Part 1 and Part 2

Chapter 15 - Divorce,

Single-Parent Families and

Stepfamilies

15-2

DIVORCE

 We view divorce based on our own

experiences

 Children experiencing divorce

 Children never experiencing divorce

 Spirituality impacts this as well

 Divorce is viewed as a primarily negative

phenomena

 It does not have to be

15-3

Divorce Changes with

Societal Events

 War

 Recession

 Divorce law changes

 Women entering workforce

 Contraception options

15-4

Trends…

 Marriage remains popular

 Yet approximately 50% end in divorce

 60% of second marriages end in divorce

 Marriage longevity

 Average length of marriages that end is 7 years

 By 5 years 19% divorce, by 10 years, 14% percent more are divorced, and by 15 years another 7% are divorced

15-5

Traditional vs. No Fault Divorce

Traditional

 Gender division of

responsibilities

 Fault Based

 Adversarial

Proceedings

 Settlement linked to

fault

No Fault Divorce

 Redefinition of

responsibilities

 Elimination of Fault

Based Grounds

 Amicable

Proceedings

 Equity, Equality, and

Need Based

15-6

Causes of Divorce

Amato & Previtti, 2003

 Infidelity

 Incompatibility

 Alcohol and Drug

Use

 Growing Apart

Whisman, Dixon &

Johnson, 1997

 Poor Communication

 Power Struggles

 Unrealistic Expectations

 Sexual Relationship

Problems

 Decision Making

15-7

Children’s Adjustment

Wallerstein’s Longitudinal Study

 Small clinical sample

 Long term impact

 After 5 years 1/3 of children showed signs of depression

 After 10 years, underachieving adults and some emotional issues

 After 15 years, adult children were having relational difficulties

Wallerstein, 2003, 2004

15-8

Children’s Adjustment

Hetherington and Kelly Longitudinal Study

 Large sample of 2,500 children

 75-80% doing well after six years

 First year most difficult

 Boys rebel against mothers

 Girls greater stress; some sexual issues

 20% had emotional problems

Hetherington & Kelly, 2002

15-9

Children’s Adjustment As

Adults

Amato and Booth Longitudinal Study

 Parent’s marital quality related to adult children’s relationship quality

 Low conflict marriages ending in divorce had negative impact on adult children’s relationships

 High conflict marriages ending in divorce had positive impact on adult children

 Adult children of divorce had higher cohabitation rates

Amato & Booth, 1997

15-10

Bohannon’s Six Stations of

Divorce

 Emotional

 Legal

 Economic

 Co-parental

 Community

 Psychological

}  May Overlap

 Varying

Sequences

 Varying

Intensity

15-11

Emotional Divorce

 Questioning the relationship

 Withdraw emotionally

 Loss of mutual respect, trust, and affection

 Anger and pain

 Actual steps to divorce reviewed; as one may

not want divorce yet

15-12

Legal Divorce

 Officially end the marriage and gives

former partners right to remarry

 Approaches:

Attorney - Adversarial

Divorce Mediation

15-13

Economic Divorce

 Involves the settlement of property

Assets

Liabilities

 Downward economic impact for both

Feminization of Poverty

15-14

Coparental Divorce

Co-parenting Plan Established

Considering:

 Custody

 Visitation Schedule

 Financial Responsibilities

 Legal Responsibilities

15-15

Community Divorce

 Divorce shocks beyond nuclear family

 Involves changing social relationships

 Potential loss of relatives and social network

 Ambiguous loss…

15-16

Psychological

Divorce

 Involves redefining the self

 No longer a part of a couple

 Many go through a mourning process

 May involve questioning the direction desired in

relationships

 Must rethink small things too…this is where it

can be devastating

15-17

Common Consequences

of Divorce

Health problems

Loneliness

Social adjustments

Sexual adjustments

15-18

Adult Reactions to

Divorce

Rediscovering feelings of self worth

Sense of failure about the marriage

Concern for future intimacy

Depression and alienation

Changes in lifestyle

15-19

Custody Decisions

 Physical custody – physical and

daily care of child

 Legal custody – rights and

responsibilities to make decisions for

the child

15-20

Types of Custody

Decisions

Sole Custody

 One parent has complete responsibility

Split Custody

 One parent has sole custody of 1 child; the other parent sole custody of the other child(ren)

15-21

Types of Custody

Decisions

Joint or Shared Custody

 Two aspects:

 Physical care of child

 Legal decisions about child

 Better outcomes for children:

 When parents can co-parent effectively

 Seen as standard by many courts

15-22

Custody Experiences

Mother Custody

 Financial stress

 Loneliness in parenting

 Parenting freedom

 Potential of quality co-

parenting with father

Father Custody

 Limited finances

 Work-family conflict

 Potential of greater

closeness to children

15-23

Stepfamilies

Complex stepfamilies:

 Both spouses bring children from

prior marriages

Simple stepfamilies:

Only one spouse brings children

from a previous marriage

15-24

Differences with Stepfamilies

Nuclear

 Members present

 Parents present

 Marriage may

predate children

 Roles clearly defined

 Bonding to parents

and family

Stepfamily

 Relationship loss

 One biological parent

lives elsewhere

 Children predate

marriage

 Roles ambiguous

 Bond often greater to

one parent

15-25

Potential Benefits of

Stepfamily to Children

 Gain Multiple Role Models

 Exposure to New Ideas and Values

 Stepparents May Act as Sounding Board to Children’s Concerns

 May Gain Additional Siblings

 May Gain Additional Extended Kin Network

 Economic Situation May Improve

 May Gain Parents Who are Happily Married

 May Gain a Parent if one is “missing,” or “lost”

15-26

Post-Divorce Protective Factors

 Living with a competent, adequately functioning parent

 Timely and appropriate parenting of nonresidential parent

 Low parental conflict

 Joint or shared custody

Source: Kelly & Emery, 2003