Measuring Divorce: Trends, Factors, and Process
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Chapter 14 Coming Apart: Separation and Divorce
Chapter Outline • Measuring Divorce: How Do We Know How Much Divorce There Is? • Divorce Trends in the United States • Factors Affecting Divorce • The Stations of the Divorce Process
Chapter Outline • Marital Separation • Children and Divorce • Child Custody • Divorce Mediation • What to Do About Divorce
Measuring Divorce • Ratio measure of divorces to marriages • In 1998, there were 1,135,000 divorces and 2,256,000 marriages—a ratio of 1 divorce for every 1.98 marriages.
Measuring Divorce • Crude divorce rate • Number of divorces in a given year for every 1,000 people in the population. • In 2002, there were 4.0 divorces for every 1,000 Americans.
Measuring Divorce • Refined divorce rate • The number of divorces that occur in a given year for every 1,000 marriages. • In 1998, the refined rate was 19 to 20 divorces per 1,000 married women, meaning 2% of marriages ended in divorce.
Measuring Divorce • Predictive divorce rate • Allows researchers to estimate how many new marriages will likely end in divorce. • The prevailing estimate is between 40 and 50% of marriages entered into this year are likely to become divorces.
Stations of Divorce • Emotional • Legal • Economic • Co-parental • Community • Psychic
Uncoupling • The process by which couples drift apart in predictable stages. • The initiator voices complaints and begins to think of alternatives. • Eventually the initiator ends the relationship. • Uncoupling ends when both partners acknowledge the relationship cannot be saved.
Separation Distress • Affected by: • Whether there was forewarning of the separation. • The length of time married. • Who took the initiative in leaving. • Whether someone new is found. • Available resources.
Dating Again • Dating is important for separated or divorced people. • The greatest social problem is meeting other unmarried people. • Dating is a formal statement of the end of a marriage and permits individuals to enhance their self-esteem.
Economic Consequences of Divorce • Women generally experience dramatic downward mobility after divorce. • Economic consequences include: • Impoverishment of women • Changed female employment patterns • Very limited child support and alimony
Stages of Children in Divorce • Initial stage - Lasts about a year, when turmoil is greatest. • Transition stage - Lasts several years, in which adjustments are made to new family arrangements. • Restabilization stage - When changes have been integrated into the children’s lives.
Children’s Developmental Tasks When Parents Divorce • Acknowledging parental separation • Disengaging from parental conflicts • Resolving loss • Resolving anger and self-blame • Accepting the finality of divorce • Achieving realistic expectations for later relationship success
Child’s Adjustment to Divorce: Factors • Open discussion prior to divorce • Continued involvement with noncustodial parent • Lack of hostility between divorced parents
Child’s Adjustment to Divorce: Factors • Good psychological adjustment to divorce by custodial parent • Stable living situation and good parenting skills. • Continued involvement with the children by both parents
Child Custody • Generally based on one of 2 standards: • The best interests of the child • The least detrimental of the available alternatives. • The major types of custody are sole, joint, and split.
Noncustodial Parents • Often feel deeply grieved about the loss of their normal parenting role. • As a result of custody disputes, as many as 350,000 children are stolen from custodial parents each year. • Most are returned home within a week.
