Chapter 10: Divorce, Remarriage, and Blended Families

Children's Well-Being: Stressors

- Less parental time and energy - Losing contact with one parent for periods of time - Witnessing or being part of conflicts - Residential moves, job and school transitions, and economic hardship

Common Outcomes for Children

- Short-term emotional or behavioral reactions or school problems - Permanent emotional changes - New roles and identities in the family or social environment

Couples are more likely to divorce when

- they describe themselves as unhappy in their marriages. - they spend less time alone with each other. - they disagree frequently about household tasks, money, time together, sex, and in-laws.

a

1. According to data on U.S. divorces in 2015, what is the relationship between education and the divorce rate? a.) Divorces are least common among college graduates compared with everyone else. b.) People who did not earn a high school diploma are the least likely to divorce. c.) There is no relationship between level of education and the divorce rate.

d

4. In 2015, there were 1.1 million divorces. What is the divorce percentage for couples who had been married for four years or less in 2015? a.) 0.22 percent b.) 1.37 percent c.) 2.23 percent d.) 2.46 percent

c

4. Mona and Jon are stepsiblings who live in a household with Jon's mother, who is Mona's stepmother, and Mona's father, who is Jon's stepfather. According to the textbook, their family can be considered a.) a boundary ambiguity. b.) a dynamic family. c.) a blended family. d.) an adoptive family.

Stepparent

the spouse or committed partner of one's biological or adoptive parent

Children's Well-Being: Protective Factors

- Coping skills, interpersonal skills, and self-confidence - Economic, educational, or other resources that help families buffer children - Attentive parenting, diminished conflict, and continued involvement of both parents after the divorce

income effect

- Couples with high levels of education and high incomes are less likely to get divorced (Martin 2006). - Researchers have linked having a higher income with increased stability and happiness and reduced stress.

The divorce revolution

- During the period from 1960 to 1980 Divorce was exceedingly apparent and large as many woman divorced their husbands for independence. Many did not marry as well as they believed in the temperance movement. - Went from legal control to the voluntary arrangement between individuals Marriage was legally recognized as a voluntary contract between two individuals. New laws, voluntary arrangement Reforms to the legal system were influenced by the feminist movement and geared toward emancipating women from traditions and laws that reinforced gender inequality. Legal to get a divorce for personal reasons rather than making an accusation or charge against the other party Either spouse could demand a divorce and did not need a specific reason

Consequences of Divorce

-Major change of life and self opportunities for positive and negative change -Immediate consequences generally subside in 2 years. - disrupted social networks, support, increased anxiety, depression, impulsive behavior - traditional women, noncustodial fathers may have more problems -New partner helps satisfaction more important to men - Stress levels rise and are higher before divorce or separation. After divorce or separation, stress levels fall back to a level near that of stably married adults.

C

1. In 2015, there were 1.1 million divorces. What percentage of people with only a high school degree got divorced? a.) 1.4 percent b.) 1.7 percent c.) 1.8 percent d.) 2.4 percent

b

1. Which term refers to the legal dissolution of marriage according to the laws of the state? a.) marital dissolution b.) divorce c.) relationship dissolution d.) separation

b

2. According to data on U.S. divorces in 2015, what is the relationship between racial and ethnic groups and the divorce rate? a.) Divorces are the least common for Whites compared with all other groups. b.) Divorces are the most common among American Indians and African Americans. c.) Divorces are the least common for Hispanics compared with all other racial or ethnic groups.

c

2. Although divorce provides a legal dissolution of a marriage, an annulment of marriage is different because it a.) provides legal proof that a couple is separated for tax purposes. b.) provides a temporary divorce status that can be reversed for one year. c.) is considered a legal or religious determination that the marriage was never valid.

d

2. In 2015, there were 1.1 million divorces. What percentage of American Indian couples divorced in 2015? a.) 1.66 percent b.) 1.65 percent c.) 2.03 percent d.) 2.89 percent

a

3. How does cohabitation affect the likelihood that a couple will later divorce? a.) Cohabitation does not affect the chance of divorcing if the couple eventually marries. b.) Cohabitation before marriage decreases the likelihood that a couple will divorce. c.) Cohabitation before marriage increases the odds of a couple divorcing.

a

3. In 2015, there were 1.1 million divorces. What is the divorce percentage in 2015 of individuals who had only been married one time? a.) 1.43 percent b.) 2.69 percent c.) 3.30 percent

b

5. Research on the independence effect of women's employment on the divorce rate indicates which of these conclusions? a.) Women's employment is strongly associated with divorce for all types of marriage. b.) Women's employment increases the likelihood of divorce, but only for women who are unhappy in their marriage. c.) Women's employment has no effect.

