Marriages families and relationships 13th edition lamanna

Cohabitation, Divorce, And Remarriage Paper Submission

Students must compare and contrast cohabitation, divorce, and remarriage from a Christian and sociological world view. How is the Christian world view similar to and different from the sociological view? Students will write a 3-4 page (not including title and references) APA style paper that integrates faith and learning with the sociological perspective (Note: Sociology is the study of society. Do not make the mistake of conflating society to sociology). Students must utilize their textbook as well as biblical scripture in their analysis.

Note: In text citations should look like this: (Verse Edition of the bible you are using).
Ex: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17 King James Version). This citation should fall at the very end of the sentence in which the scripture is used.
Reference list entries are not required for ancient Greek and Roman works or classical religious works, but are expected for scholarly works (e.g. your textbook).

Chapter 14

Divorce and Relationship Dissolution

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Chapter Outline

Today’s Divorce Rate
Why Did the Divorce Rate Rise Throughout the Twentieth Century?
Why the Divorce Rate Stabilized over the Past Three Decades
Thinking About Divorce: Weighing the Alternatives
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Chapter Outline

Getting the Divorce
The Economic Consequences of Divorce
The Social and Emotional Consequences of Divorce
Child-Custody Issues
Styles of Parental Relationships After Divorce
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Today’s Divorce Rate

Roughly half of all first marriages in the U.S. will likely end in divorce.
Divorce is associated with lower well-being for both parents and children.
The U.S. has among the highest divorce rate in the world.
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Today’s Divorce Rate

The divorce rate started its upward swing in the nineteenth century.
The frequency of divorce increased throughout most of the twentieth century, with dips and upswings surrounding historical events such as the Great Depression and major wars as well as the Great Recession beginning in 2007.
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Refined/Crude Divorce Rate

The refined divorce rate is the number of divorces per 1,000 married women.
The crude divorce rate is the number of divorces per 1,000 population.
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Divorces per 1,000 married women age 15 and older in the U.S., 1920-2014.

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Divorces per 1,000 population,
1950 to 2014 (crude divorce rate).

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The Divorce Divide

The decline in divorce rates varies by social category. It has declined dramatically for college graduates, whereas less-educated men and women have experienced virtually stable divorce rates.
Divorce can also vary by income. People who earn more than $50,000 have a 30-percent lower risk of divorce than those earning under $25,000 annually.
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Starter Marriages and Silver Divorces

A starter marriage is a first marriage that ends within the first few years, usually without children.
Divorce in later years (silver divorce) is no longer rare. This is particularly true for the baby-boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964.
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Divorce Among Gay and Lesbian Couples

With the legalization of same-sex marriage in the U.S., more gay and lesbian couples will likely choose to marry.
More same-sex marriage will likely result in more same-sex divorce.
There appears to be no difference between divorce rates between gay/lesbian and heterosexual couples.
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Redivorce

Americans have not given up on marriage.
Among ever-married men and women, roughly 13 percent have been married two or more times.
Remarriages have led to the phenomenon of multiple divorces.
A 2009 survey found that about one-third of men and women who divorced in the preceding 12 months had been previously divorced.
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Why Did the Divorce Rate Rise Throughout the Twentieth Century?

Demographic Factors (e.g., remarriage, heterogamous marriage, cohabitation, etc.)
Economic Factors
Loss of income increases the risk of divorce.
Unhappily married woman who are employed have more economic power, increased independence, and self-confidence.
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Why Did the Divorce Rate Rise Throughout the Twentieth Century?

Weakening Social, Moral, and Legal Constraints
Emphasis on the emotional relationship over the institutional benefits results in marriage not being viewed as permanent
Defining marriage as semipermanent can become a self-fulfilling prophecy
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Why Did the Divorce Rate Rise Throughout the Twentieth Century?

High Expectations for Marriage
Marriage is expected to meet each spouse’s need for love but also personal happiness and life satisfaction.
Interpersonal Dynamics
Relationship dissatisfaction is positively associated with the risk of divorce.
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Issues for Thought: Should Divorce Be Harder to Get?

Those who believe divorce is too readily available have proposed restrictions including:
Restoration of fault for all divorces
A waiting period of as long as five years
A more extensive process for divorces involving children
Prioritization of children’s needs in post-divorce financial arrangements
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Why the Divorce Rate Stabilized over the Past Three Decades

Fewer people are marrying at young ages.
Couples have improved their standard of living and have less tension at home.
Spouses are negotiating marriages based on less rigid gender roles.
There is increased determination by the children of a divorcing generation to make their marriages work.
Cohabitation has increased.
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Deciding to Divorce

Deciding to divorce is difficult.
Couples struggle with feelings about their past hopes, current unhappiness, and an uncertain future.
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Thinking about Divorce: Weighing the Alternatives

Not everyone who thinks about divorce actually gets one.
As divorce becomes a more available option, spouses may compare the benefits of their union to the potential consequences of not being married.
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Levinger’s Model of Divorce Decisions

