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The Consequences of divorce on individual, family and society
Abstract
Divorce is an effect of several complicated psychosocial causes. It is an obvious reason for the underlying conflicts, lacking the balance and harmony of a relationship, which lead couples through a decision making process to end up their marriage. In all cultures, divorce has not been welcome. Reviewing statistics and studies on its causes that strived to find solutions for its reduction, indicates the significance of divorce and the traces of its negative effects left on various aspects of the human society. Divorce, either directly or indirectly, affects the mental health of couples, children, relatives and friends. The lack of comprehensive and inclusive studies on this issue urged us to set the aim of this study to identify the consequences of divorce.
... This transition might extrapolate to remarriage as well, resulting in a low prevalence of second marriages, as we already observe amongst native Belgians (Corijn, 2012;Corijn & Van Peer, 2013). However, an important distinct element in the dynamics of partner choice in remarriage is that a new partner might protect, conscious or not, against the negative repercussions accompanying divorce such as financial hardship, decreased standard of living, less wealth (Ross, 1995;Zagorsky, 2005), health problems (Joung et al., 1997), and mental health issues (Öngider, 2011;Ghaffarzadeh & Nazari, 2012). Although the negative consequences are applicable to any divorcing person, they might be even more pertinent to the situations of people of migrant background, given their generally more strained socio-economic positions relative to non-migrants (Corluy & Verbist, 2010). ...
... for remedying some of the negative consequences of divorce. For example, after divorce, people often experience mental health problems (Öngider, 2011;Ghaffarzadeh & Nazari, 2012), have more physical health problems (Joung et al., 1997), experience greater social isolation (Peters & Liefbroer, 1997), have a lower standard of living, and are less wealthy (Ross, 1995;Zagorsky, 2005). ...
... Finally, it was shown that divorce impacts more than the individuals who choose to end their marriage, which takes a toll on society [42]. Divorce has a far-reaching impact on families' financial livelihoods, children, and the workplace. ...
If there is an abundant literature on the impact of bipolar illness on the family and/or caregivers of patients, few studies have addressed its impact on marital relationship and couple functioning. Uncovering information relating specifically to this topic may be particularly relevant due to the unusually high divorce rate among individuals with bipolar disorder. We therefore conducted a systematic literature search to evaluate the existing data on bipolar disorder and marital issues, with a special focus on the help and support that can be provided by mental health professionals in this regard. We identified quantitative studies with pre-defined outcomes as well as qualitative investigations trying to understand the experiences of partners. A total of 27 articles were included in the review. The literature was found to capture the impact of bipolar disorder on partners as well as on the marital relationship itself or the children. Bipolar illness has a negative impact on the lives of partners including self-sacrifice, caregiver burden, emotional impact, and health problems. This negative impact can be aggravated by a lack of care and a lack of information from health personnel. The negative impact on the relationship includes volatility in the relationship, stigmatization, dissatisfaction with sexual life, and lower rates of childbearing. Negative impacts are likely to favor disease relapses for the patient. Children may also be negatively impacted. However, the illness may sometimes have positive impacts such as personal evolution, strengthening relationship, or new hope and perspectives. Based on these findings, the interventions of mental health professionals should be aimed at minimizing the negative impacts while favoring the positive ones.
... Emotional divorce is a latent and unregistered phenomenon in the life of many couples in which they are not officially separated; however, they live together just as roommates without any feeling and emotion to one another (Ashrafi, 2009). In other words, some marriages become senseless and emotionless without love, intimacy, and friendship that continues just with the flow of family life (Ghaffarzadeh & Nazari, 2012). ...
... In many cases, remarriage can be a strategy (whether conscious or unconscious) for remedying some of the negative consequences of divorce. For example, after divorce, people often experience mental health problems (Öngider 2011;Ghaffarzadeh and Nazari 2012), have more physical health problems (Joung et al. 1997), experience greater social isolation (Peters and Liefbroer 1997), have a lower standard of living and are less wealthy (Ross 1995;Zagorsky 2005). Some of these negative consequences could be alleviated by protective factors, including individual and structural resources, as well as finding a new partner (Amato 2000;Wang and Amato 2000). ...
This paper provides insight into remarriages amongst Turkish and Moroccan Belgians. Although the issue of remarriage is of particular relevance, given the rising divorce rates that have been observed amongst these groups in recent decades, it remains largely understudied. We examine remarriage rates and patterns of partner choice in second marriages, taking into account partner-choice patterns in first marriages. We analysed data from the Belgian national register, using piecewise constant log-rate event-history analyses with effect coding on all first marriages that ended in divorce between 1 January 2001 and 1 January 2009. In the second phase of the analysis, which focuses on partner choice in the second marriage, we selected only those respondents who had remarried. Our results indicate that the recent transition in marital behaviour (e.g. lower levels of transnational marriage and higher levels of mixed marriages) has not (yet) been replicated in second marriages. Transnational remarriage is by far the most preferred partner choice, especially amongst former marriage migrants. Especially for them, the access to the local marriage market seems to be restricted, steering them towards the transnational marriage market.
