essay about effect of divorce

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Essay: The effects of divorce

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Divorce, a legal separation of a married couple that has profound effects on the people involved. There are both long-term and short-term effects that arise after a divorce occurs. When a married couple with children separates, not only are the two adults are affected by it, but more importantly, the children are affected largely as well. Divorce tends to have a strong emotional and psychological impact on the minds of children transforming their mentality of relationships for years to come, quite possibly forever. This impact that occurs causes the children to handle their future relationships differently, even if they don’t realize they are doing it. Some of the effects are visible immediately after the divorce while others may take several years to show themselves. Children who have grown up in split families show signs of negative, long-lasting effects in their own relationships, inside and outside the family, that are directly parallel to the influence their parents’ divorce on their lives. Divorce in a family affects everyone in the unit to some degree, no matter how big or small. It all begins with the immediate effects. Some of these short-term impacts are anger, depression, aggression, interpersonal conflict, economic hardship, life stress, lower academic achievement, and social adjustment difficulty. These are only a few of the countless effects that can occur in a situation like this. The range of the short-term results varies from family to family depending on the relationship the children have with both parents before and after the divorce. In many cases of divorce, the parents and children become disconnected emotionally. A few of the factors that play in to how strongly the children will be effected are ‘parental ability to resolve post-divorce conflict and anger, ability of the custodial parent to successfully resume the parenting role, ability of the non-custodial parent to maintain a mutually satisfying relationship with the child or children, [and] personality characteristics of the child and the ability to develop coping skills [‘]’ (Matthews 3). The parents are adjusting to their new, single lives and having to deal with several issues such as getting money, a place to live, or a job. The parents let up the reins they used to hold on their children and become more aware of their own problems rather than focusing on the connection they hold with their children and what their children are doing. If this happens, and the parents do not handle the situation well or cope positively with the situation, there is a higher probability that the short-term effects that impacted the children will turn into damaging long-term effects. There are countless outcomes of a divorce that can leave the children involved with serious and long-lasting difficulties in the upcoming years of their lives. Even if the divorce happened at an early age when the child did not completely understand what was happening, the trauma of growing up in a separated family takes its toll on the child’s mind whether he or she realizes it or not. A study was done on children of multiple different families where each child’s personal thought process was traced over a ten year period. When the first follow-up was taken after five years, the short-term effects that had remained were anger, specifically at the parent who asked for the divorce, a longing for the absent parent, a wish for the family to be put back together, and moderate to severe cases of depression (4). As adults, ten years after the divorce, the study followed up once again. The research showed that the children were not so much pushing for their parents to get back together as they simply expressed sorrow that their parents had not gotten back together. Any hope they once had that their parents may constitute their relationship once again had disappeared, and the children accepted their parents’ decision. Several of the students agreed that their lives would have been much happier if their parents had stayed together, and they were able to grow up in a strong family unit. The outcome was devastating, but they could do nothing about it, and had to respect it. This shows the maturity the children developed as they entered into adulthood, giving them a different outlook on the situation that would allow them to cope easier with what happened to them ten years ago and with all that has happened since then because of their parents’ decisions. Although this acceptance is extremely healthy for the healing process, children whose parents are divorced will never fully be healed. There are countless emotional, psychological, physical, and social concerns that have yet to be addressed. One of the emotional concerns introduced to children when dealing with a divorce is that they are more prone to being quick to anger and frustration, as well as pressure and stress. Anger can build up inside the child over the years and cause the child to lash out in small, and sometimes large, bursts of anger at parents or siblings over different thoughts. This anger that has risen up because of the parent’s divorce, also comes from the daily problems children deal with. These can have to do with anything from school to sports to family. It is especially evident in times of stress. Children not only have to deal with new issues that have come from the divorce such as separation from one parent for certain periods of time, and packing and transportation back and forth from each parent, but also the pressures of schoolwork, grades, work, sports, church, and other weekly activities. For a child trying to balance their life with such a big change, it becomes tiresome, difficult, and easy to let that frustration build up inside. Children can become so emotional that it starts to show through their actions and life choices they make as they get older. Adolescents whose parents are divorced tend to lash out more than kids who grow up in families that are intact (Fagan 1). The worse the relationship between the children and the parents after the divorce, the more the child will lash out simply searching for attention from their mother and/or father. They look for a way to let out the anger they hold against their parents for their decision, and look for attention and happiness anywhere they can find it. Several children lean towards drugs, sex, aggressive or violent behavior , committing crimes, running away, alcohol, and even skipping school (Rappaport 1). This leads into the physical problems that can be found in children with split families. Some do not take care of themselves like they should, and sometimes not all their needs can be met because of the parent’s concerns being placed elsewhere in their lives. These can be relatively small issues like laziness, but could also reach into more serious situations such as not eating or self-harm. These more serious problems could be a result of depression, which is extremely common during childhood, and even more so in children who are dealing with family separation. ‘[I]ts symptoms include irritability, worthlessness, depressed mood, difficulty concentrating in school, poor appetite (or overeating), insomnia (or too much sleep) and/or constant fatigue’ (1). The most horrifying result of depression is death. Although parent’s divorcing may not be the only cause for depression for all children separated families, it can definitely play a large role in it, especially if other traumatic experiences are happening in the child’s life at a similar time such as death of a close friend or family member. It is often said that people harm themselves when they are in a state of depression because they are crying out for help; however, this myth does not take into account that the people who are doing these things to themselves are trying to end their emotional pain in whatever way they can. For some, it may be an eating disorder while others may cut themselves, or even attempt suicide. Feelings and emotions that build up from family troubles should be taken seriously and let out in a healthy way whether that means getting a counselor for the children or keeping them busy until they find something that they are passionate about and want to continue pursuing. There are numerous other profound problems that can arise out of separated families such as: [T]he children of divorced parents are more likely to get pregnant and give birth outside of marriage [‘], and twice as likely to cohabit than are children of married parents. Moreover, divorce appears to result in a reduction of the educational accomplishments of the affected children, weakens their psychological and physical health, and predisposes them to rapid initiation of sexual relationships and higher levels of marital instability. It also raises the probability that they will never marry [‘]. (Fagan 1). The first point raised here is that these children are more likely to get pregnant outside of marriage. Not only that, but they are more likely to get pregnant as a teenager, or while in a cohabitated relationship. Percentage of teen births from 1960 to 1994 rose from 15% to 76%, not taking any abortions into account. In relation to these teen births there was also a spike in divorced couples in those years, especially when the divorce rate dramatically spiked 79% between the years 1970 and 1977 (Matthews 1). This shows a connection between the rise in divorces and the rise in teen births indicating the two intertwine on some level. People nowadays are less likely to get married first, and then have children. Much of the time, it is the other way around, and when a couple out of wedlock has a child, they usually do not have any intention of getting married. ‘It is not that the number of babies born to teens has changed; it is that marriage within this group has vanished’ (Fagan 1). People seem to have lost the meaning of marriage and children. There were several marriages at a young age in the mid-nineties and teens who were having children were a married couple. The number of births stayed still, but the number of weddings and marriages decreased. This can be traced back to the number of divorces that were occurring during that time. The mindset of children whose parents’ were divorced is that they don’t want to end up in the same situation. They are afraid to enter into a relationship that could lead to a marriage and subconsciously allow their mind and heart to stay detached from the idea of ever marrying a person. As adults, they still want their sexual needs to be met, and when in a relationship will act upon that, which could possibly lead to pregnancy. As a teenager whose parents are divorced, as stated before, they are searching for attention from their parents, and looking for a way to let out their emotions. Also, if lashing out with drugs and/or alcohol, and making bad decisions, sex and pregnancy is more likely to occur. If not careful, this could lead to teen pregnancy, and the girl would have to deal with that whole situation and figure out how she was going to handle it, especially in the areas of the father and school. Teen pregnancies and pregnancies out-of-wedlock are not the only results from fear of commitment. Cohabitation and development of purely sexual relationships are two things that are extremely likely to arise from someone who is afraid of commitment, which is almost always an effect of a child’s parents being divorced when they were young. ‘Today, the economic and social future of children in the poor and the middle class is being undermined by a culture that promotes teenage sex, divorce, cohabitation, and out-of-wedlock birth’ (Fagan 1). The way the government treats these situations, giving help rather than solving the issue at hand, makes it much easier for people to believe that teenage sex, pregnancy out-of-wedlock, divorce, and cohabitation are okay for anybody of any age. Many people cohabit who have no future plan of getting married. This does not apply to those who do not believe in marriage, and plan on spending the rest of their lives together as a couple. Children whose parents have divorced grow up to have relationships in which no marriage or future in general is seen in the eyes of that particular child, now an adult, yet they still decide to live with that person, or stay over at their house often. They may go from person to person cohabiting until they at last find that one person who they think they could develop a serious relationship with and possibly marry. Cohabiting does not only happen with children whose parents are divorced. Cohabitation is actually a relatively common part of living for many people; however, for some people, cohabiting occurs when a serious couple may be thinking of getting married and want to know what it is like to live with the other person, or when a couple has a child out-of-wedlock and both parents have decided they need to be there for the baby at all hours of the day. The action of two people living together before marriage who may be thinking of having a future together can actually cause more marital problems to occur and increase the likelihood of divorce (1). In the year 1990, 29% of people whose parents were together were cohabiting together, but 54%-62% of children cohabited whose parents were divorced. This doubled the rate of divorce for that 54-62%. For those whose parents were divorced that were cohabiting with someone who wasn’t going to be their future spouse, the rates of divorce in their own future marriage was doubled once again (1). Forty percent of these couples have children in the home with them, and eighty percent of these children will spend at least a portion of their life in a single-parent home.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Divorce — Divorce, Its Causes, Effects, and Solutions

