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.     

The effects of parental divorce on individuals’ commitment to same-sex relationships

Abstract

Research on the intergenerational transmission of divorce has demonstrated that individuals who come from divorced families have reduced commitment to the institution of marriage, which may translate to reduced commitment to one’s current relationship. We tested the association between two components of relationship commitment (dedication and constraint) and parental divorce in a sample of 251 adults in same-sex relationships. Results demonstrated that parental divorce was significantly associated with lower dedication commitment among women, but not men. Parental divorce was not associated with constraint commitment for either gender. These findings suggest that, consistent with research on individuals in different-sex relationships, women in same-sex relationships who come from divorced families may feel less dedicated to their own relationships, putting them at greater risk for relationship instability and divorce.     

The Ability of Women to Repay Debt After Divorce

SUMMARY

This study uses questions on household repayment problems from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine how the transition from marriage to divorce affects default rates by gender. The results show that divorced women are more likely to have repayment problems than divorced men and married-couple households. Further analysis reveals that divorced women who are receiving welfare are significantly less likely to default. Because average welfare benefits decreased in the early 1990s, the results suggest that this decrease provides a partial explanation for why the default rate increased between 1991 and 1995 for divorced women. The effect of welfare on the default rates of divorced men and married couples is insignificant. And there is no evidence that receiving child support and alimony payments significantly affects the probability of default.     

Divorce and Mid- and Later Life Families: A Phenomenological Analysis with Implications for Family Life Educators

ABSTRACT

A growing number of mid- and later life individuals and families are experiencing divorce and remarriage. Mid- and later life families are those who have begun to or may have launched their adult children. As a result, these families may include in-laws and grandchildren. Limited research has addressed the potentially unique experiences of these families whose lives are made more complex and complicated by divorce, remarriage, or both. The purpose of this article is to examine, from a phenomenological perspective, the lived experiences of individuals and families experiencing divorce in mid- and later life. In so doing, four case studies are presented that represent four common pathways through divorce and remarriage in mid- and later life: career divorced, seasoned divorced, newly divorced, and interrupted career divorced. Using these case studies and our interpretation of them based on a phenomenological approach, we offer implications for family life educators for improving the delivery of educational services to families facing mid- and later life divorce and remarriage.     

Gender Role Orientation of Divorced Women as Related to Body Satisfaction and Interest in Work Clothing

Abstract

This study examined whether divorced women's gender role orientation is related to interest in work clothing and satisfaction with physical appearance. Extremely non-traditional divorced women showed greater concerns about modesty and less interest in looking sexually attractive in their work dress. Divorced women's marital experience was found to be related to body satisfaction and interest in work clothing. The relationships among marital experience, body satisfaction, and interest in work clothing deserve further research to better understand the impact of divorce on one's perception of the self and appearance management behavior. Suggestions are made for practitioner application of the findings.     

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.     

Shame and Indonesian women victims of domestic violence in making the decision to divorce

ABSTRACT

Studies on divorce and shame in Indonesia have found that shame has been used by the Indonesian government to restrict divorce; however, this built on existing negative cultural constructions of the female divorcee. Although being a widow is also stigmatised by the public, this is to a lesser extent than for a divorced woman. Research has shown that the concept of shame has been one of the barriers that women face when considering disclosing their marital problems, in this instance domestic violence. In general, this concept continues to exert influence on and within Indonesian women as it has been culturally and legally embedded in Indonesian society. Regardless of their identities, all respondents felt shame when they experienced domestic violence. The experiences of Indonesian women in responding to and making decisions dealing with domestic violence differ because their response depends on their needs and interests.     

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.     

The Relationship Between Mandatory Divorce Education and Level of Post-Divorce Parental Conflict

Abstract

This study assessed the association between conflict between divorced parents and their attendance or nonattendance at a divorce education program. A telephone interview was done with 160 individuals who participated in the education program and 59 individuals who did not. Both males and females in the nonattendance group had higher conflict scores than the attendance group. Attendance at the divorce education class was found to be associated with whether a subject will return to court or not. Those who attended were less likely to return to court related to the divorce.     

The Effect of Divorce on Personal and Familial Images

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of divorce on personal and familial images of adolescents by comparing the image construction of adolescents from intact families with that of adolescents from divorced families. The study consisted of a probability sample of 957 Jewish Israeli youths between the ages of 13-18. Findings indicate that parental divorce has a moderate negative impact on children's construction of personal and familial images as compared to that of children in intact families. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

What Explains Divorced Women's Poorer Health? The Mediating Role of Health Insurance and Access to Health Care in a Rural Iowan Sample

Economic restructuring in rural areas in recent decades has been accompanied by rising marital instability. To examine the implications of the increase in divorce for the health of rural women, we examine how marital status predicts adequacy of health insurance coverage and health care access, and whether these factors help to account for the documented association between divorce and later illness. Analyzing longitudinal data from a cohort of over 400 married and recently divorced rural Iowan women, we decompose the total effect of divorce on physical illness a decade later using structural equation modeling. Divorced women are less likely to report adequate health insurance in the years following divorce, inhibiting their access to medical care and threatening their physical health. Full‐time employment acts as a buffer against insurance loss for divorced women. The growth of marital instability in rural areas has had significant ramifications for women's health; the decline of adequate health insurance coverage following divorce explains a component of the association between divorced status and poorer long‐term health outcomes.     

