Research on Divorce: Continuing Trends and New Developments

“The emphasis on studying family structure transitions as chains of events has intensified as nonmarital childbearing and general instability have also increased (Amato, 2010; Cherlin, 2009).”

“This is often attributed to the stronger collective sanctions that conservative Christian communities have against divorce as well as their general sanctification of the marriage relationship (see reviews in Amato 2010; Lehrer and Son 2017; Mahoney 2010; Mahoney et al. 2001; Weaver et al. 2002).”

“type, and dissolution have been established and reviewed elsewhere (Amato, 2010; Sassler, 2010), we focus our theoretical discussion on hypothesized interaction effects.”

“In examining the role of illness, we also extend research on the correlates of relationship instability, which has identified several important factors contributing to relationship breakdown, including relationship history, gender divisions of labour in paid and unpaid work, and relationship quality (Amato, 2010; Cook…”

“[6,57]), Greenway and Cleark [59] report that there is a correlation between widowhood and children’s education.”

“A divorce or separation is associated with many adverse consequences for the partners involved (see review by Amato, 2010).”

“Traditionally, sources of attitudes on divorce have been located in social and environmental factors, such as the sum total of personal divorce experience, religious beliefs, or upbringing, including being raised in a divorced home (Amato, 2010; Kapinus, 2004; Sieben & Verbakel, 2013).”

“Although the lower rates of marriage are more evident in African American families, this trend is seen among white families, as well as in many industrialized countries (Amato, 2010; Cherlin, 2010).”

“Hong Kong’s crude divorce rate has risen from 0.4 in 1981 to 1.1 in 1991, 2.0 in 2001, and 2.54 in 2006 (Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong, 2007).1 The corresponding figure for the United States was 2.2 in 1960, peaked at 1980 at 5.2, then dropped to 3.6 in 2006 (Amato, 2010).”

“Previous studies demonstrated that parental divorce and conflict predict worse academic performance for affected children and adolescents (Amato, 2010; Cox et al., 2016; Esmaeili et al., 2012).”

“For resident parents, for example, it has been suggested that having sole parenting responsibility is a significant stressor that decreases the quality of parental well-being (Amato, 2010).”

“All of this aligns with the findings from previous research (Amato, 2010; Clarke-Stewart & Brentano, 2006; Khaleghi et al., 2021; Odis, 2021; Scott et al., 2013).”

“Although the divorce rate declined somewhat during the Great Recession, parental divorce remains a common experience for American children (Cohen, 2014; Eickmeyer, 2014), and is associated with lower levels of childhood well-being across a range of indicators, including more externalizing behaviors, poorer psychologic…”

“Coparenting programs are the most common intervention used to reduce negative post-divorce outcomes and promote healthy adjustment and development for parents and children (Amato, 2010).”

“Wie sich eine Trennung der Eltern und in der Folge neue Partnerschaften auf das Wohlbefinden von Kindern auswirken, ist in der internationalen Forschung Gegenstand vieler Untersuchungen (vgl. z.B. Amato 1993, 2010, 2014; Coleman et al. 2000).”

“Few studies find support for the relevance of children’s age at separation for their adjustment to separation (Amato, 2010).”

“For example, research has found that individuals with fewer financial resources have not only a higher likelihood of divorce, but also a lower likelihood of remarriage following a divorce (Amato, 2010; Bramlett & Mosher, 2002).”

“In this perspective, the lower psychological status of adolescents living in non-traditional families might be due to factors (characteristics of children themselves, family resources or family climate) that are present already before the parental separation took place and both predispose parents to separation and are…”

“Parental separation and divorce is a stressful experience for some children (Galloway & Pudney, 2011; Kjobli, 2009) despite the resilience of other children (Amato, 2010; Mahony, Walsh, Lunn, & Petriwskyj, 2015).”

“Similarly, a high number of stepdaughters in the sample had lived with their stepfather for several years, but given that remarried families have higher rates of divorce (Amato, 2010), the length of these stepfather–stepdaughter relationships may not represent the most typical length of such relationships.”

“Therefore, the collapse of marriage creates egregious negative consequences for divorcees and their children (Amato, 2010).”

“…from lower-SES families and who have low levels of education themselves have children at significantly younger ages, and they are much more likely to do so in the context of nonmarital and less stable relationships (Amato 2010; Manning et al. 2004; Raley and Bumpass 2003; Smock and Greenland 2010).”

“More recent reviews reported adjustment difficulties in both boys and girls and cited no conclusive evidence that adverse effects are more significant for one or the other (Amato 2010; Lansford 2009).”

“The reserve capacity is the presence of individual (e.g., coping skills), interpersonal (e.g., social support), and structural (i.e., socioeconomic factors) coping resources and mechanisms (Amato, 2010; Gallo et al., 2005).”

“and to identify determinants of divorce in various contexts (Amato, 2010; Chen & Yip, 2018; Kalmijn, 2007; Park & Raymo, 2013).”

“Thus, as noted by others [11], multiple factors are likely needed to understand the link between experiences of parental divorce and outcomes in adolescence, even though the individual contribution of each factor may be small.”

“Court-mandated parent education programming is the most common intervention focused on easing parent and child adjustment to divorce (Amato, 2010).”

“…ages and for outcomes including health, school performance, cognitive development, family formation, relationship satisfaction, and other domains (Amato, 2000, 2001, 2010; Amato & Keith, 1991; Amato & Sobolewski, 2001; Kelly & Emery, 2003; Kim, 2011; Laumann-Billings & Emery, 2000; Sabatelli &…”

“…functionality in families (e.g., Strohschein, 2005; Sun & Li, 2001) but following our results, they do not seem to depend on the families’ economic resources.7 Amato (2010) speculated that this effect may be caused by increased stress due to frequent parental conflicts that precede separation.”

