Divorce Divorce Rates and trends Societal factors (handout) Individual risk factors (handout) Divorce process Impact on children
Dec 18, 2015
DivorceDivorce
Rates and trends Societal factors (handout) Individual risk factors (handout) Divorce process Impact on children
Divorce rate increased 1900-1970Divorce rate increased 1900-1970
Shift from fault to no-fault system Shifts in marriage expectations:
institutional to companionship to individual Greater acceptance of and demand for
divorce
Grounds for divorceGrounds for divorce
Traditional (fault) system: Guilt Contest
No-fault divorce: California est. in 1970 Irreconcilable differences May still involve contested issues May disadvantage women, children
Emotional Divorce (Vaughan)Emotional Divorce (Vaughan)
Some stages in uncoupling: Secrets Planning Confrontation Adjustment Initiator completes stages first. Partner
may be unprepared.
Divorce and ChildrenDivorce and ChildrenFactors affecting children’s experience of divorce: Age: Young children “act out” more. May blame
self. May adjust better overall. Sex: Boys “act out” more. Some evidence that
kids do better with same-sex parent. Support Network: Other adults. Parents’ attitudes: Amount of destructive conflict.
Using kids as pawns. Grow up too fast. Financial Situation: Mom and kids lose out
Co-parental divorceCo-parental divorce Before: Co-parenting After: Parallel parenting - parents
operating separately Result: Dads “fade out”
1991 study: 54% saw their “several times a year” or less
31% once a year or less
Why Dads DisappearWhy Dads Disappear
Avoid contact w/ ex-wife Can’t or won’t pay child support Hard to be part-time parent; feel left out Starting new family Inability to relate to children directly
instead of thru mother
A Chain of Negative EventsA Chain of Negative Events 1. Loss of noncustodial parent 2. Loss of home, neighborhood, school. 3. Financial stress:
Lose husband’s income Less than half receive any economic support Average mother’s standard of living goes down 30%
4. “Loss” of custodial parent due to increased work hours, emotional stress – “diminished parenting.”
5. Loss of childhood, problems in later relationships.
Long-term effects on childrenLong-term effects on children
Wallerstein: lasting difficulty in personal relationships
British study: Mental health somewhat worse
Most problems were in troubled families Majority adjust well Good divorce is better than bad marriage
Making divorce easier on childrenMaking divorce easier on children
Avoid custody conflicts or using custody as bargaining:
Joint legal custody as default Hands-on care as standard for physical custody
Custodial parent keeps home Improve child support system. Mandatory counseling for parents and kids Workplace reforms to help single parents. Divorce support groups in schools.
Single parent families, remarriage, Single parent families, remarriage, and stepfamiliesand stepfamilies
Single-parent families Statistics (handouts) Characteristics Outcomes
Remarriage Statistics Characteristics
Stepfamilies Characteristics Outcomes
Characteristics of single parent Characteristics of single parent familiesfamilies
Created by divorce, premarital birth Households may include unrelated
members Temporary
Outcomes for single parentsOutcomes for single parents
Financial: Lower income Career sacrifices Lack of sufficient child support (handout)
Parental Sibling rivalry Parent rivalry Raising opposite sex child
Outcomes for single parentsOutcomes for single parents
Social:Social: Finding time for social life Guilt Child’s acceptance of dating Child’s attachment to dating partners
Remarriage rates & trendsRemarriage rates & trends
over 50% of all marriages About 2/3 of divorced persons remarry Younger women Women with 3+ children Whites More likely to end in divorce
Why remarriage is “riskier”Why remarriage is “riskier”
Selection effect Foundation of 1st marriage
Repeat earlier mistakes High pressure to succeed
Presence of ex-spouse Presence of children
StepfamiliesStepfamilies
23% of married couple households Most common: biological mother-stepfather or
joint biological Redefined to include cohabitating couples:
25% of stepfamilies are cohabiting Common pattern among African Americans
Characteristics of stepfamiliesCharacteristics of stepfamilies
May be born of a crisis Not all members biologically related
Blood ties may take priority Parent-child relationship precedes husband-
wife Diversity of beliefs, values = more conflict Children get extra set of relatives
Challenges for stepparentsChallenges for stepparents
Little or no legal authority Children challenge authority
Role is ill-defined, much variation Parent? Friend? Outsider? Family must negotiate roles (2-4 years) Young children may accept easier
Challenges for stepchildrenChallenges for stepchildren
Conflicts w/stepparent over discipline or authority (80%)
Divided loyalties (50%) Step-sibling relationships Feeling abandoned
Stages in adjustmentStages in adjustment
Transition Step-parent as “polite outsider” Need to establish boundary around
marriage
Stabilization Step-parent as “intimate outsider”
Primacy of Private FamilyPrimacy of Private Family
Three themes of change Emphasis on personal fulfillment Women’s economic independence Worsening economic prospects of young men
All make marriage more fragile
As a result…As a result…
Kinship is created, not born More subject to change, disruption
Economic advancement for women No longer have legal protection of marriage
Possible disruption, trauma for children May not have lasting negative impact