Divorce, Its Causes, Effects, and Solutions

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Essays About Divorce: Top 5 Examples and 7 Prompts

Essays about divorce can be challenging to write; read on to see our top essay examples and writing prompts to help you get started.

Divorce is the legal termination of a marriage. It can be a messy affair, especially if it includes children. Dividing the couple’s assets also often causes chaos when divorce proceedings are in session.

Divorce also touches and considers religion and tradition. Therefore, laws are formed depending on the country’s history, culture, and belief system.

To help you choose what you want to talk about regarding this topic, here are examples you can read to get an idea of what kind of essay you want to write.

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1. Divorce Should Be Legalized in the Philippines by Ernestine Montgomery

2. to divorce or not to divorce by mark ghantous, 3. what if you mess up by manis friedman, 4. divorce: a life-changing experience by writer louie, 5. divorce’s effects on early adult relationships by percy massey, 1. the major reasons for divorce, 2. why i support divorce, 3. my divorce experience, 4. how to avoid divorce, 5. divorce and its effects on my family, 6. the consequences of divorce, 7. divorce laws around the world.

“What we need is a divorce law that defines clearly and unequivocally the grounds and terms for terminating a marriage… Divorce is a choice and we all should have the freedom to make choices… in cases where a union is more harmful than beneficial, a divorce can be benevolent and less hurtful way of severing ties with your partner.”

As the title suggests, Montgomery and his other colleagues discuss why the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country, needs to allow divorce. Then, to strengthen his argument, he mentions that Spain, the root of Christianity, and Italy, where the Vatican City is, administer divorce.

He also mentions bills, relevant figures, and statistics to make his case in favor of divorce more compelling. Montgomery adds that people who want a divorce don’t necessarily mean they want to marry again, citing other motives such as abuse and marital failure.

“Divorce, being the final step in a detrimental marriage, brings upon the gruesome decision as to whether a married couple wishes to end that once made commitment they had for each other. As opposed to the present, divorce was rare in ancient times…”

Ghantous starts his essay with what divorce means, as not only an end of a commitment but also the termination of legal duties and other obligations of the couple to each other. He then talks about divorce in ancient times, when men had superior control over women and their children. He also mentions Caroline Norton, who fought with English family law that was clearly against women.

“So even though G‑d has rules,… laws,… divine commandments, when you sin, He tells you: ‘You messed up? Try again.’ That’s exactly how you should be married — by treating your spouse the way G‑d treats you. With that much mercy and compassion, that much kindness and consideration.”

Friedman’s essay discusses how the Torah sees marriage and divorce and explains it by recounting a scene with his daughters where they couldn’t follow a recipe. He includes good treatment and forgiveness necessary in spouses. But he also explains that God understands and doesn’t want people in a failed marriage to continue hurting. You might also be interested in these essays about commitment .

“Depending on the reasons that led up to the divorce the effects can vary… I was fourteen years old and the one child that suffered the most emotional damage… My parents did not discuss their reasons for the divorce with me, they didn’t have to, and I knew the reasons.”

The author starts the essay by citing the famous marital promise: “For better or worse, for richer or poorer,” before going in-depth regarding the divorce rate among Americans. He further expounds on how common divorce is, including its legalities. Although divorce has established legal grounds, it doesn’t consider the emotional trauma it will cause, especially for children.

Louie recounts how his life changed when his dad moved out, listing why his parents divorced. He ends the essay by saying society is at fault for commercializing divorce as if it’s the only option.

“With divorce becoming more prevalent, many researchers have taken it upon themselves to explore many aspects of this topic such as evolving attitudes, what causes divorce, and how it effects the outcome of children’s lives.”

Massey examines the causes of divorce and how it impacts children’s well-being by citing many relevant research studies. Some of the things he mentions are the connection between the child’s mental health, behavioral issues, and future relationships. Another is the trauma a child can endure during the divorce proceedings.

He also mentions that some children who had a broken family put marriage on a pedestal. As a result, they do their best to create a better future family and treat their children better.

Top 7 Prompts on Essays About Divorce

After adding to your knowledge about the subject, you’re better prepared to write essays about divorce.

There are many causes of the dissolution of marriage, and many essays have already discussed these reasons. However, you can explain these reasons differently. For example, you can focus on domestic abuse, constant fighting, infidelity, financial issues, etc.

If you want to make your piece stand out, you can include your personal experience, but only if you’re comfortable sharing your story with others.