“95 See, for example, Macintosh et al (2009); Kelly and Emery (2003); Pryor and Rodgers (2001); Amato (2010).”

“This may result in negative outcomes in terms of behavior, emotion, selfesteem, social relations, academic achievement, and psychosomatic disorders (Amato, 2010; Amato & Keith, 1991; Cookston, Sandler, Braver, & Genalo, 2007).”

“Previous studies on marital dissolution and childhood mortality have used divorce as an indicator of the former (Amato, 2010; Smith-Greenaway & Clark, 2015).”

“There is considerable evidence that families experience negative health outcomes after a divorce (Amato, 2010, 2001; Auersperg et al., 2019).”

“…parents after divorce are positively involved in their children ’ s lives within the context of cooperative and harmonious coparental relationships (Cox & Paley, 2003; Minuchin, 1974), as for instance has been found in relation to adolescent adjustment (Amato et al., 2010; Rejaän et al., 2021b).”

“experience higher rates of divorce/separation (Bratter & King, 2008, Hohmann-Marriott & Amato, 2008, Lehmiller and Agnew 2007, Zhang & Van Hook, 2009) and poorer health (Yu & Zhang, 2017). Researchers have found that after 10 years of marriage, interracial marriages have a 41% chance of disruption compared to a 31% ch…”

“Two theoretical perspectives are generally used to explain relationship transition effects on well-being and life satisfaction: the social support perspective and the stress perspective (cf. Amato, 2010; Lucas et al., 2003).”

“This finding was only partly in line with Gottman and Levenson’s (2000) findings of lack of positive affect as associated with late dissolutions.”

“Wellbeing studies have indicated that individuals that have experienced a failed intimate relationship or a divorce have greater levels of anxiety, fear, are at higher risks for committing suicide and are less productive at work (Amato 2010; Davis et al. 2003; Skopp et al. 2012).”

“circumstances, and also life cycle factors such as cohabitation, pregnancy prior to marriage, presence of children, length of marriage, and divorce of parents (Amato, 2010; Clarke-Stewart & Brentano, 2006; Wolfinger, 2005).”

“…may seem counter-intuitive, especially from the theoretical perspectives of rational investment or learning (e.g., Rao Sahib and Gu 2002, 2013); however, this is a common empirical finding (see, e.g., Brien et al. 2006 and Farmer and Horowitz 2015 and see Amato 2010 for a review of other studies).”

“Much research has examined the effects of parental divorce on children across a broad range of outcomes (e.g., Amato, 2001, 2010; Amato & Anthony, 2014; Amato & Keith, 1991; McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994; McLanahan, Tach, & Schneider, 2013), with a largely separate literature focusing on parental…”

“Numerous studies have documented that growing up with a single parent is negatively associated with children’s educational outcomes in the United States and western European countries (Amato, 2000, 2010; McLanahan & Percheski, 2008; McLanahan & Sandefur, 1994; McLanahan et al., 2013).”

“In light of the concerns related to relationship dissolution (Amato, 2010), relationship education has become an increasingly common intervention to help promote healthy relationships (Hawkins & Fackrell, 2010).”

“The widespread impact of divorce experiences revealed by the study includes personal, social, relational and cultural factors (Amato, 2010; Steiner et al., 2015).”

“More generally, studying the moderator effect of parenthood enriches our knowledge on the heterogeneity of mental health consequences around first marital dissolution, a topic that has been called for as an important direction of future research (Amato 2010).”

“…2005), we apply the metaphor of a divorce process using insights from the fields of sociology and psychology (e.g., Allen & Hawkins, 2017; Amato, 2010; Amato & Anthony, 2014; Angwin & Meadows, 2015; Basak, 2016; Bauer & Matzler, 2014; Bergh, 1997, 2015; Bergh, Johnson, & Dewitt, 2008;…”

“Based on prior research demonstrating that youth well-being following parental divorce is associated with youth and family characteristics (e.g., Amato, 2010; Beckmeyer & Russell, 2018), we included seven control variables in our analyses.”

“Although divorced fathers date more often than divorced mothers (Amato, 2010), Langlais et al., (2016b) found that around 40% of American mothers formed multiple romantic relationships within the first two years following divorce.”

“Studies on marital dissolution trends, determinants, and consequences have received ample space in the scientific literature for many years (Amato, 2000, 2010; Lyngstat & Jalovaara, 2010; Mortelmans, 2020; Teachman, 2002).”

“Keywords: divorce, coping, Q methodology, daycare centers Divorce rates in Norway, as in other Western countries, are generally high and involve many children and families (Amato, 2010a; Statistics Norway, 2010a; USC Bureau, 2004).”

“The rate rose sharply in the 1960s and 1970s, and has been stable or declining since the 1990s (Amato, 2010; Goldstein, 1999; Kreider & Renee, 2011; T. C. Martin & Bumpass, 1989; Raley & Bumpass, 2003).”

“Hence, comparatively little is known about the separation experience of fathers (Amato, 2010; Wilson, 2006).”

“…in the workforce and similar barriers to accessing well-paid work allowing them to accumulate sufficient retirement savings (see, for example, Amato, 2010; Cohen, 2013; Cotter, Hermsen, & Vanneman, 2004; Crompton & Harris, 2006; Gazso, 2005; Gibson, Le, & Scobie, 2006; Hodgson & Marriott,…”

“But this may not be the case (Amato, 2010).”

“The negative impact of divorce can reach into adulthood and even later in adult married life, with potential increases in poverty, educational failure, risky sexual behaviour, unplanned pregnancies, earlier marriage or cohabitation, marital discord and divorce.(8,11-14) Research has attempted to answer key questions r…”