Divorce has received scant attention in Iran, despite the problems that arise for individuals and families and in social life. The present study aimed to find the divorce process of the Iranian couples among whom the woman was the divorce initiator. For this purpose, interviews were conducted, using the grounded theory method, with 34 Iranian divorcing men and women (women initiating a divorce and their spouses) to investigate their divorce experience. The results revealed that the psychological, communication, cultural, and social factors involved in the divorce phenomenon were observed in five stages: (1) emergence of thinking about divorce, (2) hesitation on stay, (3) difficult decision-making, (4) separation, and (5) legal action. Despite more restrictive laws and more complicated social conditions for women initiating divorce than men, the number of women initiating the divorce is increasing in the changing cultural context of Iran. Therefore, we hope that our results on the divorce process help couples, families, and especially professionals plan preventive measures and develop clinical interventions targeting marriage and marital relationships.
Despite the increase in divorce rates in Iran in recent years, research has focused less on its process. To this end, 32 men and women among Iranian divorcing couples in which the man was divorce initiator were interviewed with a purposive and theoretical method. The divorce process revealed itself through coding the interviews based on the grounded theory method in the following four stages: 1) the unexpected start of the marriage; 2) the breakdown of relationship; 3) the surprising divorce proposal; and 4) the legal action. These stages presented a relatively clear image of divorce process of Iranian couples in which the man was initiator.
This study estimated the effects of a marital dissolution on several measures of children's well-being at two points in time using a nationally representative sample of 1,197 children. On the basis of reports from parents, teachers, and the children themselves, the outcome measures tap aspects of problem behavior, psychological distress, and academic performance. Regression estimates suggest that marital dissolution has pervasive and long-lasting effects in all three areas. In magnitude, the effects are slightly smaller than sex differences but larger than those for many other demographic variables. There is no evidence that dissolution effects are larger for boys than for girls. In fact, those differences that are significant show larger effects for girls. There is, however, evidence that effects are larger for children who are very young at the time of the dissolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Almost half the children born in the last decade will experience the divorce of their parents, and many of these children will also go through the changes associated with their custodial parent's remarriage. Most children initially experience their parents' marital rearrangements as stressful; however, children's responses to their parents' marital transitions are diverse and are likely to vary with the age of the child and to change over time as family members adjust to their new circumstances. This longitudinal study examined family relationships and adolescents' adjustment during the transition to remarriage. Three groups of families were studied: stepfamilies with a divorced custodial mother who was in the first months of a remarriage; families with a divorced custodial mother who had not remarried; and nondivorced families. Families were assessed three times during a 26-month period, and there were approximately equal numbers of early adolescent male and female target children in each family type. Family relationships and children's adjustment were assessed using interview measures obtained from multiple perspectives and from observational measures of family interactions in the home. This Monograph examined differences between the three family groups in children's adjustment, marital relationships, parentchild relationships, and sibling relationships as the children were moving through early adolescence and as stepfamilies were coping with a new remarriage. Authoritative child rearing was associated with positive adjustment in children in all family groups. Children in nondivorced families were more competent and exhibited fewer behavior problems than children in divorced or remarried families. Unlike the findings with younger children, few gender × family-type interactions were obtained, and no adjustment to the remarriage over the 26 months of the study was found in stepfather-stepchild relations or in the adjustment of stepchildren.
This research uses data from the 1979-1990 rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and its complementary child assessment data to explore the shorter and longer implications of a father's absence from the home for the behavior of a national sample of 482 White children who were 9-11 years old in 1990. A particular focus of the research was to explore gender variations in these longer and shorter term effects. More modest effects of a father's absence are generally found for girls than for boys, although the gender differences typically are not statistically significant. This modest behavioral gender distinction appears for both externalization and internalization subscores. The latter finding was contrary to expectations. Additionally, boys and girls appear to respond similarly and negatively to the presence of a new man in the home.
We take a prospective approach to examine the consequences of marital disruption for children's behavior problems and academic achievement using NLSY Child Supplement data. The analysis begins with assessments of 1,123 children whose parents' marriages are intact in 1986. By 1988 children fall into either disrupted or intact groups and their behavior and achievement are reassessed. Results show that, even before predisruption characteristics are introduced in our models, there is little effect of marital dissolution on girls. We find that negative effects of family disruption on the behavior problems scores of boys are nor reduced when prior family characteristics are controlled. In addition, the effect of disruption on boys' behavior problems can be partially attributed to downward mobility following the disruption.
Examined the relation of various family conditions and aspects of children's adjustment from 3 perspectives: (1) internalizing stress, (2) externalizing stress, or (3) social competence. 102 Ss recruited from 15 elementary, 4 middle, and 2 high schools and their custodial parents (aged 24–50 yrs) participated in the study. Instruments included the Child Behavior Checklist, Family Assessment Device, and Divorce Adjustment Inventory. Those factors most significant in facilitating socioemotional adjustment were family roles, behavior control, and affective involvement. Families in which nurturance, mutual support, and family rituals were maintained after the divorce were more likely to minimize the maladjustment of the children. Parental conflict and animosity may have an impact on children that may be registered through social withdrawal, anxiety, and depression.