If you believe divorce offers a better life for all parties involved, list these benefits and explain them. Then, you can focus on a specific pro of legalizing divorce, such as getting out of an abusive relationship.

If you want to write an essay to argue against the negative effects of divorce, here’s an excellent guide on how to write an argumentative essay .

This prompt is not only for anyone who has no or sole guardian. If you want to write about the experiences of a child raised by other people or who lives with a single parent, you can interview a friend or anyone willing to talk about their struggles and triumphs even if they didn’t have a set of parents.

Aside from reasons for divorce, you can talk about what makes these reasons more probable. Then, analyze what steps couples can take to avoid it. Such as taking couples’ therapy, weekly family get-together, etc. To make your essay more valuable, weigh in on what makes these tips effective.

Essays About Divorce: Divorce and its effects on my family

Divorce is diverse and has varying effects. There are many elements to its results, and no two sets of factors are precisely the same for two families.

If you have an intimate experience of how your immediate and extended family dynamic had been affected by divorce, narrate those affairs. Include what it made you and the others around you feel. You might also be interested in these essays about conflict .

This is a broad prompt, but you can narrow it down by focusing on an experience you or a close friend had. You can also interview someone closely related to a divorce case, such as a lawyer, reporter, or researcher.

If you don’t have any experience with divorce, do not know anyone who had to go through it, or is more interested in its legal aspects, compiles different divorce laws for each country. You can even add a brief history for each law to make the readers understand how they came about.

Are you looking for other topics to write on? Check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

The Real Long-Term Physical and Mental Health Effects of Divorce

Tips to reduce your risk of long-term health issues and mortality..

Posted August 16, 2022 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

The Challenges of Divorce
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Alan (not his real name) has been divorced for five years. He comes to see me because he has continued to suffer from anxiety , depression , and bouts of anger . His girlfriend recently ended their relationship because he often complains about his ex-wife and she worries about his increased alcohol use. He feels his life has stalled and recognizes that he is stuck.

One of my first goals in working with someone like Alan is psychoeducation. I want to help him understand how the divorce has affected him by putting the divorce into perspective. Once we reduce his symptoms of anxiety and depression, we can begin to deconstruct the marriage , the factors that led to divorce, and the lessons he can learn so that he doesn’t repeat his mistakes. Over the next few months, Alan works to build up a social support network of friends, old and new and reclaim some interests and hobbies that he had given up when he got married.

I want Alan to understand that the effects of a divorce can be long-lasting. Most parents, like Alan, focus on their children after a divorce, and there is a lot of research about the long-term effects of divorce on children. Much of my work is counseling parents about how to minimize the damage of divorce to their children. Alan and his ex have co-parented well for the past five years, although he shares that his children have expressed their worries about him. They notice that he’s lonely , and it upsets them to see how angry he still is about the divorce. Another goal in our work, then, is to help Alan feel better about “how I show up for my kids.”

Although we know the process of separation and divorce is a life crisis, we rarely discuss the long-term effects of divorce on adults. Most people suffer mental health symptoms during and after a divorce, for a year or two. Typically, it takes that long to adjust to your new life after the divorce is over. But if you are experiencing intense anxiety or depression or other mental health symptoms, or still dealing with divorce-related emotions a couple of years after the divorce is over, you need to seek support and help. This is why Alan’s decision to seek therapy is such a good idea.

Research on the long-term physical effects of divorce

The physical effects of divorce have now been studied and research shows that decades after a divorce, you may have serious chronic health issues. Research published in the Journal of Men’s Health found that divorced people, both men and women, years after their divorce, suffer higher rates of mortality, depression, illness in general, and substance abuse than do married people.

According to study co-authors Linda J. Waite of the University of Chicago and Mary Elizabeth Hughes of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, people who are divorced (or widowed) are 20% more likely to suffer from long-term health problems, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, digestion or metabolic problems, or other chronic health issues. They are also 23% more likely to have trouble with mobility, such as walking or climbing stairs. People who remarry fare somewhat better, but still have 12% more chronic illnesses and are 19% more likely to have problems with mobility than married people who never divorced. If they remarry, their rate of depression decreased.

Long-term effects for men

According to the study, the mortality rate for divorced men is nearly 250% greater than for married men. Divorced men suffer more heart attacks and strokes than non-divorced men. Men generally have less social support than women, and often have lost some friends, so they do not have the same emotional support they had before the divorce. This increases their risk for adverse health effects.

Long-term effects for women

Like men, women have an increased risk of heart attacks after a divorce. However, this risk increases if they divorce more than once. Matthew Dupre, of Duke University, found that after one divorce their risk of heart attack increases by 24% but after a second divorce (or more) the risk of heart attack increases by 77%. One study from the University of Texas, Austin, found that for women stress leads to higher levels of inflammation, eroding the immune system and the cardiovascular system. Women generally do more poorly financially after a divorce, a chronic stressor that may also affect their physical health.

Steps to reduce the negative effects

Many changes after a divorce can cause long-term stress. Financial circumstances after a divorce may change as people adjust to a lower standard of living, which causes stress and hardships. Co- parenting , conflicts with your ex, worries about your children, balancing parenting time with work, and many other factors contribute to the potential for chronic stress after your divorce. Seek strong support from friends and family, and therapy if you continue to suffer after the divorce. In therapy, you can learn how to cope with stress in positive ways that preserve your health.

Long-term, chronic stress erodes the immune system, which may explain many of the negative health outcomes. Due to a weakened immune system, divorced men and women get more colds and cases of flu. Many divorcing or divorced people experience changes in their eating or weight.

However, chronic stress within a marriage can also lead to health problems. So it might be beneficial to leave a highly stressed relationship. A positive effect might be a reduction of stress or relief.

Another tip to counteract the potential negative effects is to focus on developing your sense of self: taking up new work or hobbies, finishing your education , developing your career or beginning a new one, and finding new friends and traditions.

Six months later, Alan has begun a regular exercise regimen and, after a full physical exam by his doctor, he is focusing on his diet , sleep, and work/life balance. He has joined a book club and a hiking group. He signed up for some online classes to improve his business skills and plans to put in for a promotion at work. He has made some camping plans with his children, and his mood has significantly improved. He has decided to stop dating for six months while he focuses on himself. Now he is ready to begin to date again.

https://www.webmd.com/balance/news/20090728/divorce-has-lasting-toll-on… .

https://rightlawyers.com/divorce-may-affect-health/

Ann Gold Buscho, Ph.D. , is the author of The Parent's Guide to Birdnesting: A Child-Centered Solution to Co-Parenting During Separation and Divorce.

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Home Essay Samples Life

Essay Samples on Divorce

Divorce is a complex and deeply personal process that involves the legal dissolution of a marriage. It marks the end of a once-promising union and triggers a range of emotions, from sadness and anger to relief and newfound independence. Understanding the intricacies of divorce and its effects is crucial when writing college essays about divorce.

How to Write College Essays About Divorce

When exploring the subject of divorce, it is important to delve into the factors that contribute to its occurrence and look at college essays about divorce examples. These can include communication issues, incompatibility, domestic abuse, financial strain, or even external factors such as societal expectations or cultural norms. Discussing these causes helps paint a comprehensive picture of the complexities surrounding divorce.

