Coming Apart: Separation and Divorce

1
Chapter 14

• Coming Apart Separation and Divorce

2
Chapter Outline

• Measuring Divorce How Do We Know How Much
  Divorce There Is?
• Divorce Trends in the United States
• Factors Affecting Divorce
• The Stations of the Divorce Process

3
Chapter Outline

• Marital Separation
• Children and Divorce
• Child Custody
• Divorce Mediation
• What to Do About Divorce

4
Measuring Divorce

• Ratio measure of divorces to marriages.
• In 1998, there were 1,135,000 divorces and
  2,256,000 marriagesa ratio of 1 divorce for
  every 1.98 marriages.

5
Measuring Divorce

• Crude Divorce Rate
• Number of divorces in a given year for every
  1,000 people in the population.
• In 2002, there were 4.0 divorces for every 1,000
  Americans.

6
Measuring Divorce

• Refined divorce rate.
• Measures the number of divorces that occur in a
  given year for every 1,000 marriages.
• In 1998, the refined rate was 19 to 20 divorces
  per 1,000 married women, meaning 2 of marriages
  ended in divorce.

7
Measuring Divorce

• Predictive divorce rate.
• Allows researchers to estimate how many new
  marriages will likely end in divorce.
• The prevailing estimate is between 40 and 50 of
  marriages entered into this year are likely to
  become divorces.

8
Marriage Through the 20th Century and Beyond
Year Number Rate Per 1,000
1900 709,000 9.3
1920 1,274,476 12.0
1940 1,595,879 12.1
1960 1,523,000 8.5
1980 2,406,708 10.6
1995 2,336,000 8.9
2001 2,327,000 8.4
9
Divorce Through the 20th Century and Beyond
Year Number Rate Per 1,000 Married women
1900 55,751 3
1920 170,506 8
1940 264,000 9
1960 393,000 9.2
1980 1,189,000 22.6
1995 1,169,000 19.8
2001 NA NA
10
International Variation in Refined Divorce Rate
Divorces per 1,000 married women Divorces per 1,000 married women Divorces per 1,000 married women
Country 1980 1990 1995
United States 23 21 20
Canada 10 11 11
France 6 8 9
Japan 5 6 6
Sweden 11 12 14
United Kingdom 12 13 13
11
Stations of Divorce

• As people divorce, they undergo these divorces
  simultaneously.
• Emotional
• Legal
• Economic
• Co-parental
• Community
• Psychic

12
Uncoupling

• The process by which couples drift apart in
  predictable stages.
• The initiator voices complaints and begins to
  think of alternatives.
• Eventually the initiator ends the relationship.
• Uncoupling ends when both partners acknowledge
  the relationship cannot be saved.

13
Separation Distress

• Affected by
• Whether there was forewarning of the separation.
• The length of time married.
• Who took the initiative in leaving.
• Whether someone new is found.
• Available resources.

14
Dating Again

• Dating is important for separated or divorced
  people.
• The greatest social problem is meeting other
  unmarried people.
• Dating is a formal statement of the end of a
  marriage and permits individuals to enhance their
  self-esteem.

15
Economic Consequences of Divorce

• Women generally experience dramatic downward
  mobility after divorce.
• Economic consequences include
• Impoverishment of women
• Changed female employment patterns
• Very limited child support and alimony

16
Stages of Children in Divorce

• Initial stage - Lasts about a year, when turmoil
  is greatest.
• Transition stage - Lasts several years, in which
  adjustments are being made to new family
  arrangements.
• Restabilization stage - When changes have been
  integrated into the childrens lives.

17
Childrens Developmental Tasks When Parents
Divorce

• Acknowledging parental separation
• Disengaging from parental conflicts
• Resolving loss
• Resolving anger and self-blame
• Accepting the finality of divorce
• Achieving realistic expectations for later
  relationship success

18
Childs Adjustment to Divorce Factors

• Open discussion prior to divorce
• Continued involvement with noncustodial parent
• Lack of hostility between divorced parents

19
Childs Adjustment to Divorce Factors

• Good psychological adjustment to divorce by
  custodial parent
• Stable living situation and good parenting
  skills.
• Continued involvement with the children by both
  parents

20
Child Custody

• Generally based on one of 2 standards
• The best interests of the child
• The least detrimental of the available
  alternatives.
• The major types of custody are sole, joint, and
  split.

21
Noncustodial Parents

• Often feel deeply grieved about the loss of their
  normal parenting role.
• As a result of custody disputes, as many as
  350,000 children are stolen from custodial
  parents each year.
• Most are returned home within a week.