McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Chapter Thirteen l Divorce

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-2 Three Eras of Divorce l Changes over the past two centuries

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-3 The Era of Restricted Divorce l Western nations until mid-1800s l Marriage seen as institutional l Divorce rare - only granted on grounds of adultery or desertion and usually only granted to men l Annulments were the only alternative l Ruled that marriage never properly formed

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-4

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-5 The Era of Divorce Tolerance l Mid-1800s until 1970 l Grounds for divorce widened, more accessible to women l Habitual drunkenness, mental cruelty added to grounds for divorce l Marriage went from economic partnership to emotional partnership l Based on love and companionship l Failure to achieve this seen as valid reason for divorce

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-6 The Era of Divorce Tolerance l Divorce rate rose substantially from late 1800s to early 1900s l 8% in 1880s l 12% in early 1900s l 18% in 1920s l Steady rise broken by spikes after World Wars I and II and a dip during the Great Depression l To obtain divorce, still had to prove spouse had done wrong

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-7 The Era of Unrestricted Divorce l 1970s to present l Divorce usually granted without restrictions to any married person l California first state to endorse “no fault” divorce laws - divorce for marriage breakdown l Shift from companionship marriage to independent marriage l Person should not be forced to continue in marriage s/he finds unacceptable

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-8 The Society-wide Rise l Surge appeared after no-fault laws appeared l “Backlog effect” - couples in troubled marriages quick to take advantage of new rules l Appears more a consequence of trend than the cause of it l Cultural Change l Commitment vs. personal well-being

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-9

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Society-wide Rise l Women’s employment l Income effect – lower divorce rate l Economic opportunity effect- increase divorce rate l Appears to be more powerful than income effect l Men’s employment l Opportunities down l Society still expects husband to earn a steady income

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Individual Risk Factors l Low Income and Unemployment l Divorce more likely if l Man unemployed l Low-income family l Age at Marriage l Teen marriages at high risk for divorce l Higher for those who marry for first time over age 35

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Individual Risk Factors l Race and ethnicity l African Americans have higher rates of marital separation than most racial-ethnic groups l One-half marriages of black women end in 10 years l Separation less likely to end in divorce l Personal and family background l Cohabitation prior to marriage has higher divorce rates l Children of parents who divorce are more likely to divorce l Children of parent who died when they were young are not more likely to become divorced l Indicates effect of divorce on sustaining marriage

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-13

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Individual Risk Factors l People who are similar are less likely to divorce - more compatible in interests and values l Catholics married to Catholics and Protestants married to Protestants less likely to divorce than Catholics married to Protestants

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Emotional Divorce l Initiator = the person in a marriage who first becomes dissatisfied and begins the process of ending the marriage l Early Warning Signs l Initiator begins to express discontent l May try to change the other person’s behavior or the relationship l If unsuccessful, may invest more energy and emotion outside of marriage l At some point, dissatisfaction is expressed and confrontation occurs

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Emotional Divorce l Separation l Initiator decides marriage should not continue l Announces breakup to the couple’s world l Attachment which has occurred during marriage is expressed in separation distress l Eventually most people do adjust – 2 to 4 years to recover

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Legal Divorce l Property and Assets l No children – just a split or agreement to divide property and assets l Intangible assets l Professional license, educational credential l Alimony = maintenance payments from ex- husband to ex-wife l Few couples now agree to it, and few judges order it

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Legal Divorce l Child Custody - who will have responsibility and where will they live? l Legal custody = right to make important decisions about the children and the obligation to have legal responsibility for them l Physical custody = right of a divorced spouse to have one’s children live with him/her l Joint legal custody = both parents retain responsibility and decision-making about child l Joint physical custody = arrangement where child spends substantial time in both parents’ households

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Coparental Divorce l In reality, most children still remain in care of their mothers l Creates an imbalance with women having more responsibilities l Level of contact between fathers and children is low l Coparenting = parents coordinate activities and cooperate in raising children l Parallel parenting = gravitate toward more detached style, both parents operating separately

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-20

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Economic Divorce l Many fathers fade from children’s lives because they cannot or will not contribute to their support

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved 13-22

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Economic Divorce l Many mothers are hit with a financial double whammy l Lose husband’s income l Less than half receive any economic support l Average mother’s standard of living goes down 30% in the first year

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Economic Divorce l Breadwinner-Homemaker Couples l Inequality worst for older women in this family style l Income can be cut in half during the first year l Single-father families l Number growing l Almost tripled between 1980 and 1998 l !8% had incomes below poverty line l 21% had incomes less than twice the poverty line l 4% of all children lived in single-father families in 1998

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Effects of Divorce on Children l Children do not choose parents’ divorce l In many cases, their well-being is diminished by the divorce

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Crisis Period l Period during the first year or two after parents separate when both custodial parent and children experience difficulties dealing with the situation l One consequence is diminished parenting l Distracted, distressed parents have difficulty providing emotional support and moderate, consistent discipline on a daily basis l Parents may be seen as emotionally distant and prone to ignore child misbehavior l Parents and children drawn into “coercive cycles” l Economics also cause distress

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Crisis Period l Loss of a Parent l When one parent leaves, it makes other parent’s job harder l Parental Conflict l When parents fight, children tend to become fearful and distressed l Ameliorated if parents coparent or parallel parent l Conflict may begin before separation

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved The Crisis Period l Multiple Transitions l Departure of parent from home l Loss of house and neighborhood and possibly school l Other adults moving in and out of household

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved After the Crisis Period l The majority of children resume normal development l Young adolescents may display serious behavior problems l 5 years after divorce: 25-30% from divorced homes, as opposed to 10% from intact families l Girls displayed as many problems as boys

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Long-Term Adjustment l The Sleeper Effect l Wallerstein reported a widespread, lasting difficulty in personal relationships l British study l Mental health of divorced children as adults was somewhat worse than that of children from intact families l Overall, the majority did not show serious mental health problems l Problems more likely to occur in troubled divorced families

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Long-Term Adjustment l Education and employment l Children from divorced or single-parent families more likely to drop out of school l Marital Happiness l People whose parents divorced were just as happy with their marriages, on average, as people whose parents did not divorce

McGraw-Hill © 2002 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., All Rights Reserved Long-Term Adjustment l In Sum l Almost all children experience intense emotional upset after parents separate l Most resume normal development without serious problems within about 2 years l A minority experience some long-term problems which may persist into adulthood