To provide a well-rounded perspective for an example of college essay about divorce, consider including statistics or research findings related to divorce rates, average durations of marriages, or common age groups affected by divorce. This data can help support your arguments and provide a factual foundation for your essay.

Additionally, it is crucial to examine the legal aspects of divorce. Different jurisdictions have specific laws and regulations governing the process, including property division, alimony, child custody, and visitation rights. Incorporating information about these legal frameworks can add depth to your essay and showcase a comprehensive understanding of divorce proceedings.

While divorce can be emotionally challenging, it also offers opportunities for personal growth and self-discovery. Discuss the psychological and emotional impacts divorce can have on individuals, as well as strategies for coping and rebuilding one’s life after the end of a marriage.

Lastly, explore the societal implications of divorce. Analyze how divorce impacts the perception of marriage, family structures, and gender roles. Consider the evolving attitudes towards divorce in different cultures and how society supports or stigmatizes individuals going through this process in the divorce essay example.

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Growing Up With Divorced Parents: The Impact of Divorce on the Children

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The Effects Of Divorce On Children

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Introduction Every year, over a million American youngsters endure the separation of their parents. Separation makes hopeless mischief all included, yet most particularly to the kids. In spite of the fact that it may be appeared to profit a few people in some individual cases,...

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Divorce Issues: Causes and Effects on Children Words: 602
Effects of Divorce on Children Words: 2191
Divorce: Rates and Effects on Teenagers Words: 1944
Effects of Divorce and Poverty in Families Words: 1406
Divorce Rates and Causes of Their Rising Words: 1667
Negative Effects of Divorce on Children Words: 4386
Effects of Divorce on Adolescents Words: 1650
Divorce Effects on Children’s Behavior Words: 1385
Reasons and Implications of Divorce Words: 4062
The Impacts of Divorce on Family Relationships Words: 8929
Factors Promoting Higher Divorce Rates Words: 995

Causes and Effects of Divorce

Introduction, effects of divorce, works cited.

Since 1860 when the United States Bureau of statistics started keeping records of divorces, the frequency of divorce cases has continued to increase based on the same reasons. Reasons have remained relatively the same in comparison to the ever-increasing rise in cases. Studies have also highlighted that the reasons are as complex as extramarital affairs to mediocre reasons such as irritating small behaviors of the partner. It is widely accepted that divorce is part of life and separation between two persons is bound to continue (Wallerstein, p. 85). However, there have been some misinterpretations of the findings collected by current researchers. It is important to note that these findings are based on earlier conclusions based on research that was most likely liable to errors and mistakes. Such research findings and papers have been assumed as true thus setting the precedence of misinformation. It is thus the purpose of this paper to clarify earlier findings in order for us to present the true picture of the causes and effects of divorces.

Reasons for divorce have always remained sketchy as the real reasons can only be known by the two couples. However the most common forms of reasons that have led to the separation of couples include:

Money : This reason has always remained an emotive issue among couples as this is clearly manifested by ninety percent of the couples who surveyed, responded that they may have fought over money at least once during their relationship. 30% of respondents admitted to separating over other issues which were compounded by lack of money.

Sexual Problems : This reason in most cases has always been denied by couples as physical conditions or sexual malfunctions are considered to be uncommon (Wallerstein 101). Sexual problems are largely contributed to preconceived notions and ideas that are based on unacceptable attitudes towards sex. It was difficult for the couples to approach the topic of sex. Over fifty percent of couples admitted that a sexual problem was the root cause of infidelity within their marriages.

Immaturity: Many couples separated from each other after the couples exhibited behavior that the partner saw as inappropriate and childish. Such behaviors later behavior are then seen as intolerable making life difficult for both as there exists a lack of understanding between the couples.

Alcohol and substance abuse: This is also one of the most commonly cited issues among separating couples. Although data on abuse is not conclusive, many couples have often cited substance abuse as one of the reasons that lead to violent abuse that have even led to injuries and fatalities in worse-case scenarios.

In-laws: This is a prevalent reason used by young couples as meddling from external members and excessive hassles from external members of family.

Respect : Respect among couples is imperative as both come from different backgrounds. Having a different background often means that the couples have to come up with ways of living together and tolerating each other. Disrespect is manifested through physical and verbal attacks.

The above-mentioned reasons are just some of the most prevalent. It is also very difficult to establish the main reasons that couples may separate. We may never have a definite reason as to why the rate of divorce keeps on increasing but it may be easier to conclude on the effects divorce brings to society. This is because effects are much more profound in families, hence making it simpler to track. The family unit is facing numerous issues today as the effects of divorce are having a direct impact on the lives of children and how they will relate with others in the future. Research conducted by Lenor Weitzman confirmed that men were shown to heal faster and do well economically after separation. It was also found out that as opposed to the common belief that fathers were less interested in their families after separation, the research found out that fathers continued to be loving towards their kids and family (Wallerstein, p. 101).

Research also found out that both couples underwent intense emotional periods while seeking closure on the whole issue of separation. Depending on the number of years that they have been together, the couple may have to resolve all the underlying issues that may have led to the separations.

Wallerstein, Judith. The California Children of Divorce Study. California: University Of Southern California, 1999.

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The Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Families and Children

Presented Before the Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate

Chairman Brownback, Senator Lautenberg, and Members of the Subcommittee:

My name is Gordon Berlin. I am the executive vice president of MDRC, a unique nonpartisan social policy research and demonstration organization dedicated to learning what works to improve the well-being of disadvantaged families. We strive to achieve this mission by conducting real world field tests of new policy and program ideas using the most rigorous methods possible to assess their effectiveness. I am honored to be invited to address your committee about what we know and do not know about the effects of marriage and divorce on families and children and about what policies and programs might work to promote and strengthen healthy marriages, especially among the poor. My goal is to briefly summarize the evidence in three areas: (1) what we know about the effects of marriage, divorce, and single parenthood on children; (2) what we know about the effectiveness of policies and programs that seek to stem persistently high rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing; and (3) what we know about the likely effects of these policies on low-income families and children. The central focus of my remarks will be to explicate the role that marital education, family counseling, and related services might play in promoting and strengthening healthy marriages and to discuss what we know about the potential of strategies that seek to ameliorate the key stressors (for example, job loss, lack of income, domestic violence, and childbearing) that make it difficult to form marriages in the first place or act as a catalyst that eventually breaks up existing marriages. To summarize my conclusions:

First, children who grow up in an intact, two-parent family with both biological parents present do better on a wide range of outcomes than children who grow up in a single-parent family. Single parenthood is not the only, nor even the most important, cause of the higher rates of school dropout, teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, or other negative outcomes we see; but it does contribute independently to these problems. Neither does single parenthood guarantee that children will not succeed; many, if not most, children who grow up in a single-parent household do succeed.
Second, an emerging body of evidence suggests that marital education, family counseling, and related services can improve middle-class couples' communication and problem-solving skills, resulting initially in greater marital satisfaction and, in some cases, reduced divorce, although these effects appear to fade over time.
Third, we do not know whether these same marital education services would be effective in reducing marital stress and eventual divorce among low-income populations or in promoting marriage among the unmarried. Low-income populations confront a wide range of stressors that middle-class families do not. The evidence is limited, and mixed, on whether strategies designed to overcome these stressors, for example, by providing job search assistance or by supplementing low earnings, rather than relying solely on teaching marital communication and problem-solving skills would also increase the likelihood that low-income couples would marry or that married couples would stay together.
Fourth, to find out whether and what types of policies and programs might successfully strengthen marriage as an institution among low-income populations as well as among a wide variety of ethnically and culturally diverse populations, our national focus should be on the design, implementation, and rigorous evaluation of these initiatives.

