EXPLORING MARRIAGES AND FAMILY, 2 ND EDITION Karen Seccombe © 2015, 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 12 The Process of Divorce

Figure 12.1 Crude Divorce Rates per 1,000 Population for Selected Countries: © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Divorce in the United States How Common Is Divorce? It Depends on How We Measure It –Crude Divorce Rate: The number of divorces per 1,000 people in the population –Refined Divorce Rate: A measure of divorce based on the number of divorces that occur out of every 1,000 married women Historical Trends © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 12.2 Crude and Refined Divorce Rates: © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Do People Divorce? Micro-Level Factors –Parental Divorce –Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce: A pattern noted by researchers that people whose parents divorced are also more likely to divorce –Age at Marriage –Parental Status © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Do People Divorce? –Nonmarital Childbearing –Sex of Children –Race and Ethnicity –Education –Income –Degree of Similarity between Spouses –The Couple’s Ages © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Do People Divorce? Macro-Structural Factors –Level of Socioeconomic Development –Religion –Divorce Laws No-Fault Divorce: A type of divorce, now prevalent in all fifty states, in which a divorcing couple can go before a judge without one party having to blame the other © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Do People Divorce? –Women’s Status and Employment –Attitudes toward Divorce © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Table 12.1 Should Divorce Be Easier or More Difficult to Obtain? © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 12.3 Views about Divorce, by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, and Age– “Which statement comes closer to your views about divorce?” © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Experiencing Divorce The Phases of Separation –Legal Separation: A binding agreement signed by both spouses that provides details about child support The Stations of Divorce –The interrelated emotional, legal, economic, co-parental, community, and psychic dimensions of divorce, which together attempt to capture the complexity of the divorce experience © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Experiencing Divorce –The Emotional Divorce –Legal Divorce Legal Divorce: The termination of the marriage contract by a state court order –Economic Divorce –Alimony: Payment by one partner to the other to support the more dependent spouse for a period of time © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Table 12.2 Median Income and Percent in Poverty by Family Type, 2011 © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Experiencing Divorce –Co-Parental Divorce –Legal Custody: A custody agreement where one parent has the legal authority to make important decisions concerning the children after a divorce –Sole legal custody: A child custody arrangement in which legal custody is granted solely to the parent with whom the child lives. © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Experiencing Divorce –Joint legal custody: A custody agreement in which noncustodial parents (usually fathers) retain their legal rights with respect to their children. –Child Snatching: The act of a noncustodial parent kidnapping his or her child –The Community Divorce –The Psychic Divorce © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Experiencing Divorce A Helping Hand: Divorce Mediation –Divorce Mediation: A non-adversarial means of resolution, in which the divorcing couple, along with a third party, such as a therapist or trained mediator, negotiate the terms of the financial, custody, and visitation settlement © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Divorce and Children: Child Support Child Support Order: A legal document delineating the amount and circumstances surrounding the financial support of noncustodial children © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 12.4 Reasons No Legal Child Support Agreement Established for Custodial Parents: 2010 © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Table 12.3 Child Support Receipt for Custodial Parents: 1993 and 2009 © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are the Effects of Divorce on Children? Short-Term Effects –Parental Conflict –Loss of a Parent –A Reduced Standard of Living –Adjusting to Transitions © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are the Effects of Divorce on Children? Long-Term Effects –Age and Sex of the Child –A Word of Caution Which Is Worse for Children, Divorce or Marital Conflict? © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Should Divorce Be More Difficult to Obtain? “Would I Be Happier?” –Previously-unhappy married couples who did not divorce and who turned their marriages around fell into three broad types The marital endurance ethic The marital work ethic The personal happiness ethic Covenant Marriage © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The “Good Divorce” Binuclear Family: A type of family consisting of divorced parents living in two separate households but remaining one family in spirit for the sake of the children © 2015, 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.