Chapter 15 Blog

Chapter 15 examines the issue of divorce. The chapter notes that divorce isn’t just one single defining event but rather a series of macro and micro factors that leads to the breaking up of a marriage. The first issue within divorce to be examined is that of separation. Separation can either be a temporary experiment for a couple to see what it’s like to be apart or it can be a more permanent situation for couples who don’t believe in divorce. There are four stages of separation that each hold their own characteristics. These include pre separation, early separation, mid separation, and late separation. There are generally three outcomes possible associated with separation: separation and reconciliation, separation without divorce, and separation and divorce. The next section discusses recent trends in divorce. It is important to note that the statistics that 50% of marriages end in divorce is misleading. The book also points out that divorce rates are actually lower than they were between 1975 and 1990. The book talks about a theory involving 6 stages of divorce: emotional, legal, economic, coparental, community, and psychic. The chapter discusses the reasons why people divorce. Some of the macro level reasons for divorce include divorce laws, religious institutions, the economy and women’s employment, military service, cultural values and social integration, and technology. Some of the demographic variables include parental divorce, premarital cohabitiation, gender, race and ethnicity, religion and marital duration. Some of the interpersonal problems include extramarital affairs, violence, conflict over money, lack of communication, annoying habits, and growing apart. The next part discussed is the physical, emotional, and psychological effects. In general, research contends that divorce decreases people’s physical well-being. In addition, divorced people face a time of transition after a divorce that includes both periods of depression and happiness. It is unclear however whether divorce leads to these problems, or whether these problems are some of the reasons why these people got divorced. Another consequence of divorce includes financial hardship. Different spouses accrue different levels of this hardship however with factors including whether there is alimony involved, gender, and age playing a part in who is hit the worst. Another important part of divorce discussed in the chapter is that of child custody. There is sole custody where one parent has the main responsibility of raising the child, split custody where the children choose who they want to live with, or joint custody where the children spend part of their time with their mother and part of their time with their father. In addition, child support is an important issue when talking about kids and divorce. Finally, it is discussed how divorce more broadly affects children. All children are affected by and react to divorce in different ways. Some ways to help stem these harmful affects could be for parents to keep open lines of communication, emphasize their unconditional love, and reassure that it’s not their fault. There are however, positive consequences of divorce such as getting out of a dysfunctional and harmful relationship.

Something New/Interesting

Something new that I learned was the issue of Co-Custody and that it has become a heated issue supported by many men’s rights groups.

Discussion Point

The “Should It Be Harder (or Impossible) to Get a Divorce box” on page 339, notes that some groups think that divorce rates would be cut in half if America got rid of no-fault divorce laws and other laws that make divorce more accessible. Do you think that making it harder to get divorced is a good idea? Would this help society?

-Ali Mosser