The Late-Life Divorced

This study on divorce and the elderly includes a secondary analysis of data taken from Current Population Reports (CPR) and from The National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH). Age specific divorce prevalence rates calculated using the CPR, suggests an increase in the proportion of elderly divorced persons over the last 15 years, with the proportion of divorced women being greater than that of divorced men. Findings from the analysis of NSFH data suggests that women were more likely to turn to others for emotional support during separation than were men. Older women were more likely to than older men, The younger were more likely to than the older. Older women had better adjustment scores and overall happiness than did older men.     

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.     

Family and Social Network Factors After Divorce in Catholic Italian Women and Catholic Anglophone Women

Twenty-one Catholic Italian divorced women and a matched group of 21 Catholic Anglophone divorced women (who were born in Canada and whose ethnic roots were in Great Britain) were studied with regard to several family and social network variables. It was found that Catholic Italian women reported having grown up in an extended family situation more frequently, rated their degree of family loyalty as greater, felt that their fathers were more disapproving of their divorces, and reported fewer nonfamily members who could be relied on to provide emotional support than Catholic Anglophone women. However, the two groups did not differ significantly in terms of family concept, interaction with their parents after divorce, network density, mothers' approval/disapproval of the divorce, and sex role orientation. The findings were discussed in terms of the limits of the methods used in this study and suggestions for further research.     

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.     

The Emergence of a Specific Kind of Individualization Habitus Among Divorced Women

Previous research has consistently found that divorce is associated with psychological distress. This study expands existing research by considering age, education, employment, income, length of divorce, number of children, and economic hardship as predictors of postdivorce psychological distress among divorced women in Iran. This study examines 800 divorced women in Iran 30 to 48 years old who had been divorced for no more than 2 years. Results demonstrated that education, number of children, and economic hardship together predict 63.6% of the variance in psychological distress among divorced women. Economic hardship was found to be the strongest contributor. Recommendations for researchers and implications for clinicians are discussed.     

Social Network Changes and the Adjustment to Divorce

The objectives of this pilot study were to explore the social network relationships of divorced persons prior to divorce and up to one year following divorce, and to delineate the network changes which take place and the ways in which these changes affect adjustment to divorce. Subjects were administered the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale and the General Well-Being Schedule and completed a social network questionnaire. In general the findings suggested that changes in the social networks of individuals from pre to post divorce tend to decrease the quaLily of the person's adjustment to this life crisis. Suggestions were provided for future research in this area and for clinical interventions designed to deal with divorced persons.     

The Effect of Childbearing Age on Child Support Awards and Economic Well Being Among Divorcing Mothers

Most teenage mothers eventually marry but are at greater risk for subsequent marital disruption than those who delayed childbearing, and those who began parenting early are likely to experience greater economic insecurity as divorced/separated couples, we compare the economic status of ever-teen mothers and never-teen mothers at the time of divorce. We also examine the potential of an effective child support system to improve economic well being among families initially created by a birth to a teenager. The findings indicate that ever-teen mothers who experience a divorce have lower overall economic well being than their counterparts who delayed childbearing, and the former husbands of these women have less ability to pay child support than the husbands of never-teen mothers.     

How Does Divorce Affect Iranian Women's Sexual Well-Being?

Sexuality and divorce are two interwoven subjects with complex effects on women's sexual well-being in Iranian culture. Results of this exploratory study using focus group discussions and individual interviews revealed how the sexual well-being of women was influenced by the divorce experience through common patterns and recurring themes. A total of 26 women participated voluntarily in the study. They were approached through a selected social support group in a center in West Tehran in 2011, and all had been divorced for less than 10 years. For the majority, sexuality-related matters became complicated and jeopardized their overall well-being in postdivorce life. This finding, along with the fact that the majority were seeking financial and emotional support, implies that counseling women and providing economic support for postdivorce life might improve women's sexual well-being.     