Annulment of Marriage

A legal or religious determination that the marriage was never valid - Divorce was quite common among upper-class couples in the Roman Empire. But by the time of early Christianity, religious authorities introduced strong rules against divorce. - Separation by mutual agreement or desertion occurred, but individuals could not legitimately remarry unless they were granted an annulment by the Church. - Catholic doctrine allows an individual to remarry only if the first marriage has been annulled; divorce is not permitted. That history is what makes annulment important to understand. - ___________ are very difficult to obtain and they are very uncommon, although they are still legally granted today in rare circumstances. - ____________ remain important for some Catholics, who may still have a very negative view of divorce. - ___________ are an important part of the history of marriage dissolution because they highlight the influence of religious institutions and the Church on the institution of marriage. - Although the church has less authority than it did in the past, vestiges of its authority and social influence still exist. - Today, the institutional arena of the state has much more power and authority over the institution of marriage than do religious institutions. - The shift from religious authority to state authority also corresponds to the shift from marriage as a social arrangement to one of individual expression and individualism.

Blended Family

Any family that includes stepparents, stepsiblings, or half-siblings

Which of the following statements about divorce is true?

Divorces are less common for college graduates than for people who did not graduate college.

Church and State

In modern society, the state as an institutional arena has taken more and more authority and control away from the church, especially where divorce is concerned. Church authority, in general, has become increasingly less powerful with the rise of the nation state. The modern family is much more under the control of state authority than it is under the control of religious authority. In modern society, religion is more of a matter of personal choice, and not a social requirement.

Which of the following is a characteristic of the "Gray Divorce Revolution"?

Many of those over 50 who divorced in 2015 were ending a second or third marriage

for the children's sake

One of the central concerns of divorce is the stress it may place on individuals, especially children. Some parents try to delay or prevent divorce for the children's sake; other parents want a divorce for the children's sake. There are several ways to view the social phenomenon of divorce. Some individuals view divorce as liberation; others view divorce as the collapse of the institution of marriage. The increase of divorce and remarriage in modern society can be connected to the three themes of the textbook: family diversity, social class inequality, and social change. The increase in divorce and the increasing acceptance of divorce have changed the institution of marriage for everyone, whether or not they are personally involved with divorce.

Gray divorce Revolution

Over the two decades leading up to 2010, the divorce rate of people older than 50 years doubled

Why might divorce trends appear in clusters of friends, coworkers, and siblings?

People's attitudes reflect a practical response to their own experiences and the experiences of those around them

Half-Sibling

The biological child of one's parent and another person

Marital Dissolution

The end of a marriage through permanent separation or divorce - This term is used in lieu of divorce at times because some couples who separate do not follow through and get a legal divorce. - relationship dissolution to apply to the separation of a couple in a committed relationship who has never been married (especially when those relationships include children), because the process is similar in many ways to divorce.

Seperation

The formal or informal separation of married spouses into different households

Divorce

The legal dissolution of marriage according to the laws of the state - has become an increasingly normal part of the relationship process for many individuals. This is partly a result of the rise of individualism in modern society.

Boundary Ambiguity

The situation in which family members do not know or do not agree on who is in the family and what role each person plays

Divorce-Marriage Ratio

This number is what many people refer to as the divorce rate. It is the probability or odds of a married couple getting divorced in the future. Although it is impossible to predict the future, there are two measures that can help provide a good generalization: 1.) Look at the marriage and divorce history of older people today. 2.) Calculate what would happen if a recent year happened over and over again. Regardless of how divorce is calculated or counted, its occurrence is still much higher than it was for the past 150 years.

Divorce Rates

are much higher than they were 150 years ago. - peaked around 1980 before beginning to decline. - The percentage of marriages that will end in divorce is calculated at between 40 to 50 percent (Schoen and Canudas-Romo 2006).

Stepsibling

brothers or sisters who share a biological or adoptive parent and a stepparent

The income effect has been noted to

decrease divorce as income increases.

Matching Process

divorce is more common among people with less education, those who have been married previously, African Americans, and Native Americans. However, different aspects of marriage also affect divorce. The nature of marriage is affected by the ways in which individuals come together and form couples. Cohabitation is an important consideration for many researchers. The age of the individuals when they first get married is also an important consideration.

Independence Effect

occurs when an increase in a married woman's income leads to marital dissolution because she is better able to afford to live separately

Refined Divorce Rate

rate tells us how many divorces there are for every 1,000 married couples in the country. This rate tells us how common divorce is among married couples specifically, not just in the entire population. This figure can be further broken down by education, race, ethnicity, and so on.

Stepchild

the child of one's spouse or committed partner

Crude Divorce Rate

the number of divorces that have occurred in one year in the entire population. It is used to tell how common divorce is in the entire country. It is also useful as a rough comparison to ascertain long-term historical trends even back when the data were not as plentiful. Currently, the___________ _________ __________ in the United States is 3.9 divorces for every 1,000 people in the country.