Marriage, Divorce, and Single Parenthood

Encouraging and supporting healthy marriages is a cornerstone of the Bush Administration's proposed policies for addressing the poverty-related woes of single-parent households and, importantly, for improving the well-being of low-income children. The rationale is reasonably straightforward: About a third of all children born in the United States each year are born out of wedlock. Similarly, about half of all first marriages end in divorce, and when children are involved, many of the resulting single-parent households are poor. For example, less than 10 percent of married couples with children are poor as compared with about 35 to 40 percent of single-mother families. The combination of an alarmingly high proportion of all new births occurring out of wedlock and discouragingly high divorce rates among families with children ensures that the majority of America's children will spend a significant amount of their childhood in single-parent households. Moreover, research shows that even after one controls for a range of family background differences, children who grow up living in an intact household with both biological parents present seem to do better, on average, on a wide range of social indicators than do children who grow up in a single-parent household (McLanahan and Sandefur, 1994). For example, they are less likely to drop out of school, become a teen parent, be arrested, and be unemployed. While single parenthood is not the main nor the sole cause of children's increased likelihood of engaging in one of these detrimental behaviors, it is one contributing factor. Put another way, equalizing income and opportunity do improve the life outcomes of children growing up in single-parent households, but children raised in two-parent families still have an advantage. If the failure of parents to marry and persistently high rates of divorce are behind the high percentage of children who grow up in a single-parent family, can and should policy attempt to reverse these trends? Since Daniel Patrick Moynihan first lamented what he identified as the decline of the black family in his 1965 report, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action, marriage has been a controversial subject for social policy and scholarship. The initial reaction to Moynihan was harsh; scholars argued vehemently that family structure and, thus, father absence was not a determinant of child well-being. But then in the 1980s, psychologists (Wallerstein and Kelly, 1980; Hetherington, 1982) began producing evidence that divorce among middle-class families was harmful to children. Renewed interest among sociologists and demographers (Furstenberg and Cherlin, 1994) in the link between poverty and single parenthood soon emerged, and as noted above, that work increasingly began building toward the conclusion that family structure did matter (McLanahan and Sandefur, 1994). Of course, the debate was not just about family structure and income differences; it was also about race and gender. When Moynihan wrote in 1965, 24 percent of all births among African-Americans occurred outside of marriage. Today, the black out-of-wedlock birthrate is almost 70 percent, and the white rate has reached nearly 24 percent. If single parenthood is a problem, that problem cuts across race and ethnicity. But the story has nuance. Yes, growing up with two parents is better for children, but only when both mother and father are the biological or “intact” (as opposed to remarried) parents. In fact, there is some evidence that second marriages can actually be harmful to adolescents. Moreover, marriage can help children only if the marriage is a healthy one. While the definition of a “healthy marriage” is itself subject to debate, it is typically characterized as high in positive interaction, satisfaction, and stability and low in conflict. Unhealthy marriages characterized by substantial parental conflict pose a clear risk for child well-being, both because of the direct negative effects that result when children witness conflict between parents, and because of conflict's indirect effects on parenting skills. Marital hostility is associated with increased aggression and disruptive behaviors on the part of children which, in turn, seem to lead to peer rejection, academic failure, and other antisocial behaviors (Cummings and Davies, 1994; Webster-Stratton, 2003). While our collective hand-wringing about the number of American births that occur out-of-wedlock is justified, what is often missed is that the birthrate among unmarried women accounts for only part of the story. In fact, birthrates among unmarried teens and African-Americans have been falling — by a fourth among unmarried African-American women since 1960, for example (Offner, 2001). How, then, does one explain the fact that more and more of the nation's children are being born out of wedlock? Because the nonmarital birth ratio is a function of (1) the out-of-wedlock birthrate (births per 1,000 unmarried women), (2) the marriage rate, and (3) the birthrate among married women (births per 1,000 married women) - the share of all children born out of wedlock has risen over the last thirty years, in large measure, because women were increasingly delaying marriage, creating an ever larger pool of unmarried women of childbearing age, and because married women were having fewer children. Indeed, families acted to maintain their standard of living in the face of stagnant and falling wages, earnings, and incomes during the 1970s and 1980s by having fewer children and sending both parents into the workforce, a strategy that undoubtedly has increased the stress on low-income two-parent families (Levy, 1988), and that contributed to the rise in out-of-wedlock births as a proportion of all births. Concern about these trends in out-of-wedlock births and divorce, coupled with the gnawing reality that child poverty is inextricably bound up with family structure, has encouraged conservatives and some liberals to focus on marriage as a solution. Proponents of this approach argued that many social policies — welfare and tax policy, for example — were actually anti-marriage, even if research only weakly demonstrated that the disincentives to marry embedded in these policies actually affected behavior. Moreover, they maintained that social policy should not be neutral — it should encourage and support healthy marriages — and they stressed the link between child poverty and single parenthood and the positive child effects associated with two-parent families. The focus on marriage was met with skepticism by others. Critics argued that marriage was not an appropriate province for government intervention and that income and opportunity structures were much more important factors than family structure. They questioned why the focus was on low-income families when the normative changes underlying the growth in single-parent households permeated throughout society, as witnessed by the prevalence of divorce across all economic classes.

“Fragile Families” Are Pro-Marriage

More recent evidence from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study tipped the balance for many in favor of the pro-marriage arguments. Designed by two prominent academics, Sara McLanahan and Irv Garfinkel, the study is a longitudinal survey of 5,000 low-income married and nonmarried parents conducted in 75 hospitals in twenty cities at the time of their child's birth. Among mothers who were not married when their child was born, 83 percent reported that they were romantically involved with the father, and half of the parents were living together. Nearly all of the romantically involved couples expressed interest in developing long-term stable relationships, and there was universal interest in marriage, with most indicating that there was at least a fifty-fifty chance that they would marry in the future. Looking at employment history and other factors, researchers estimated that about a third of the couples had high potential to marry; another third had some problems, like lack of a job, that could be remedied; while the final third were not good candidates due to a history of violence, incarceration, and the like (McLanahan, Garfinkel, and Mincy, 2001). There was certainly reason to be cautious about presuming a link between what people said and what they might actually do, and longer follow-up data did indeed throw some cold water on initial optimism. However, when the Fragile Families data were thrown into the mix with the trend data and with the data that suggested that family structure was a determinant of poverty, the reaction was catalytic. The notion was reinforced that more marriage and less child poverty would result if public policies could just be brought in line with the expressed interests of low-income couples.

