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