being After Divorce

This article expands existing research on divorce and mental health by considering the divorce process and how it relates to the postdivorce well-being of men and women. Drawing on gender role theories, we focus on conflict, duration of the divorce process, initiation, moving house, and feelings of (in)equity. Men and women aged 25 to 60 years who had divorced no more than 5 years were selected from the population-based survey Divorce in Flanders (DIF; N _sample = 728). Results of the multilevel regressions indicate that initiation, shared initiation, and a fair perception of the division at divorce relate to better mental health. Contrary to expectations, longer trajectories and trajectories characterized by conflict do not relate to worse mental health in the long run. A new partner seems to be the key for greater well-being after divorce.     

Characterizing Mother’s Dating After Divorce

Mothers dating after divorce is a dynamic process, where not all mothers date the same way after divorce. However, few studies have examined the different ways that mothers date after divorce, which should influence maternal well-being, risk behaviors, and the quality of their relationships. This study characterizes four different approaches to mothers’ repartnering (referred to as repartnering histories): no dating, dating one partner monogamously, dating multiple partners serially, and dating multiple partners simultaneously. Each repartnering history is characterized by demographic variables, relationship quality, and maternal well-being. Implications of the study are discussed.     

Emotional Divorce: Child’s Well-Being

The effects of parental emotional divorce on the levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and aggression in children, as measured by the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS) and Aggression Questionnaire were studied. The measures were administered to a sample of 81 Iranian children ranging in age from 10 to 12 years old; 50 were in the legal divorce group and 31 were in the emotional divorce group. Children of emotionally divorced parents showed significantly higher levels of emotional and behavioral problems than counterparts from legally divorced parents. They reported more depression, anxiety, stress, and aggression. Additionally, moderate, severe, and extremely severe levels of emotional and behavioral problems were more common among emotional divorce children than legal divorce ones. In conclusion, the findings clearly showed that emotional divorce is more harmful than legal divorce. The differences between emotionally divorced and legally divorced families and the diversity of emotional and behavioral reactions among their children are discussed.     

Which Neuropsychiatric Disorder Is More Associated With Divorce?

The social disruption experienced by people with neuropsychiatric disorders may be pervasive and manifest in divorce. It has been estimated that 90% of marriages involving a partner with bipolar disorder culminate in divorce. To verify this information we studied the results of the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey. We found that the percentage of divorced residents was 7%. However, “lonesome” status (widowed, divorced, separated, never married, and single) was prevailing in 79% of residents. The rates of divorce were highest among bipolar, paranoid, and schizophrenic residents (18%, 12%, and 12%, respectively). Lonesome status was also highest among bipolar, paranoid, and schizophrenic residents (85%, 84%, and 83%, respectively). Never married status was highest among those with schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive residents, and bipolar patients (12%, 12%, and 11%, respectively). We conclude that shizophrenic and bipolar patients are very likely to never get married or to end up divorced.     

Conflict or Divorce? Does Parental Conflict and/or Divorce Increase the Likelihood of Adult Children's Cohabiting and Marital Dissolution?

The short- and long-term effects of family structure on child well-being remains a hotly contested area among both researchers and policymakers. Although previous research documents that children of divorce are more prone to divorce themselves, much of this research has been plagued by multiple data and analytic problems. A second problematic issue relates to whether it is the divorce per se that leads to increased divorce or rather the conflict that may precede the divorce. In this article we examine whether children who experience parental conflict and/or divorce are more likely to experience a cohabiting breakup or divorce as adults compared with children from low conflict and/or intact families. Our examination improves on past research by using a three-wave longitudinal data set and by controlling for predivorce family characteristics, including the conflict between parents before divorce. We extend previous research on the effect of parental conflict and divorce on adult children's likelihood of divorce by also examining the likelihood of a cohabiting dissolution.     

Why is the Divorce Rate Declining in Indonesia?

This article examines trends in marital dissolution in Indonesia. Analysis considers the impact of educational expansion, delayed marriage, urbanization, increasing employment before marriage, legislative change, and increased free choice in marriage on the decline in marital disruption. Trends such as delayed marriage and educational expansion account for about one third of the decline in marital dissolution. Moreover, factors associated with marital disruption are shifting in importance. In particular, age at marriage and marital duration are becoming less reliable predictors of marital stability, whereas education is becoming more important. We conclude that the shifting forces governing marital formation and dissolution in Indonesia have modified the linkages between the conjugal couple, broader kinship systems, and modes of economic support such that traditional patterns sustaining high levels of marital instability are no longer in effect.     

College Students’ Perceptions of Media Portrayals of Divorce

This study takes an exploratory, qualitative approach to examine college students’ perceptions about divorce in the media. Findings suggest that participants perceived both positive and negative representations of divorced families in the media they consume, highlighting the complex nature of navigating and communicating through a divorce. Specifically, college students reported on aspects of the ex-spousal relationship, how children are affected, and the contrast between life pre- and postdivorce. An inductive theme analysis revealed several positive and negative media representations of divorce. Largely, college students perceive media messages about divorce to be accurate portrayals and impactful representations.     

How Long Does a Santa Barbara Divorce Take?

There has been considerable research about the amount of time the psychological grief process requires when couples divorce. However, there has been little research on the time the actual process of divorce requires. To address this, we obtained free and publicly available information on divorce cases from Santa Barbara County. We are able to offer some insight about the relationship among the length of divorce, marriage length, and having minor children. Our results are consistent with those found in other literature that focuses on the length of the grief process, and our results are consistent with our experiences in family law practice and mediation.     