Marital Education Can Work

But what, if anything, could government actually do to promote marriage among low-income families? For some policy analysts, the discovery of marriage education programs seemed to provide the missing link. To the surprise of many, not only did these programs exist, but there was a body of evidence, including more than a dozen randomized trials, indicating that marriage education programs could be effective. Marriage education refers to services that help couples who are married or planning to marry to strengthen their communication and problem-solving skills and thus their relationships. Models range from those that adopt a skills-based instructional approach to those that use a therapeutic “hands on” approach that addresses the specific marital problems facing individual couples. Some of the cutting-edge work now underway provides a flavor of the approaches being developed. Dr. Phil Cowan and Dr. Carolyn Cowan, both professors of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, have been involved in the development and rigorous testing of family instruction models for more than twenty years. Dr. Benjamin Karney, a psychologist at the University of Florida, has been conducting a longitudinal study of newly married couples. Dr. Richard Heyman, a psychologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, has 15 years’ experience conducting prevention and treatment research on couple and family interaction. Dr. John Gottman, who leads the Relationship Research Institute where he focuses on marriage, family, and child development, has developed and carefully evaluated some of the most innovative new approaches to marital education and group instruction. Dr. Pamela Jordan developed the Becoming Parents Program, a couple-focused educational research program being tested in a large randomized trial. Dr. Howard J. Markman and Dr. Scott Stanley, both of the University of Denver, developed and refined the Preparation and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP). Among the skills-training programs, PREP is the most widely used with couples who are about to marry. It teaches skills such as active listening and self-regulation of emotions for conflict management and positive communication. PREP also includes substantial content on topics such as commitment, forgiveness, and expectations clarification. PREP appears to have a significant effect on marital satisfaction initially, but the effect appears to fade over time (Gottman, 1979), and there is some indication that it improves communication among high-risk couples but not low-risk couples (Halford, Sanders, and Behrens, 2001). Therapeutic interventions are more open-ended and involve group discussions, usually guided by trained professionals to help partners identify and work through the marriage problems they are facing. The most carefully evaluated of the structured group discussion models targeted couples around the time of their child's birth, an event that triggers substantial and sustained decline in marital satisfaction. Couples meet in a group with a trained therapist over a six-month period that begins before the child is born and continues for another three months after the birth. Initially, marital satisfaction soared and divorce rates plummeted relative to a similar group of families that did not participate in the program. But the divorce effects waned by the five-year follow-up point, even while marital satisfaction remained high for those couples who stayed together (Schultz and Cowan, 2001). More recent work by Cowan and Cowan and by John Gottman appears to produce more promising results. Both the Cowans’ model of education via structured group discussions and a marital-education and skills-development model pioneered by John Gottman led to positive effects on children. The Cowans found positive effects in the school performance of children whose parents participated in their couples instruction and group discussion program. Gottman describes improved cooperative interaction between the parents and their infant child and sustained increased involvement by fathers. While the results from the marriage education programs are encouraging, they are not definitive. Most of the studies are small, several have serious flaws, and only a few have long-term follow-up data (and those that do seem to show decay in effectiveness over time). Moreover, only a handful of the studies collected information on child well-being. Most importantly, all of the programs studied served mostly white, middle-class families, not the low-income and diverse populations that would be included in a wider government initiative.

Context and Low-income Families

Not surprisingly, low-income couples have fewer resources to cope with life's vagaries. They are more likely to experience job loss, have an unexpected health or family crisis, be evicted from or burned out of their home, be the victim of a violent crime, and so forth. As a result, they face greater difficulty than middle-class individuals in forming and sustaining marriages. With the exception of African-Americans, low-income couples are not less likely to marry; but they are more likely to divorce when they do marry. Yet evidence from the Fragile Families survey of 5,000 low-income couples who have just given birth to a child and ethnographic interviews conducted with low-income women in Philadelphia by Kathy Edin of Northwestern University provide convincing evidence that low-income people share the same normative commitment to marriage that middle-class families demonstrate. As Kathy Edin told the Senate Finance Committee last week, “[T]he poor already believe in marriage, profoundly so. The poor want to marry, but they insist on marrying well. This…is the only way to avoid an almost certain divorce.” If poor families share the same commitment to marriage as better-off couples, what is it about their low-income status that inhibits the formation of stable marriages? One possible explanation is the mismatch between a large number of stressful events they face and few resources with which to respond to those stressors. The imbalance places greater demands on the individuals in a dyad, leaving less time together and less time to dedicate to relationship building than might be the case for a middle-class couple. In addition, the problems low-income couples have to manage — problems such as substance abuse, job loss, eviction, chronic infidelity, a child with a chronic condition like asthma or developmental delays, and criminal activities — may be more severe than those confronted by better-off couples. (Edin, 2004; Karney, Story, and Bradbury, 2003; Heyman, 2000). Because the problems low-income couples confront are likely to be more acute and chronic than those faced by middle-class couples, it is an open question whether the problem-solving and communication skills taught by marital education programs will be as effective among low-income couples as they appear to have been for middle-class couples (where the evidence base is still evolving). Clearly, the skill sets taught in those programs and the strategies applied by therapists and counselors to solve the problems couples present will need to be adapted. Moreover, it is possible that these kinds of stressors overwhelm the abilities of individuals to use the skills they are taught. It is difficult to be understanding of a partner's failings when the rent is due and there is not enough money to pay it. Such concerns have elicited two kinds of responses: first, efforts to adapt marital education programs to better meet the needs of low-income families; and second, proposals to combine marital education with strategies that would directly tackle the poverty-related stressors on family life — for example, with help in finding a job, income supplements to make up for low wages, child care assistance, and medical coverage.

Adapting Marital Education to the Needs of Low-Income Families

Underpinning the interest in public support for marital education programs is a conviction that low-income individuals do not have good information about the benefits of marriage. In part, this dearth results from their experience of having grown up in single-parent households where they were simply not exposed to role models that might inform their own relationships. In part, it is a consequence of their lack of access to the same kinds of supports and information, counseling, and therapy that are often available to middle-class couples contemplating marriage or divorce. Buoyed by the success of the model marriage education programs with middle-class families, and following the lead of former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, who was determined to end his state's embarrassing status as the nation's divorce capital, practitioners of marital education programs have begun applying and adapting these models to the needs of low-income couples. The objective is to equip low-income couples with relationship skills to improve couple interaction by reducing negative exchanges (anger, criticism, contempt, and blaming) and strengthening positive behaviors (expressions of support, humor, empathy, and affection). The logic is obvious: When couples enjoy positive interaction and are successful in handling conflict, their confidence and commitment would be reinforced, thereby fostering satisfaction and stability. But the designers of these programs recognize that they must adapt marital education as middle-class families know it to better meet the different needs of low-income households. This might involve changes in the types of agencies that deliver services, the training leaders would get, the content and examples used in the training, the duration and intensity of services, and the balance between strengthening internal communication and the forging of links to community programs that can provide support related to the contexts in which poor families live.

Does Reducing Financial Stress Promote Marital Stability?

