Divorce and Remarriage



Divorce and Remarriage

Divorce Rates

Trends in Divorce

The divorce rate has been rising since at least 1860.

The divorce rate is affected by social & economic conditions.

Increases after major wars and decreases during economic hard times.

Since 1981, the divorce rate in the U.S. has declined.

40% - 50% of all first marriages end in divorce

Still much higher than any of the other 19 major industrial nations

Factors Correlated with Divorce

Cohort

Much lower probability of divorce among pre-World War II cohort

Premarital Cohabitation

Couples that cohabit before marriage have higher divorce rate than those who do not cohabit before marriage

Younger, less traditional marital expectations, more approving of divorce; more likely to have stepchildren

Age at first marriage

Younger age at marriage correlated with higher probability for divorce

The Circumstance of the First Birth

Premarital pregnancies & births increase risk of divorce

The Presence of Children

Couples with children are less likely to divorce than childless couples

Likelihood of divorce decreases as family size increases (up to 4 children)

Presence of children born prior to marriage or stepchildren (in 2nd marriages) increases probability of divorce

Income

Inverse relationship between divorce & socioeconomic status (lower income, higher probability of divorce)

Wives’ earnings positively correlated with divorce (when women have significant independent income, likelihood of divorce rises)

Race

White and Hispanic marriages are the most stable; the divorce rate for African Americans is more than twice as high.

Some African Americans that are least educated, have unstable work history, & least income account for most of the difference

Interracial marriages have a higher divorce rate than intraracial marriages.

Religion

Denominational differences

Jews, Baptists, “born again” have higher divorce rate than national average

mainline Protestant denominations, Mormons are no different than national average

atheists, agnostics, Lutherans, Catholics have lower divorce rate than national average

Interreligious couples have higher divorce rates than couples with same religious beliefs

Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce

Adult children of divorce are more likely to experience divorce than adult children from intact families.

Predicting the Divorce Rate

Historical pattern: general increase over last 150 years with slight decline in the past 20 years. Baca Zinn, Eitzen, & Wells expect the divorce rate to remain at the current relatively high level or increase due to the following demographic, cultural, & structural factors.

Demographic factors

Increased proportion of young adults in the age structure of the population

Current bulge in the population of children of divorced parents

Longer life spans

Cultural Factors

Society is now relatively accepting of divorce.

Greater acceptance of cohabitation

Greater acceptance of interracial marriage

Structural Factors

The major reasons for predicting high rates of divorce in the future are structural.

Legal changes have made divorce easier to obtain & less expensive

Economic transformation has increased instability & insecurity for working & middle classes and increased wives’ employment & economic independence

Consequences of Divorce for Adults & Children

His Divorce

Divorce gives ex-husbands 2 major advantages (improved standard of living & increased personal freedom) and one major disadvantage (personal isolation)

Her Divorce

Divorce is much harsher for ex-wives. They also face personal isolation, but more importantly a significant decline in their standard of living.

Sources of income are often insufficient: alimony (awarded to only 15%), marital property, child support (awarded to about 2/3, but fathers are entirely or partially delinquent in 60% of those cases), welfare (benefits cut or eliminated through welfare reform of 1996), employment (often low pay, weak benefits, little advancement)

“Feminization of poverty “: women usually have custody of children but earn 77% of men’s income, often do not receive child support, & welfare benefits have been reduced or eliminated

Divorce as an opportunity for change is especially meaningful for many women because of traditional gender roles.

Adjustment After Divorce

Divorce is painful experience that can also be life transforming in a positive sense

Gradual recovery typically begins by end of 2nd year

6 years after divorce 80% of both men & women have moved on to build fulfilling lives

20 years after divorce 70 % of spouses made it through relatively unscathed

Enhanced (20%)

Competent loners (10%)

Good enoughs (40%)

Defeated (10%)

Seekers or libertines (20%)

Children and Divorce

About 65% of divorcing couples have children. (1 million children annually) This means 40% of American children will experience divorce by age 16. Most will remain with their mothers and effectively lose their fathers.

10 years after divorce, fathers will be entirely absent from lives of 2/3 of these children

The large majority of children of divorce do not experience severe or long term problems. After a period of initial disruption, 75-80% of children are able to cope with divorce & develop into well adjusted individuals.

Many adjustment problems are the result of inept parenting & destructive family relations that were present before the divorce.

However, children of divorce face greater risk of experiencing the negative effects of being raised by an overburdened single parent and of the sharp decline in resources when parents separate.