Report from Wuhan:Protection Law Aids Women who Divorce

ONCE a rarely accepted reality in China, today divorce is no longer unusual for most Chinese to understand, which reflects changing ideas about the quality of marriage. At the same time, however, a women's right to divorce has become a concern in society. In Wuhan City, Hubei Province, the following situation is no exception. According to an informal survey, civil cases have always comprised half of the cases at the Wuhan Municipal People's     

The Geographic Context of Divorce: Do Neighborhoods Matter?

Neighborhood effects on family formation processes have recently received considerable attention, but no study has yet examined the impact of neighborhood socioeconomic status on marital dissolution. This analysis merges data from 3,523 respondents to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics with census data describing the socioeconomic composition of local communities. Although a multiitem index of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is positively and significantly related to the risk of divorce, this association can be explained entirely by the low incomes of husbands in distressed neighborhoods. Thus, there appears to be no direct causal influence of neighborhood socioeconomic status on marital instability. To the extent that neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage increases the prevalence of single‐parent families, it apparently does so by increasing rates of out‐of‐wedlock childbearing rather than by disrupting existing marriages among couples with children.     

Does Gold Price Matter for Divorce Rate in Iran?

The increasing divorce rate has become a major social concern for policy makers in the Islamic government of Iran. The price of gold coin is an important factor in cost-benefit analysis for individuals in their marriage and divorce decisions in Iran. Dowries (Mehrieh) are usually in the form of gold coin and a wife has a legal right to request them from her husband upon both parties signing the marriage contract. Increasing the price of gold coin may intensify the internal stress and struggles within families, leading to a higher probability of divorce. We investigated the long-run relationship between real price of gold coin and divorce rate for the case of Iran over the period 1980–2014. Controlling for other factors such as women’s education, social globalization, economic growth rate, and the war period with Iraq, our regression results showed that there is a positive and significant long-run relationship between real price of gold coin (as well as unanticipated changes in real price of gold coin) and marital instability.     

“Economic Theory’s Stance On No-Fault Divorce”

This article explores key insights that economic theory can shed on the issue of no-fault divorce in the United States, addressing modifications in the incentive structure of individuals that resulted from the legislative reforms of the 1970s. After stressing the importance of correctly interpreting and classifying divorce laws, this work investigates the contributions of the theory of property rights, the contributions of game theory and intra-household bargaining, and the contributions of general equilibrium analysis in our understanding of how divorce laws work and what their impact is. By doing so, this exposé analyzes the theoretical consequences of no-fault divorce on the decision whether to get married or divorced, on the characteristics of spouses and divorcees, on divorce rates, and on marital-specific and non marital-specific investments.     

Ethno-Linguistic Exogamy and Divorce: Does Marital Duration Matter?

This research examines whether the exogamy effect on the divorce risk varies over marital duration. Registry data from 1970 to 2003 allow us to observe couples in exogamous and endogamous ethno-linguistic marriages (Finnish speakers and Swedish speakers in Finland). We find that an elevated divorce risk of exogamous couples, which has been observed in numerous studies, is not typical of recently initiated marriages only, because it does not attenuate over marital duration. Marital problems that lead to divorce seem to be more common among exogamous couples than among endogamous couples. We argue that these patterns are likely due to group-specific differences in attitudes toward marriage. The argument is supported by a persistent difference in the divorce risk across endogamous Finnish- and Swedish-speaking marriages, and by the variation in divorce risk by ethno-linguistic composition of the couples in a regional context where minority group behaviors are more likely absorbed into majority group behaviors.     

Parental Divorce and First-Year College Students’ Persistence and Academic Achievement

The purpose of this article was to examine the relationships between parental divorce and first-year college students’ persistence and academic achievement at a large public university. Using data from the 2007–2008 Cooperative Institutional Research Program survey of first-year students, the results of a logistic regression analysis suggest that students whose parents were divorced were significantly less likely to persist into their second year of study than their peers. Students whose parents were divorced also had significantly lower cumulative grade point averages. These findings held when controlling for demographic variables, precollege academic indicators, college experiences, and academic motivation.     

Stepmothers’ Role in Mediating Adverse Effects on Children of Divorce

Divorce and remarriage can be a stressful time for children: Stepmothers can aid in reducing negative repercussions. Effectively incorporating stepmothers into the family can aid in a healthy transition. Addressing role ambiguity, relationships, communication styles, and reorganization can help families avoid unnecessary stress during divorce and remarriage. Interventions that focus on increasing coping mechanisms and effective communication help reduce negative side effects and aid in the successful reorganization of the family following divorce or remarriage. Counselors can aid in this process by supporting families using structural family therapy (SFT) and suggesting interventions. When counselors and society support the diverse compositions of families, this reorganization can happen with less distress for the children involved.     

Cross-Regional Divorce Risks in Belgium: Culture or Legislative System?

Cross-national research is by definition carried out between different countries. Looking at country differences often results in common and diverse sets of divorce risks. This article uses a cross-national research perspective on divorce risks within a single country. Belgium is a special case in this respect. The division of the country in two regions with a different language and a quite different historical background often frightens researchers to include the country in large-scale international comparisons. We argue that Belgium is an interesting test case in international perspective since it combines—in a quasi-experimental setting—two important explanatory conditions for divorce risks on the macro level. First, Belgium is a unitary country with a single social security system, similar labor market characteristics, and a single family policy. Second, whereas the institutions between the northern and the southern part are similar, Belgium is culturally divided in a rather Catholic northern part (Flanders) and a secular southern part (Wallonia). This division is often referred to as a northern (Scandinavian) and a southern (Spain, Italy) cultural pattern. This means that when studying divorce patterns, we have the opportunity to examine the net effect of cultural determinants because of the similar feature of the institutional setting of both the Walloon and the Flemish part of the country.