After the Divorce

The present study compares postdivorce adjustment factors among older, long-married persons with similar familial factors among younger divorced persons. Data collected from personal interviews indicate that older divorced persons are not devastated by their divorce. Although these two groups do not differ in their overall scores of emotional health as measures by the General Well-Being Scale, within certain categories the older persons appear to be emotionally healthier. Statistically significant differences between the two samples include: importance of family closeness; conflict in relationships; and forewarning of the divorce from family members. There are also differences in the familial factors that predict well-being for the two age groups. Professionals intervening at all system levels should be sensitive to age differences and incorporate familial factors that ameliorate postdivorce adjustment. Implications for practice with older divorced persons include strengthening parent/adult child relationships and creatively designing programs at macro and micro levels to decrease family conflict. With younger divorced persons, conflict mediation with the family following divorce is necessary.     

Paving the Way for A Normal Life: A Qualitative Study of Coping Strategies Among Iranian Divorced Women

Regarding the devastating aftermath of divorce among Iranian divorced women, which is mainly affected by sociocultural factors, this qualitative study was conducted to explore their applied strategies in reorganizing their lives. Data collection started through deep unstructured interviews followed by semistructured interviews with 18 divorced women who were chosen by purposive sampling from mental health clinics, social work centers, or available cases. Gathered data were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method. Two main themes—behaviors of self-preservation and abstinence and struggling for balance—emerged. Subcategories were concealing the divorce, feminine self-restriction, avoidance behaviors, replacement of losses, seeking support, role development, handling the tensions, and defending oneself against the divorce failure. This study provides comprehensive knowledge of how Iranian divorced women reregulate their lives and also highlights their unique and culture-based coping strategies. Therefore, it provides specialists with a context-specific foundation for mental health care and enables them to intervene more effectively.     

Stigma in divorces and its deterrence effect

We develop a simple economic model of divorce by incorporating the labeling effect into rational choice theory. In our model, we provide an explanation of the process through which a divorced person is being stigmatized and explore theoretically the relationship between the experience of having divorced and the likelihood of divorce. Contrary to a widely held belief, our theoretical model predicts that a once-divorced person is not necessarily more likely to divorce, as is the case in Asian countries. This is because a divorced person may hesitate more to divorce one more time for fear of being labeled as pathological or abnormal.     

The Effects of Divorce on Children: Mothers’ Perspectives in UAE

This study examined the effects of divorce on children in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A structured questionnaire was conducted with 1,742 divorced women and SPSS was used for quantitative data analysis. The aim of this quantitative analysis was to determine the social, psychological, health, and schooling effects of divorce on children (ages 1–18) in the UAE. The study confirmed that children are adversely affected. The study found that divorce was associated with a higher incidence of several impacts of divorce such as economic hardship, lack of concentration in school, sleeping disorders, and challenge and stubbornness. This is the first study in the UAE exploring the social, psychological, health, and schooling effects of divorce on children and to gain an understanding of the unknown aspects of the divorce phenomenon in the region.     

Relationship of Previous Divorce and Previous Widowhood to Older Women's Adjustment to Recent Widowhood

The present study examined the adjustment of recent widows, relative to their experiences with the loss of a previous marriage. It was expected that widows with such previous experience would show greater adjustment on factors of psychological, economic, and environmental well-being. Interviews were conducted with 290 widows, age 60+, approximately 1 1/2 years after the husband's death. Thirty of the recent widows had been previously divorced, 22 had been previously widowed, and 238 had been married only once. The groups did not differ on psychological well-being: however, both economic factors and environmental factors revealed significant group differences. In general, women with previous experience with either widowhood or divorce showed better adaptation and self-sufficiency than women without such experience.     