Levinger’s model suggests that spouses assess their marriage in terms of
Barriers to divorce
Alternatives to the marriage
Rewards of the marriage
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“What’s Stopping Me?” Barriers to Divorce

Respondents to the Marital Instability Over the Life Course surveys named children, religion, and lack of financial resources as barriers to divorce.
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Children as a Barrier to Divorce

When parents consider divorce, they often think about the potential impact on their children—and that is a barrier to divorce.
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“What’s Stopping Me?” Barriers to Divorce

Researchers examining quantitative data from the surveys found only three of nine barriers associated with lower likelihood of divorce:
The wife’s income was a smaller percentage of the family income.
Church attendance was high.
There was a new child.
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“Would I Be Happier?” Alternatives to the Marriage

This element of Levinger’s theory was found least important in the decision to divorce.
A British study found people to be less happy one year after separation, but in one year after the divorce, people were happier than they had been while married.
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“Can This Marriage Be Saved?” Rewards of the Current Marriage

Some partners respond to marital distress by trying to improve their relationship and by focusing on the rewards of their current marriage.
One must decide whether divorce is a healthy step away from an unhappy relationship that cannot be improved.
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Other Solutions to Marital Distress: Marital Separation

Wineberg’s study, using a sample of white women from the 1987 National Survey of Families and Households, found that 44% of the separated women attempted reconciliation.
Virtually no marriages were resumed after eight months of separation.
Only one-third of the reconciliations resulted in a continued marriage.
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Stable Unhappy Marriages

Researchers Hawkins and Booth studied unhappy marriages for twelve years and compared people in unhappy marriages to divorced, single, and remarried individuals.
Their study suggested that unhappily married people who dissolve low quality marriages likely have greater odds of improving their well-being than those remaining in such unions.
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Getting the Divorce

The “black box” of divorce: People do not know much about the inner workings of the divorce process.
Initiating the divorce: Initiating and noninitiating partners talk about their reasons in different terms.
Women more often initiate a divorce. The one “left” experiences a greater loss of control and has much mourning yet to do.
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Legal Aspects of Divorce

A legal divorce is the dissolution of the marriage by the state through a court order terminating the marriage.
Two aspects of the legal divorce make marital breakup painful:
Divorce in court is a rational, unceremonial exchange that takes only a few minutes.
Under the U.S. judicial system, a lawyer advocates his or her client’s interest only.
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Divorce Mediation

Divorce mediation is a nonadversarial means of dispute resolution by which a couple, with a mediator, negotiate the settlement of their custody, support, property, and visitation issues.
Early research indicated that couples who use divorce mediation feel more satisfied with the process and the results, and report better relationships with ex-spouses and children.
Some recent research summaries are less enthusiastic.
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Divorce “Fallout”

Divorce fallout refers to ruptures of relationships and changes in social networks that come about as a result of divorce.
Family and friendship networks all must be renegotiated.
At the same time, divorce provides the opportunity for forming new ties.
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Kin No More

When a couple divorces, relationships with family members can be “reinterpreted” in many ways:
Kin promotion
Kin exchange
Nonkin conversion
Kin retention
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Divorce and Extended Families

Divorce affects the extended family as well as the nuclear one.
In some families, new extended networks are formed.
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Extended Families

Most extended families find themselves touched by divorce.
All fifty states have passed grandparent visitation laws.
Grandparents very commonly become closer to grandchildren, as adult children turn to grandparents for help or grandchildren seek emotional support.
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Friends No More?

A change in marital status is likely to mean a change in one’s community of friends.
The newly divorced must find new communities to replace old friendships that are no longer mutually satisfying.
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The Economic Consequences of Divorce

The economic fallout of divorce can be severe. No one “wins” financially in a divorce. Everyone’s standard of living suffers, especially children’s.
However, wives experience greater and more enduring losses than husbands.
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Children under 18 living in poverty, 2013

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Standard of Living after Divorce

Both mothers and fathers experience a substantial decline in their standard of living after a divorce.
They may need to move to less expensive—and less desirable—housing and away from their former neighborhood, school, and friends.
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Economic Losses for Women

Sociologist Lenore Weitzman compared the postdivorce economic decline of women with children to the improved standard of living of ex-husbands.
Women and their children experience declines in family income of between 27% and 51%.
A fundamental reason for the income disparity between ex-husbands and their former wives is men’s and women’s unequal wages and different work patterns.
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Economic Losses for Men

Married men experience a decline in family income of anywhere from 8 to 41 percent, mainly because of the loss of the partner’s income.
However, even if a man’s income drops after divorce, so do his expenses.
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Child Support

Child support involves money paid by the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent to support the children of an ended marital, cohabiting, or sexual relationship.
For many years, the child support awarded to the custodial parent was often not paid.
Policy makers’ concerns about child poverty, the economic consequences of divorce for women, and welfare costs led to federal laws that have changed that situation considerably.
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Child Support

