Divorce

1
Chapter 15

• Divorce

2
Chapter Outline

• Ways of Measuring Divorce Prevalence
• Macro Factors Contributing to Divorce
• Micro Factors Contributing to Divorce
• Gender Differences in Filing for Divorce
• Consequences for Spouses Who Remain Unhappily
  Married

3
Chapter Outline

• Consequences for Spouses Who Divorce
• Effects of Divorce on Children
• Conditions of a Successful Divorce
• Alternatives to Divorce
• Divorce Prevention

4
True or False?

• The divorce rate has continued to increase so
  that by 2006, 6 in 10 new marriages were
  predicted to end in divorce

5
Answer False

• Current estimates suggest that about 40 of those
  who married in the past couple of decades will
  divorce (Hawkins et al., 2002).
• Goodwin (2003) noted that 20 of first marriages
  will end in divorce within five years, 33 within
  10 years, and 43 within fifteen years of
  marriage.

6
True or False?

• After 15 years of marriage, about 43 of couples
  will have divorced.

7
Answer True

• After 15 years of marriage, about 43 of couples
  will have divorced.

8
True or False?

• Spouses in loveless, conflicted, unhappy
  marriages are less healthy/happy than those who
  divorced/left these type relationships.

9
Answer True

• Spouses in loveless, conflicted, unhappy
  marriages are less healthy/happy than those who
  divorced/left these type relationships.

10
True or False?

• Whether a spouse initiates the divorce (the
  dumper) or reacts to a spouse who does (the
  dumpee) makes no difference in terms of
  adjustment to the divorce.

11
Answer False

• Sakraida (2005) interviewed women who both
  initiated and were the recipient of a terminated
  relationship and found that the person being
  dropped (the dumpee) was more vulnerable to
  depression and ruminated more about the divorce.

12
Divorce

• The legal ending of a valid marriage contract.
• Crude divorce rate
• How many divorces have occurred for every 1,000
  people in the population.
• Refined divorce rate
• The number of divorces and annulments in a given
  year divided by the number of married women in
  the population times 1,000.

13
Divorce Macro Factors

• Increased Economic Independence of Women
• Finding gainful employment outside the home made
  it possible for the wife to afford to leave her
  husband if she wanted to.
• Changing Family Functions and Structure
• Many of the protective, religious, educational,
  and recreational functions of the family have
  largely been taken over by outside agencies.

14
Divorce Macro Factors

• Liberalized Divorce Laws
• All states now recognize some form of no-fault
  divorce.
• Fewer Moral and Religious Sanctions
• Increasingly, marriage is viewed in secular
  rather than religious terms.
• Hence, divorce has become more acceptable.

15
Divorce Macro Factors

• Starter Marriages
• Suggests something temporary, like a starter
  house from which the owners will eventually move.
• More Divorce Models
• The less deviant the person perceives divorce,
  the greater the probability the person will
  divorce if that persons own marriage becomes
  strained.

16
Divorce Macro Factors

• Mobility and Anonymity
• Divorce thrives when pro-marriage social
  expectations are not operative.
• Individualistic Cultural Goal of Happiness
• Unlike familistic values in Asian cultures,
  individualistic values in American culture
  emphasize the goal of personal happiness in
  marriage.

17
Question

• Which of the following is not a macro factor of
  divorce?
• value changes
• liberalized divorce laws
• women's economic independence
• individualistic attitudes

18
Answer A

• Value changes are not a macro factor of divorce.

19
Divorce Micro Factors

• Loss of Love
• Couples who no longer viewed themselves as being
  in love are much more likely to divorce.
• Negative Behavior
• When a spouses negative behavior continues to
  the point of creating more costs than rewards,
  either partner may begin to seek a more
  reinforcing situation.

20
Divorce Micro Factors

• Lack of Conflict Resolution Skills
• Without skills to resolve conflict, partners
  drift into patterns of communication that
  escalate conflict.
• Value Changes
• Because people change throughout their lives, the
  person that one selects at one point in life may
  not be the same partner one would select at
  another.

21
Divorce Micro Factors

• Satiation
• Refers to the state in which a stimulus loses its
  value with repeated exposure.
• Extramarital Relationship
• Extramarital involvements sometimes hurry a
  decaying marriage toward divorce.

22
Divorce Micro Factors

• Perception That Being Divorced Is Better Than
  Being Married
• 2/3 of applications for divorce are filed by
  women.
• This based on the fact that they achieve greater
  power over their own life, money, and greater
  control over their children.

23
Micro Factors Contributing to Divorce

• American couples are socialized to marry for love
  and to stay married as long as love is alive.
• When love dies, spouses are vulnerable to divorce.

• Pg. 429

24
Question

• What is a micro factor of divorce?
• value changes
• social pressures
• religious beliefs
• economic institutions

25
Answer A

• Value changes are a micro factor of divorce.

