Study of Divorce Impact on Life Satisfaction PDF

Study: The trouble with averages: the impact of major life events and acute stress may not be what you think - Examined the effects of marriages, divorce, and bereavement on life satisfaction up to four years after the event - Representative sample: more than 16,000 people - “Our re...

Study: The trouble with averages: the impact of major life events and acute stress may not be what you think - Examined the effects of marriages, divorce, and bereavement on life satisfaction up to four years after the event - Representative sample: more than 16,000 people - “Our research confirms- in study after study- that people respond in surprisingly diverse ways to a wide variety of life events and acute stressors” - Why diversity: the impact of events on people are difficult to predict, siblings parents divorce (1 marries to change, 1 never married) - Why variability: personal differences, social and environmental supports, genetic vulnerabilities - “Reliance on averages invents normative reactions that may not exist” - Impact of divorce on life satisfaction: decline- only about 10%, improved- only about 10% Divorced parents- impact marriage: - Evidence of intergenerational patterns - If your parents are divorced: you are more likely to marry a partner whose parents are divorced - If you are in a couple where both partners parents divorced: you are more likely to divorce compared to couples with one or no partners parents divorced - Unmarried co-parents more likely to break up if parents were divorced Loss of fathers after divorce: - Fathers less likely to be present in kids lives after divorce - Legal custody granted to women in 83% of cases - Loss of connection to father negatively impacts daughters: future education, physical health, future marriage is more likely to end in divorce Divorced parents- impact marriage: - Theories: parents model negative behaviors- impact attitudes (conflict, lack of commitment), parents don’t model positive behavior (accepting differences), genetics (minor) - Intergenerational pattern declining over time: 70s- 2x likely to divorce, today- 1.2x - Why is there a decrease: less stigma- earlier stigma led to isolation and less skills; today parents divorce in less extreme situations- kids come from less troubled backgrounds which helps marital chances now Adjusting to divorce: - Adjustment is easier when: shorter marriage (less than 5 years), no children, not many shared assets, women is under 30 and has been employed - Adjustment is more difficult when: longer marriage, you have children, share many assets, share friends, families take sides, woman has not been employed in past 5 years, woman is over 40 Levinger’s model of deciding about divorce: - Spouses assess their marriage in terms of: 1) barriers to divorce 2) rewards of the marriage 3) alternatives to marriage Barriers to divorce: - 3 main barriers (divorce is less likely):  1. Wife’s income is less than the percentage of family income 2. High church attendance 3. New child - Barriers are not always bad - Some couples are happier after working through their challenges Rewards of current marriage: - Can we improve what we already have? - Sometimes relationships never improve - However, sometimes relationships get stronger over time: children get older, jobs improve, partner work at and repair relationship Alternatives: would i be happier: - Divorce UK: less happy one year after separation; but in one year after the divorce, people were happier than while married - 12 year longitudinal study in the US: 1) stable, unhappy marriage 2) divorce and remarry 3) divorce and single- couples in group 2 had greater happiness, couples in group 3 had greater life satisfaction - Unhappily married couples who dissolve their low-quality marriages have greater odds of improving their well-being than those who remain in such unions Marital separation: - Can separation repair a relationship? - There is a chance, but the odds of it happening is more likely that it won’t - Half end separation within one month “regret” - Virtually no marriages were resumed after eight months of separation - 1/3 of the time, the result is continued marriage - Take home: once separated, marriage is fragile- 2/3 will end in divorce The economic consequences of divorce: - Standard of living declines in all parties - Children living in poverty- all races - 4% of married couples living in poverty - 22% mother-only single parent families live in poverty Custody and the courts - 18th and 19th centuries: sole custody to fathers, viewed as the better financial provider - 1900-1960s: mother was granted custody and fathers visited on the weekends; didn’t work well- mom was overwhelmed and dad was discouraged - 1970s-today: best interest of the child statutes- 80% of cases end in joint legal custody (parents share responsibilities for making decisions) Custody arrangements: 1. Legal custody: a. Sole: rare, only one parent has rights and responsibilities- decisions b. Joint: most common; california family code 3003: both parents share rights and responsibilities for health, education, welfare; communicate and cooperate 2. Physical custody: a. Sole: children lives with 1, visitation; mom: 42%, dad: 10% b. Joint: children lives with both parents; 44% How do courts make custody decisions: 1. Accept parental agreements 2. If parents cannot agree, judge decides 3. Consider multiple factors: age of child, health of child, emotional ties between parents and child, ability of the parent to care for the child, family history of violence/substance use, child’s ties in school, home, community