Academic success, conduct, psychological adjustment, self-concept, social competence

Characteristics of the Child (associated with adjustment problems)

Age: the younger the child at time of marital disruption, the more likely to have adjustment problems

Gender: boys more adversely affected than girls

Antisocial behavior in adolescence: primarily result of less parental control (rather than trauma of divorce)

Characteristics of the Family (associated with adjustment problems)

Size: the larger the family, the more stress ( & the more restrictive child-rearing techniques)

Socioeconomic status: lower income, downward mobility

Race: people of color disproportionately experience economic disadvantages

Contact with both parents: children do better in joint custody or at least if both parents live in same area

Maternal employment: greater risk of negative impact if mother goes to work for the first time after divorce

Remarriage After Divorce

Statistical Facts about Remarriage

About ½ of all marriages are a remarriage for at least one of the adults.

Currently, almost 90% of remarrying individuals are divorced

75% of divorced men % 60% divorced women remarry

Women are less likely to remarry than men if they are older, well educated, and have children.

Age

The older a woman is at time of divorce, the lower her chance of remarriage

Socioeconomic status

The higher a divorced man’s status (education & income), the more likely he is to remarry

The higher a divorced woman’s status (education & income), the less likely she is to remarry

Lower status women have fewer career options & were likely to have married younger & divorced younger

Race

African Americans & Latinos remarry at lower rates than Whites (and later than Whites)

Religion

Devout Catholics less likely to remarry & more likely to wait longer

The Uniqueness of Remarriage

Advantages of Remarriage

Disadvantages of Remarriage

Divorce is more prevalent & happens more quickly

Remarriage divorce rate higher than divorce rate for 1st marriage (60% of remarried couples divorce)

2nd divorces occur sooner (average 5 yrs,) than first divorces (average 7 yrs.)

Reasons why divorce is more prevalent & happens more quickly:

Less likely to stay in poor marriage out of fear of social pressure

Remarriages (esp. those with stepchildren) have stresses not found in first marriages

1. Higher levels of tension & disagreement regarding children & resources

Individuals may be less mature, responsible, supportive

2. More willing to terminate difficult relationship than to try to resolve problems

Marry for wrong reasons

Blended Families

About 45% of remarriages involve stepchildren

Special problem with family unity results in relatively high risk of divorce

Divorce rate is higher for stepfamilies than for remarried families without stepchildren

Types of Stepfamilies

Stepfather families: most common type (65%), less stress than other types, boys respond more favorably than girls

Stepmother families: step mothers have more difficult time integrating into stepfamilies than stepfathers because husbands expect them to assume primary caretaker role.

Complex stepfamilies: accounts for 7% of stepfamilies, greatest probability of divorce, more children > more likely to divorce

Stepfamilies with mutual child: about ½ of remarriages have child of their own (usually within 2 yrs.); 5% of remarried households have 3 sets of children; less likely to divorce in first ten yrs. (after 10 yrs. no difference)

Problems Endemic to Stepfamilies

Outsiders vs. insiders

Boundary disputes

Power issues

Conflicting loyalties

Rigid & unproductive triangles

Increased complexity of family relationships without language, customs, laws for how to solve special problems

Outcomes for Stepchildren

Parenting skills, emotional closeness of both biological & stepparent; gradual assumption of parenting role by stepparent

Age & gender of child at time of stepfamily formation

Remarriage among the Elderly

Significant increase due to longer life expectancy & aging of the “baby boom” generation

Unique problems include control of $, acceptance of adult children (daughters more likely than sons), differing gender role expectations

The Politics of Divorce

Conservative

Divorce contributes to social problems such as poverty, crime, substance abuse, and declining school performance.

Progressive

Although divorce is temporarily stressful, it represents a second chance for happiness for adults and an escape from a dysfunctional home environment for children.

Reality

Divorce benefits some individuals, leads others to experience temporary decreases in well-being that improve over time, and forces others on a downward spiral from which they might never fully recover.

The fact of the matter is that most kids from divorced families do manage to overcome their problems and do have good lives.

Is Marriage a Failed Institution?

The relatively high divorce rate does not mean that marriage is a failed institution.

The right to divorce is deeply ingrained in American culture because so is the ideal of a mutually fulfilling marriage.

Most people want to marry.

Half of all marriages do not end in divorce.

The vast majority of those who divorce choose to remarry.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download