Marital Transitions: Marriage, Parenthood, Divorce

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Marital Transitions Marriage, Parenthood,
Divorce

• Lecture 11/15/04

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Cultural Differences in Marriage

• African Americans wait longer and are less likely
  to marry or remarry.
• African Americans are more likely to separate and
  divorce and to remain separated without divorce.
• 38 of white children experience parental
  separation or divorce by age 16 almost 74 of
  African American children experience this by age
  16.

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Marital Transitions Happiness Set Points I

• According to adaptation theory / hedonic
  treadmill theory (Brickman Campbell, 1971),
  subjective well-being (SWB) is stable.
• Individuals adapt to extreme () and (-)
  circumstances
• Objective circumstances account for little
  variance
• Personality and genetic factors
• Q do levels of life satisfaction return to
  baseline after marital events across 15 years?

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Marital Transitions Happiness Set Points II

• Marriage, widowhood and divorce are among the
  most stressful life events.
• The relation between marriage and higher SWB is
  robust, though it may explain little variance.
• Selection few adaptation effects from marital
  transitions
• Social role explanations additional hardships
  (divorce / widowhood) account for SWB differences
  (little change)
• Crisis or event explanation with adaptation,
  SWB returns to previous levels
• Importance of individual differences.

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Marital Transitions Happiness Set Points III

• One event only in the GSOEP marriage and
  widowhood only (divorce not long-term).
• People have baseline levels of satisfaction above
  the midpoint.

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Transition to Marriage I

• People who became and stayed married started the
  GSOEP with higher SWB.
• LS increases 1-year before marriage
• Marriage has a () w/in S association with LS
• Lots of individual differences
• In the reactivity and adaptation model, inds vary
  greatly in substantial () and (-) changes in
  satisfaction after marriage.
• Ones initial reaction predicts adaptation (80)
• Little change, on average!

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Transition to Widowhood

• A significant drop in satisfaction in the year
  preceding widowhood and during widowhood.
• Substantial variability
• Significantly lower life satisfaction during
  reaction and adaptation phases.
• Significant variability in adaptation, related to
  ones initial reaction (8 years out closest to
  complete).
• Some individuals dont adapt to widowhood.
• Long-lasting effects!

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Marital Transition

• Peoples life satisfaction changes with important
  social events, and then individuals adapt over
  time.
• Long-term levels of SWB not solely determined by
  personality and genetics.
• Selection and event or crisis models of marital
  transitions supported role transition theory
  supported only for widowhood.
• Less btwen-S variance than w/in-S variance in
  life satisfaction due to marital transitions.
• The most satisfied people reacted least () to
  marriage and most (-) to divorce widowhood.

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Transition to ParenthoodDimensions of Adult
Attachment

• Avoidance assesses the desire to limit intimacy
  and maintain psychological and emotional
  independence from significant others.
• Anxiety or ambivalence assesses the concern that
  relationship partners might not be available or
  supportive when needed.
• Secure comfort with dependence and intimacy no
  worries about being abandoned or unsupported.

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Transition to Parenthood I

• Associated with downturns in marital satisfaction
  for many couples.
• Associated with increased conflict and reductions
  in companionate activity.
• Variability!
• Marital satisfaction tends to be affected more
  adversely in women than men (Belsky Pensky,
  1988)

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Transition to Parenthood Women

• More ambivalent women should perceive less
  support from their husbands than should less
  ambivalent women.
• Experience significant declines in support from
  Time 1 to Time 2
• Less satisfied with their marriage
• Seek less support from their spouse
• Perceive themselves as the target of greater
  anger from husbands
• Moderated by perceptions of spousal support.
• Highly avoidant wives will report less support
  seeking than less avoidant wives.

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Transition to Parenthood Men

• Men who are romantically involved with highly
  ambivalent women tend to be very dissatisfied
  with their relationship.
• Report providing more support than wife perceives
• Report behaving more angrily toward wife
• View wife as having more negative attributes
• More dissatisfied with their marriage
• Men involved with highly avoidant partners also
  tend to be less satisfied.

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Transition to Parenthood Results I

• Both wives and husbands reported declines in
  marital satisfaction.
• Wives perceived less support and greater anger
  from husbands and sought less support (trend)
• Husbands reported providing less support
• Higher levels of ambivalence were associated with
  higher levels of avoidance, with husbands and
  wives avoidance scores positively associated.

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Transition to Parenthood Results II

• Womens ambivalence and prenatal perceptions of
  spousal support interact to predict marital
  functioning during the transition to parenthood
  for both wives and husbands.
• Wives reported large declines in spousal support,
  support seeking, and marital satisfaction
• Highly ambivalent women who perceived lower
  prenatal support experienced the largest declines
  in satisfaction
• Interaction also predicted declines in husbands
  marital satisfaction and support giving, and
  increases in anger.
• Wives perceptions mediated husbands transition.

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Transition to Parenthood Results III

• Highly ambivalent wives who perceived high levels
  of support before childbirth reported
  comparatively good marital functioning at Time 2.
• Correlations between ambivalence and marital
  measures were stronger in the postbirth period.
• This was not true for correlations with
  avoidance! In this situation, avoidance worked.
• Men married to more ambivalent women reported
  that they were less supportive and behaved more
  angrily.

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Divorce Statistics

• 1996 data over 45 of marriages in the US end in
  divorce.
• Following divorce, 84 of children live with
  mothers in a single-parent home.
• 65 of women remarry.
• 75 of men remarry.
• Rates of cohabitation are high in divorced
  individuals who do not remarry.
• Divorce rates are higher in remarriages.

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Divorce Impact on Children I

• Many children experience problems in the months
  following parental divorce. Greatest effects in
• Externalizing disorders
• Lack of self-regulation
• Low social responsibility
• Diminished cognitive agency and achievement
• The most adverse consequences in adjustment are
  experienced by children exposed to multiple
  marital transitions.

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Divorce Impact on Children II

• On average, children of divorced parents are less
  socially, emotionally and academically
  well-adjusted.
• Problems diminish with time as the family
  restabilizes, BUT
• Problems can emerge or re-emerge later in
  development

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Divorce Impact on Emerging Adults

• Less likely to have attended or completed
  college.
• More likely to be unemployed and on welfare.
• More likely to have fewer financial resources.
• More likely to have problems in relationships
  with parents and siblings.
• More likely to have problems in forming and
  maintaining other stable relationships, including
  marital relationships.

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Predictors of Vulnerability andResilience

• Adolescent girls may experience more difficulties
  than boys
• Behavior problems
• Educational attainment
• Well-being
• OR, girls may show exceptional competence under
  moderate stress and in the presence of a caring
  adult.
• Father involvement reduces negative consequences.

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Predictors of Vulnerability andResilience
Personality Factors

• Better adjustment in the context of
• Intelligence
• Competence
• Easy temperament
• High self-esteem
• Internal locus of control
• Good sense of humor

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Parenting After Divorce

• The family environment plays a central role in
  the responses of children to divorce.
• The parenting of divorced parents, on average,
  remains less authoritative than that of
  non-divorced parents.
• Noncustodial mothers are more likely to establish
  and maintain contact with their children, and
  make other modifications, than are noncustodial
  fathers.
• Children adjust better in a harmonious
  single-parent household than in an acrimonious
  two-parent household.