Divorce Family Sociology Professor Connie Gager. Divorce How has the divorce rate changed over time? How is the divorce rate measured? What are the social

DivorceFamily Sociology

Professor Connie Gager

Divorce

• How has the divorce rate changed over time?

• How is the divorce rate measured?

• What are the social and economic explanations for higher divorce rates?

• What is the effect of divorce on adults and children?

Annual Divorce Rate per 1,000 MarriagesUnited States, 1860-2002

Measuring divorce

• Women marrying today have about a 50 percent chance of divorcing – but that is if trends remain the same

• 50 percent of first marriages will EVENTUALLY end in divorce – but remember that is over the lifetime of a marriage!

• Divorce could occur in the 2nd year of marriage or the 10th year.

Measuring divorce

• What is the divorce rate? In a given year your risk of divorce is much

lower!We use the refined divorce rate: the rate of

divorces per 1,000 married women per yearFor example, in 2001 about 20 out of 1,000

married women got divorced In other words, 2 percent received a divorce

in 2001

Measuring divorce

• For those in their first marriage, who did divorce…

• Couples who were married, on average, 8 years

Source: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-97.pdf

Why has Divorce Increased?Societal changes:

• No one can say for sure what explanation is more important.

• Some argue that the introduction of no-fault divorce laws are responsible for the rise in divorces.

• No-fault divorce laws made it easier to seek a divorce

• No fault divorce – distribution of marital property is no longer based on fault

• Instead distribution is equitable

Why has Divorce Increased?Societal Changes

1) Attitudes towards divorce have changed as divorce has become more common – i.e. the stigma attached to divorce has lessened

2) More young married women in the labor force• William Goode argues that the possibility that a

wife can support herself suggests that wives in unhappy marriages now had an alternative to her existing marriage

• In sum – today - not necessarily more unhappy marriages…

• Now it is easier to leave an unhappy marriage

Individual characteristics associated with divorce

• Age• People who marry as teenagers are more likely to

divorce than those who marry at older ages• Why?

– You will likely still be developing and changing in major ways when you are a teen

– AND– Many teen marriages result from an unintended

pregnancy – not a good basis for a marriage


• Education level• Those with lower level of education are

more likely to divorce than those with higher levels of education

Percentage of first marriages that end in divorce or separation within 10 years, for women, by year of marriage and education

Divorce• Notice on the chart that individuals

who did NOT graduate from high school are the MOST likely to divorce.

• Individuals with a college degree are the LEST likely to divorce

• Why might this be?

• More education may indicate that you have learned to communicate, have more experiences or make better choices?


• Race & Ethnicity

• Regardless of educational level, African-Americans have higher rates of divorce than whites

Predicting Divorce

• Divorce is a process • Often, there are signs of trouble long before

the divorce• Does an unequal division of housework lead

to divorce?• Does the amount of time couples spend

together influence divorce?• How about couple’s own perceptions that

their marriage is in trouble?

Divorce

Frequency of Couple-Level Perceptions of Marital Trouble in the Past Year

0102030405060

NeitherTroubled

WifeTroubled

HusbandTroubled

BothTroubled

Source: National Survey of Families and Households, 1987

What predicts divorce?

• What individual or family characteristics can tell us who will divorce?

– http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-06/unhappy-marriage-signs-youll-get-divorced/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-06/unhappy-marriage-signs-youll-get-divorced/



Divorce

• Divorce

– Economic consequences for women

– Decline in standard of living

Economic Effects of Divorce

• Numerous other studies using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) data find:

• Women’s experience a 30 percent economic decline following divorce

• Men’s experience a 10-15 percent increase in standard of living

Children & Divorce

• The most talked about consequence of divorce is the effect it has on children.

• Given the rates of divorce in the late 1970s and early 1980s, about two-fifths of all children will have experienced a marital disruption by age 16.

Children & Divorce

• A major problem is that many women and children do not receive child support, even when it is court ordered

• 2/3 of families with no father present who were supposed to receive child support, actually do receive support

• Only 44 percent of families actually receive any support

• Among those who did receive support – the average amount was $341 per month

Child Support Pyramid

Children & Divorce

• Most mothers still retain custody of children after a divorce

• Custody involves decisions about – who will have responsibility for the

children?– where will the children live?