Postdivorce Parenting: A Study of Recently Divorced Mothers and Fathers

ABSTRACT

Divorce is challenging for parents with children, commonly resulting in a series of individual and interpersonal adjustments. The time immediately following divorce can be particularly difficult. This study used a modified grounded theory approach to explore the experiences of 99 recently divorced mothers and fathers. Analysis of written narratives revealed 4 emergent groups of parents who described their postdivorce parenting experiences: good divorce, good enough, bad to better, and bad. Each group described their experiences across several areas including coparenting, father involvement, challenges of single parenting, personal turmoil, and their children’s adjustment. Implications for research and divorce education are discussed.     

The short-term and decade-long effects of divorce on women's midlife health

We hypothesize that divorce immediately increases psychological distress and has long-term negative consequences for the physical health of divorced people. In addition, we hypothesize that divorce indirectly causes long-term increases in distress through stressful midlife events. The hypotheses are tested using data from 416 rural Iowa women who were interviewed repeatedly in the early 1990s when they were mothers of adolescent children; the women were interviewed again in 2001. The data support the hypotheses. In the years immediately after their divorce (1991-1994), divorced women reported significantly higher levels ofpsychological distress than married women but no differences in physical illness. A decade later (in 2001), the divorced women reported significantly higher levels of illness, even after controlling for age, remarriage, education, income, and prior health. Compared to their married counterparts, divorced women reported higher levels of stressful life events between 1994 and 2000, which led to higher levels of depressive symptoms in 2001.     

Young Children's Negative Stereotyping of Peers from Divorced Families

Abstract

Five to 7-year-olds assigned the negative item, on 6 of 7 bipolar pairs of items representing divorce stereotypes in simplified form, more frequently to a child stimulus presented as from a divorced family than to a child described as from an intact family. Negative stereotyping of young children from divorced families was evidenced most clearly by female participants. Gender effects were indicated for participants, child stimulus pairs, and for treatment conditions where participants responded to children from single-mother or single-father versus intact families.     

Relationship-Specific Cognitions and Family-of-Origin Divorce and Abuse

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between relationship-specific cognitions and family-of-origin divorce, psychological abuse, and physical aggression. College students from divorced (N=46) and intact (N= 66) families completed questionnaires regarding their family-of-origin victimization, witnessing, and perpetration experiences as well as their relationship cognitions. A series of 2 (divorce vs. intact) by 3 severity level (none, psychological, physical) MANOVAS were conducted to assess the relationships among divorce, witnessing, perpetration, and victimization experiences with mother and father, and current relationship cognitions (assumptions, standards, and expectancies). Subjects from divorced homes reported significantly lower marriage-efficacy than subjects from intact homes. Subjects who reported physical victimization from fathers had significantly lower marriage-efficacy and lower self-efficacy than non-physically-victimized subjects. A trend was found whereby subjects who psychologically perpetrated against their mothers endorsed more dysfunctional relationship assumptions and standards and lower efficacy expectancies of partners than did those who reported no psychological or physical perpetratation against their mothers. Experiences of witnessing parental psychological and physical abuse were not related to dysfunctional relationship cognitions. These findings are discussed within an intergenerational transmission of divorce and violence framework.     

Divorce Among Muslim Arab Women in Israel

Abstract

One hundred fifty-one Muslim Arab-Israeli women divorced within the past two years, having children, and living in Arab rural areas, Arab cities, and mixed (Jewish and Arab) cities, were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Subjects encountered emotional distress and decreased socioeconomic status. All moved back to their parents' home. Levels of unemployment were high, perceived family support was high, and perceived community support was variable. Most anticipated little or no chance of remarrying. Level of education was associated with a tendency to initiate divorce. Living in an Arab city was associated with freedom of movement outside of the home, greater family support, and higher levels of employment. Implications for professional practice and policy development are considered.     

The Effects of Divorce on Children: Married and Divorced Parents' Perspectives

Three hypotheses, derived from the social psychology literature, regarding the impact of marital status history on parents' attitudes toward the impact of divorce on children were examined. Married parents (n = 118) were expected to report more negative effects of divorce on children than divorced parents (n = 114); mothers and fathers whose own parents remained married were expected to rate the impact of divorce more negatively than mothers and fathers whose parents had divorced; and, divorced parents who initiated their own divorce were expected to report fewer negative effects of divorce on children than parents who did not initiate divorce. All three hypotheses were supported, extending the self- and vested-interest research to the divorce literature.     

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.