While there is a strong relationship between poverty and marital breakup, would programs that ameliorate poverty by providing supports to the working poor actually improve marital relationships? There have been few tests of this question; the most relevant recent reform that has been carefully evaluated for two-parent families is the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP). Implemented in 1994, MFIP used the welfare system to make work pay by supplementing the earnings of recipients who took jobs until their income reached 140 percent of the poverty line, and it required nonworkers to participate in a range of employment, training, and support services. For two-parent families, MFIP also eliminated the arcane work-history requirements and the “100-hour rule,” a policy that limited the number of hours a primary earner could work and still receive welfare but which had the perverse, unintended effect of encouraging couples to divorce so they could remain eligible for welfare. MDRC's evaluation of MFIP examined program effects on employment, income, marriage, and other family outcomes up to three years after entry. Because MFIP treated two-parent family recipients (who were receiving welfare at the onset of the study) and new applicants differently, outcomes for these groups were examined separately. We found that two-parent recipient families in MFIP were as likely as those in a comparable group of welfare recipients who were not eligible for MFIP to have at least one parent work; but the MFIP sample was less likely to have both parents work, leading to an overall reduction in their combined earnings of approximately $500 per quarter. Yet because the program supplemented the earnings of participating families, the two-parent recipient families who participated in MFIP still had slightly higher family incomes (up $190 per quarter more, on average, when taking into account their decreased likelihood of separating or divorcing — and, thus, retaining access to both partners' earnings). In contrast, MFIP had fewer effects on parental employment, earnings, and income for welfare applicants, a finding that is not entirely surprising given their short welfare spells. One of the striking findings of the three-year evaluation was that, among the 290 two-parent recipient families who were part of a follow-up survey sample, families in the MFIP group were 19.1 percentage points more likely than families in the group who received traditional welfare payments under the Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to report being married and living with their spouse. Most of this increase in marital stability was a result of fewer reported separations in MFIP families as compared to AFDC families, although some of it was a result of small reductions in divorce. Because there is some question about how families on welfare might report their marital status, MDRC also obtained and analyzed data from publicly available divorce records. We did this for some 188 two-parent recipient families who were married at study entry. (The other 100 or so families in the original survey sample were cohabiting, and we did not look for marriage records for them). The data confirmed that these couples were 7 percentage points less likely than their AFDC counterparts to divorce. This gave us confidence that MFIP did indeed reduce marital instability. (Again, divorce records would not tell us about the separations we found in the survey, so the effect should be smaller than the 19 percentage point effect we found there). These findings have two important implications. First, make-work-pay strategies might reduce financial stress and increase the likelihood that two-parent families stay together. Second, given the small number of people followed in the MFIP survey sample, MFIP's marriage effects on all two-parent families should be investigated and the results should be replicated in other locations before the findings are used to make policy. As a first step in that process, MDRC went back to the state of Minnesota to obtain divorce and marriage records for the full sample of 2,200 two-parent MFIP families (including both recipients and applicants) for a follow-up period of more than six years. This fuller record would give us the opportunity to understand whether the positive effects on divorce (but not the much larger effects on separation) we found for the 290 two-parent families in the survey sample applied to the larger group of two-parent MFIP families. In addition, we wanted to learn about MFIP's possible effect on subgroups of two-parent families that we could not previously examine. Six years later, the full-sample story on divorce is decidedly mixed. Overall, for the full sample of two-parent families, there is no discernable pattern of effects on divorce over time. When we look at the two-parent recipient families only, those eligible for the MFIP program appear to be less likely to get divorced, but the finding is not statistically significant until the last year of follow-up, leaving open the possibility that the pattern we see could still be due to chance. Moreover, the pattern among applicants is also uncertain — barely statistically significant in one year, but favoring more rather than less divorce. The different direction in the findings for the recipient and applicant groups explains the absence of an overall effect on divorce. And in both cases, the effects we did see were small — about a 3 to 4 percentage point difference in divorce between the MFIP group and the AFDC group. Finally, recall that public marriage and divorce records can capture only a family's legally documented marital status. They cannot distinguish informal statuses like separations, the form of marital dissolution that drove the dramatic 36-month recipient findings mentioned above. We are currently planning further analyses to better understand MFIP's effects on divorce for these and other subgroups. We have no reliable way of exploring the separation findings. MFIP's initial results were tantalizing in large part because MFIP was not specifically targeted to affect marriage, divorce, or separations, and yet it appeared to produce large effects on the likelihood that some two-parent families would stay together, suggesting that strategies that tackle the vagaries of poverty could promote marital stability by reducing some of the economic stress on poor families. But the full-sample findings cast some doubt on that promise (with regard to divorce but not separations), reinforcing the need to replicate programs like MFIP for two-parent families in different settings before reaching conclusions about the contribution such strategies might make toward strengthening marriage. The findings particularly leave open the question of the possible range of effects that programs could achieve if policies providing marital education were combined with policies designed to affect employment and income.

What We Don't Know

While the evidence base on marital education is extensive, there is much left to learn. For example:

Will participation in marital education programs by low-income couples lead to an increase in marriage and in marital harmony and, in turn, have lasting effects on couples' satisfaction, on parenting skills and practices, and on children?
Will the skills taught in marital education programs be a match for the poverty-related stresses experienced by low-income families, or are additional supports such as employment and income also needed to reduce divorce and increase the number of healthy marriages?
Will marriage education programs be effective regardless of race, ethnic identity, and cultural norms, and how should these programs be adapted to better meet different groups' divergent needs?
Who will participate in marital education programs? Will they attract predominantly couples who already have a deep commitment to each other or couples whose problems are acute? Will a broad cross-section of low-income couples participate or only a narrow slice of the population?
Will these programs facilitate the dissolution of unhealthy marriages as proponents contend, or will they prolong marriages that might be better off dissolving or not forming in the first place?
Can a relatively short education course — say, 10 to 20 hours spread over a few months — have a long-lasting effect on marital and couple discord, or are more long-term strategies and even one-on-one back-up couple-counseling services necessary? What is the right duration and intensity of an initiative? Can courses be short term and intense, or must they be longer and more sustained to yield longer-lasting effects? What is the right content? What are the implications for affordability and scale?

An Opportunity to Learn

On substantive, policy, and financial grounds, there are good arguments to be made for public involvement in the marriage field. If marital education programs could be mounted at scale, if participation rates among those eligible were high, and if the programs were effective in encouraging and sustaining healthy two-parent families, the effects on children could be important. The key word is if ! The strong correlation between growing up in a two-parent family and improved child outcomes does not ensure that intervening to encourage more marriage and less divorce will have the intended results. Indeed, social policymaking based on correlation has an uncanny way of ending with unintended consequences. The only reliable way to understand whether marital education and other supports designed to strengthen marriage produces such results is to conduct a social experiment with the right mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to answer the “what difference,” “how,” and “why” questions. The Administration of Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched two new projects to do just that. Managed by Mathematica Policy Research, the Building Strong Families evaluation is targeted to low-income unwed couples beginning around the time of their child's birth. The Supporting Healthy Marriage initiative, which is being overseen by MDRC, is aimed at low-income married couples. Both projects will involve large-scale, multisite, rigorous random assignment tests of marriage-skills programs for low-income couples. The goal is to measure the effectiveness of programs that provide instruction and support to improve relationship skills. Some programs might also include services to help low-income couples address barriers to healthy marriages, such as poor parenting skills or problems with employment, health, or substance abuse. Programs operated under these demonstration umbrellas will screen for domestic violence and help participants gain access to appropriate services. Done well, the results from these path-breaking projects should inform the marriage field, and they should add value to our existing understanding of the potential and the pitfalls of government intervention in this critically important arena.