26
Question

• When the novelty of marriage wears off, couples
  usually experience
• satiation
• infidelity
• increased happiness.
• boredom

27
Answer A

• When the novelty of marriage wears off, couples
  usually experience satiation.

28
Divorce Top 20 Factors

1. Courtship of less than two years
2. Having little in common
3. Marrying in teens
4. Differences in race, education, age, religion,
   social class, values
5. Not being religiously devout

29
Divorce Top 20 Factors

• A cohabitation history
• Previous marriage
• No children
• Limited education
• Urban residence

30
Divorce Top 20 Factors

1. Infidelity
2. Divorced parents
3. Poor communication skills
4. Unemployment of husband
5. Employment of wife

31
Divorce Top 20 Factors

1. Depression, alcoholism, or physical illness of
   spouse or child, as well as imprisonment
2. Having seriously ill child
3. Low self-esteem of spouses
4. Race
5. Retirement

32
Filing For Divorce Gender Differences

• Women are more likely to seek a divorce.
• Feeling a sense of renewed self identity was
  the top reward women reported on the other side
  of the divorce.
• Men are less likely to seek a divorce since they
  view the cost as separation from their children.

33
Consequences For Spouses Who Remain Unhappily
Married

• Hawkins and Booth (2005) analyzed longitudinal
  data of spouses in unhappy marriages over a
  12-year period.
• They found that those who stayed unhappily
  married had lower life satisfaction, self-esteem,
  and overall health compared to those who divorced
  whether or not they remarried.
• They suggest there is no evidence that spouses in
  unhappy marriages are better off in any aspect of
  overall well-being than those who divorce.

34
Consequences for Spouses Who Divorce

• Fathers Separation from Children
• Most divorced fathers believe the courts have
  little interest in protecting their relationship
  with their children.
• Shared Parenting Dysfunction
• The set of behaviors on the part of each parent
  that are counterproductive to the childs
  well-being.

35
Consequences for Spouses Who Divorce

• Parental Alienation Syndrome
• A disturbance in which children are obsessively
  preoccupied with deprecation and/or criticism of
  a parent, denigration that is unjustified and/or
  exaggerated.

36
Minimizing Negative Effects of Divorce on Children

1. Healthy parental psychological functioning.
2. A cooperative relationship between the parents.
3. Parents attention to the children and allowing
   them to grieve.
4. Encouragement to see noncustodial parent.
5. Attention from the noncustodial parent.

37
Telling Children About Divorce

• Telling the children together gives children
  confirmation that both parents want this to
  happen and neither parent is the bad parent.

• Pg. 442

38
Question

• The deliberate, systematic attempt to eliminate
  the psychological connection of the other parent
  in a child's life is called
• maternal gate keeping
• paternal alienation syndrome
• maternal alienation syndrome
• parental alienation syndrome

39
Answer D

• The deliberate, systematic attempt to eliminate
  the psychological connection of the other parent
  in a child's life is called parental alienation
  syndrome.

40
Your Opinion?

• To what degree do you believe the government
  should be involved in mandating divorce
  mediation?

41
Conditions of a Successful Divorce

1. Mediate rather than litigate the divorce.
2. Coparent with your ex-spouse.
3. Take some responsibility for the divorce.
4. Learn from the divorce.
5. Create positive thoughts.
6. Avoid alcohol and other drugs.

42
Conditions of a Successful Divorce

1. Relax without drugs.
2. Engage in aerobic exercise.
3. Engage in fun activities.
4. Continue interpersonal connections.
5. Let go of your anger for the ex-partner.
6. Allow time to heal.

43
Question

• Compared with litigation, what is the key feature
  of divorce mediation?
• There is lots of public exposure
• It is more expensive
• It fosters a better relationship between spouses
• It is more time consuming

44
Answer C

• Compared with litigation, a key feature of
  divorce mediation is that it fosters a better
  relationship between spouses.

45
Question

• What is a condition for a successful divorce?
• co-parenting the children
• getting everything you want so you won't harbor
  needless resentment
• realize what's best for the couple is ultimately
  what's best for the children
• good litigation

46
Answer A

• Co-parenting the children is a condition for a
  successful divorce.

47
Alternatives to Divorce

• An annulment returns the spouses to their
  premarital status.
• There are two types of separationformal and
  informal.
• Desertion differs from informal separation in
  that the deserter walks out and breaks off all
  contact.

48
Question

• The action returning a couple to their premarital
  status is referred to as
• separation
• cohabitation
• divorce
• annulment

49
Answer D

• The action returning a couple to their premarital
  status is referred to as annulment.

50
Requirements of Covenant Marriage

• Full disclosure of information that could affect
  the partners decision to marry.
• Oath that the marriage is a lifelong commitment.
• Agreement to consider divorce only for reasons
  such as abuse, adultery, and imprisonment on a
  felony or separation of more than two years.
• Agreement to see a marriage counselor if problems
  threaten the marriage.