• Legal custody refers to having the right to make important decisions about the child’s life

• Physical custody refers to where children actually live

Children & Divorce

• Most mothers still retain custody of children after a divorce

• Joint custody is becoming more common• Joint legal custody – based on the idea

that parent’s responsibilities towards their children have not changed

• Joint physical custody - children spend at least 33% of their time with each parent

Children & Divorce

• Joint physical custody is growing

• Children spend substantial time in the household of each parent – but in reality mothers still have custody more of the time

Children & Divorce

• Father involvement

• Why do fathers fade from children’s lives after divorce?– Visits to children are painful reminder of failed

marriage– Fathers investing in new family if they remarry– Cherlin speculates that fathers related only

indirectly to children through wife

Children & Divorce• Rather than practicing coparenting after a divorce,

most families practice parallel parenting: after several years – parents go about parenting separately

• Father only families are growing rapidly• From 1980 to 1998 – the number of father-headed

families tripled• 19 percent of single-parent families are headed by

fathers• 4 percent of all children live in single-father families

Effects of divorce on children

• Many studies have considered the effect of divorce on children’s scholastic achievement, conduct, psychological adjustment, self esteem, social skills, and relationships with parents

• But many consequences are difficult to measure


• Effects of divorce on children• Short-term effects

– 1-2 year crisis period– Children’s lives may be disrupted due

to sale of family home – Decline in financial status due to high

chance that mom supporting family – possibly without child support, possibly having to reenter the job market


• Long-term effects• Many studies find that children from divorced

families experience lower levels of well-being across some of these areas than do children from intact families

• However, there are many inconsistencies in these studies

• Many studies don’t find significant differences between kids in divorced and intact families


• Long-term effects of divorce on children

• Researchers reviewed the literature from 1970 to 1980 find overwhelming evidence that after the initial trauma of divorce, children are as emotionally well-adjusted as children from intact families.


• Long-term effects of divorce on children

• Long-term studies show that after controlling for socioeconomic status, adolescents who have experienced a divorce have only slightly lower levels of adult adjustment.

• (Adjustment is measured in several ways: self-control, leadership, responsibility, independence, achievement, aggressiveness and gender-role orientation)


• Long-term effects of divorce on children• Studies based on national samples (National

Survey of Children) suggest some long-term effects of divorce on kids, but they are in the minority

• For example, Peterson and Zill find that 34 percent of parents who had divorced or separated reported that their kids had a problem at school

• However only 20 percent from intact families reported school problems.

Effects of divorce on childrenLong-term effects• Is this a big difference? • We can look at these results in two ways:1) Children from divorced or separated

families are twice as likely to have problems as kids from intact families, BUT – We don’t know if they would have still had

problems had their parents not separated

2) 66 percent of kids from divorced families did not have behavioral problems at school, we can conclude that most kids from divorced families don’t have behavioral problems


• Long-term effects

• NCS data also shows that children from families in which the parents fought continuously were doing no better and often worse than children of divorce.

• Thus, researchers suggest that children function better in a single-parent family than in a conflict ridden intact family.



My new research shows: kids from high conflict parents who

later separate, are less likely to have conflict in their adult relationships

compared to kids of high conflict parents who stayed together

Effects of divorce on children• Long-term effects

• Other researchers, who collected data on families prior to divorce, found:– Many of the problems that associated

with children of divorced families were evident before the actual decision to divorce

• Thus, researchers argue that conflict between parents is a fundamental factor that harms children’s development and produces behavioral problems



• In sum, conflict in families may be the cause of children’s problems, not the actual decision to divorce.

Divorce• Summary• Divorce has increased steadily over the

20th century• The biggest increases occurred during

the 1970’s• Divorce rate leveled off since 1990 and

in the middle 2000s declined slightly• Recent recession may act as a barrier

to divorce as couple cannot afford to divorce

Divorce

• Summary

• Divorce has a greater adverse economic effect on women than men

• Short-term effects of divorce on children – last 1-2 years

• Long-term effects are still debated – more research and better data is needed

• Conflict is the source of negative outcomes for kids – not just divorce

Documents

Divorce Family Sociology Professor Connie Gager. Divorce How has the divorce rate changed over time? How is the divorce rate measured? What are the social