Still, even when fully paid, child support amounts are not impressive, averaging $330/month.
Many custodial parents receive government assistance.
The principal reason for nonpayment of child support is unemployment or underemployment.
Suggested solutions to nonpayment include government-guaranteed child support and a children’s allowance.
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The Social and Emotional Consequences of Divorce

Numerous studies over several decades indicate that compared to married individuals, people who have divorced have more health problems, more symptoms of anxiety and depression, more substance use, and greater overall mortality.
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Consequences for Women and Men

Selection factors may sort people into groups with higher divorce risks as well as negative outcomes after divorce.
Stress-related growth—sometimes divorce provides an escape from marital behaviors that are more harmful than divorce itself.
A variety of moderating factors determine whether divorce has a positive effect on adult adjustment.
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Divorce and Children: The Wallerstein Research

In a longitudinal study of children’s postdivorce adjustment, psychologists Wallerstein and Kelly interviewed all the members of some sixty families who had entered counseling at the time of the parents’ separation in 1971.
They reinterviewed the children at one year, two years, five years, ten years, and, in some cases, fifteen years later and finally again at the twenty-five year point.
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Divorce and Children: The Wallerstein Research

In the initial aftermath of the divorce, children appeared worst in terms of their psychological adjustment at one year after separation.
By two years postdivorce, households had generally stabilized.
At five years, 34% “coped well”; 29% were in a middle range of adequate functioning; and 37% were not coping well.
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Divorce and Children: The Wallerstein Research

Wallerstein found that children whose parents have divorced will more than likely have less money available for their needs.
Divorce settlements seldom include arrangements to pay for children’s college education.
The Wallerstein study is well known for its methodological problems. Still, other research supports the conclusion that divorce has negative and long-term effects.
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Race/Ethnic Differences in Effects of Divorce on Children

Negative effects of divorce and living with a single mother appear to be less serious for black and Hispanic adolescents than for whites.
Family dynamics and the level of stigmatization of single parenthood may account for these differences.
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Reasons for Negative Effects of Divorce on Children

Life stress – accumulation of stressors results in problems for children of divorce.
Parental loss – assumes both parents in the same house is best for children.
Parental adjustment – quality of parenting is important in children’s adjustment to divorce.
Economic hardship – assumes the economic hardship caused is responsible for problems faced by children with divorced parents.
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Reasons for Negative Effects of Divorce on Children

Interparental conflict – conflict between parents is responsible for the lowered well-being of children of divorce.
Selection perspective – at least some of the child’s problems after the divorce were present before the marriage
Family instability – number of transitions in and out of various family settings is the key to children’s adjustment
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Divorce and Sibling Relationships

Some believe that sibling rivalry and conflict increase after a divorce.
Others suggest that siblings become closer and more supportive n the face of unstable and unreliable relationships with adults.
Most available research supports the first hypothesis.
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An Optimistic Look at Outcomes for Children of Divorce

Much research supports a moderate version of Wallerstein’s research.
Hetherington has a much more optimistic view of the outcomes for children of divorce than dose Wallerstein.
Ahrons found that, 20 years after the fact, almost 80% of children of divorce think their parents’ decision was a good one.
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Clinical Problems versus Psychological Pain

Amato distinguishes between clinical problems caused by divorce and psychological pain.
Children of divorce have an increased risk of social and emotional problems, but not an increased risk of “serious” issues such as being clinically anxious or depressed.
Middle ground: Children of divorce are disadvantaged compared to those of married parents, but perhaps not as badly disadvantaged as previously thought.
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Child Custody Issues

Legal custody: Who has the right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing
Physical custody: Where will a child live
Joint custody: Both divorced parents take equal responsibility for important decisions about the child’s general upbringing.
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Child Custody Issues

Custody patterns and preferences in law have changed over time.
In the 1970s, custody criteria were made gender neutral. Still, many courts continue to give preference to mothers; 82% of custodial parents are mothers.
However, there has been a dramatic increase in fathers with joint physical and legal custody.
Lesbian couples with children typically opt for joint custody.
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The Residential Parent

Custodial parents, overwhelmingly women, face the challenge of being solely responsible for their children’s care.
They often feel overwhelmed and exhausted, with little time to meet their own needs.
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The Visiting Parent

Most nonresident parents are fathers. Visitation tends to decline over time.
Still, noncustodial fathers are more involved with their children now than in the past. Social media has helped fathers stay in touch with their kids.
Some studies indicate that nonresident father involvement positively impacts their children. However, some nonresident fathers are not good role models.
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The Visiting Parent

Noncustodial mothers are popularly stereotyped as “deviant” in some way.
Being a nonresident mother is a stressful parenting role.
Noncustodial mothers are advised to focus on building a relationship rather than thinking of the traditional “maternal” role.
© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.