The Effect of Children's Family Type on Teachers' Stereotypes

The main purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' stereotypic perceptions of the effects of different family types on the functioning of children. Seventy-six Israeli teachers were asked to evaluate the academic, social and emotional levels of functioning of a fictitious fifth grade boy who was variously described to them as being from an intact, remarried, divorced or conflicted family. Three main results were obtained. First, teachers expected the child from the intact family to function better academically, socially, and emotionally than the child from the conflicted family. Second, teachers expected similar levels of academic, social, and emotional functioning in a case of both tne child of divorced parents and the child from the remarried family. Third, three dimensions differentiated beween teachers' expectations when the child was described as coming from an intact, remarried or conflicted family but did not do so as regards the child of divorced parents. These results are discussed in the context of teacher-student interactions and their potential to trigger a process of self-fulfilling prophecy. The findings are also considered in reference to the doubtful validity of studies in which teachers' evaluations are used as measures of children's adjustment to the divorce or remarriage of their parents.     

Differences Between College Students from Divorced and Intact Families

We examined five hundred college students from intact and divorced families along several measures of adjustment. Further, comparisons within the divorce group were made across gender and number of years since the divorce with the covariates of parents' marital happiness prior to the divorce, remarriage, and who the student lived with after the divorce statistically controlled. Measures of adjustment included sexual behavior, attitudes toward marriage, depression, self-esteem, and general psychological functioning (pathology, anxiety, expression). Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that students from divorced families had significantly more sexual partners and more negative attitudes toward marriage than students from intact families. In addition, a significantly higher percentage of women from divorced families had had sexual intercourse as compared to women from intact families. Finally, women with parents that divorced within the past year were significantly more expressive than women with parents that divorced more than five years ago and more expressive than men with parents that had divorced within the past five years. The results are discussed in terms of the resolution of intimacy issues for college students with divorced parents and implications are drawn.     

Correlates and Consequences of Divorce in an Iranian City

Abstract

This papcr cxatnines the recent trends in divorcc in Iran and analyzes data about the determinants and consequenccs of divorce drawn from a divorce survey in a large urban center. Rcvicw of trends in divorce for the last three decades in Iran suggests that the divorce rate has been changing in response to social and legal changes and eight years of war. Urban background, education, work status of women, and religiosity are significantly related to divorce. Women who are divorced, comparcd to married women, suffer economically and expcricnce more psychological problems. Children of divorced women show indications of a higher level of etnotional disturbance and delinquency.     

Divorce: obstacles and opportunities – South Asian women in Britain

As divorce rates appear to rise amongst South Asian communities in Britain the repercussions for their members remain invisible and neglected in the research literature. The paper argues that this oversight needs to be addressed as it explores the findings from two separate studies to highlight some of the possible ramifications of divorce on South Asian women. The experiences presented here show that whilst divorce can have the most devastating effects on women in terms of their exclusion, it also presents some opportunities and optimism for their future. Furthermore, divorced women can not only bring positive change to their own lives, but also in the process, transform the cultures in which they live.     

The Role of Coercion in Affecting Women's Inferior Outcomes in Divorce

An investigation was conducted by the author into concessions of rightful property, child support and maintenance awards from ex-spouses under pressures from emotional blackmail of coercion. Information was obtained from legal and sociological literature, divorce records in Hennepin County, Minnesota, along with informal interviews with one attorney and eight divorced women. Spousal attempts at coercion during divorce negotiations may influence some women to make stipulations, agreements honored by this court, to less child support, property and/or maintenance than suggesteed guidelines or if they were to litigate those matters through the court system. This has economic, theoretical, therapeutic and research implications.     

Relation Between Parental Divorce and Adjustment in College Students

The role of parental divorce on the adjustment of emerging adults has been understudied and mostly limited to first-year college students. This study sought to examine the relation between parental divorce and adjustment in college students to identify differences in students from intact and divorced families while also examining gender and age differences. Results indicated no adjustment differences as a whole or by gender for intact and divorced families. However, students who were older when their parents divorced had higher levels of self-esteem than those whose parents divorced when they were younger. Implications of the study are discussed.