Cummings, E. M., and P. Davies. 1994. Children and Marital Conflict. New York: Guilford. Edin, K. 2004. Testimony Before the United States Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy. The Benefits of Healthy Marriage Hearing, May 5. Edin, K., and M. Kefalas. 2004. Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage. Berkeley: University of California Press. Gennetian, L. and V. Knox. 2004. Getting and Staying Married: The Effects of a Minnesota Welfare Reform Program on Marital Stability. New York: MDRC. Gottman, J. M. 1979. Marital Interaction: Experimental Investigations. Oxford, England: Elsevier. Furstenberg, F. and A Cherlin. 1994. Divided Families: What Happens to Children when Parents Part. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Halford, W. K., M. R. Sanders, and B. C. Behrens. 2001. “Can Skills Training Prevent Relationship Problems in At-Risk Couples? Four-Year Effects of a Behavioral Relationship Education Program.” Journal of Family Psychology 15, 4: 750-768. Hetherington, E. M., M. Cox, and R. Cox. 1982. “Effects of Divorce on Parents and Children.” In M. Lamb (ed.), Nontraditional Families. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Heyman, R. E. 2001. “Observation of Couple Conflicts: Clinical Assessment Applications, Stubborn Truths, and Shaky Foundations.” Psychological Assessment 13: 5-35. Karney, B. R., L. Story, and T. Bradbury. 2003. “Marriages in Context: Interactions Between Chronic and Acute Stress Among Newlyweds.” Presentation at the International Meeting on the Developmental Course of Couples Coping with Stress, October 12-14, 2002, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. Levy, F. 1988. Dollars and Dreams: The Changing American Income Distribution. New York: Norton. McLanahan, S., I. Garfinkel., and R. B. Mincy. 2001. “Fragile Families, Welfare Reform, and Marriage.” Policy Brief No. 10. Washington DC: Brookings Institution. McLanahan, S., and G. D. Sandefur. 1994. Growing Up with a Single Parent: What Hurts? What Helps? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Moynihan, D. P. 1965. The Negro Family: The Case for National Action. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Policy Planning and Research. Offner, P. 2001. “Reducing Non-Marital Births.” Policy Brief No. 5. Washington, DC: Welfare Reform and Beyond. Schultz, M., and C. P. Cowan. 2001. Promoting Healthy Beginnings During the Transition to Parenthood. Minneapolis: Society for Research in Child Development. Wallerstein, J., and J. Kelly. 1980. Surviving the Breakup: How Children and Parents Cope with Divorce. New York: Basic Books. Webster-Stratton, C. 2003. The Incredible Years. Toronto: Umbrella Press.

Document Details

A family-strengthening program for low-income families.

Final Impacts from the Supporting Healthy Marriage Evaluation

Perspectives of Low-Income African-American and Latino Couples on Relationship Education

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Essay on Effects Of Divorce On Society

Students are often asked to write an essay on Effects Of Divorce On Society in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Effects Of Divorce On Society

Introduction.

Divorce is the legal ending of a marriage. It can have a big effect on society. This essay will talk about those effects.

Family Structure

Divorce changes the structure of families. Kids might have to live with only one parent or move between two homes. This can be stressful for them and their parents.

Children’s Education

Divorce can affect children’s education. They might find it hard to concentrate on their schoolwork. Their grades might drop. They might also feel social pressure from their friends.

Economic Impact

Divorce can also impact the economy. Families might have less money after a divorce. This can lead to poverty and financial stress.

Social Stigma

In conclusion, divorce affects society in many ways. It changes family structures, impacts children’s education, can lead to economic problems, and creates social stigma.

250 Words Essay on Effects Of Divorce On Society

Divorce is when a married couple legally ends their marriage. It has many effects on society. These effects can be seen in families, schools, and communities.

Family Impact

Divorce can be hard on families. Kids might have to live with one parent or move between two homes. This can make them feel sad, angry, or confused. They might also worry about their parents or feel like the divorce is their fault.

Impact on Schools

Divorce can also affect schools. Kids might have trouble focusing on their work because they are worried about their family. They might also act out or get into fights with other kids. Teachers and school staff need to be aware of these issues and help kids cope.

Community Impact

Communities also feel the effects of divorce. There may be more single-parent families or blended families. This can change the way communities look and feel. It can also affect resources like housing and social services.

500 Words Essay on Effects Of Divorce On Society

Divorce is the legal end of a marriage. When a couple decides they can no longer live together, they go to court and ask for a divorce. This process can affect not only the couple and their children, but also society as a whole. In this essay, we will look at the effects of divorce on society.

The Impact on Children

Children are often the most affected by divorce. They may feel confused, sad, or even angry. They might blame themselves for their parents’ split. This can lead to problems in school and with friends. In the long run, these children may grow up with issues around trust and relationships.

Financial Struggles

Changes in family structure.

Divorce changes the structure of the family. Single-parent families become more common. These families face unique challenges. For example, single parents often have less time and energy to devote to their children. This can impact the child’s development and well-being.

Impact on Community and Society

Divorce can also affect the community and society. It can lead to less community involvement and lower social cohesion. For example, divorced people might be less likely to volunteer or help out in their community. This can make the community less strong and supportive.

Health Effects

In conclusion, divorce affects more than just the couple involved. It impacts children, families, and society as a whole. It leads to emotional pain, financial struggles, changes in family structure, and health problems. As a society, we need to find ways to support those going through a divorce and help minimize these negative impacts.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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When Love Hurts – Mental and Physical Health Among Recently Divorced Danes

Associated data.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

The last decades of research have consistently found strong associations between divorce and adverse health outcomes among adults. However, limitations of a majority of this research include (a) lack of “real-time” research, i.e., research employing data collected very shortly after juridical divorce where little or no separation periods have been effectuated, (b) research employing thoroughly validated and population-normed measures against which study results can be compared, and (c) research including a comprehensive array of previously researched sociodemographic- and divorce-related variables. The current cross-sectional study, including 1,856 recently divorced Danes, was designed to bridge these important gaps in the literature. Mental and physical health were measured using the Short Form 36 (SF-36)-2. Analyses included correlational analyses, t- test comparisons, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The study found that the health-related quality of life of Danish divorcees was significantly worse than the comparative background population immediately following divorce. Across gender, higher levels of divorce conflict were found to predict worse mental health, and worse physical health for women, even when controlling for other socio-demographic variables and divorce characteristics. Among men, lower age and higher income predicted better physical health, while more children, more previous divorces, participant divorce initiation, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict predicted better mental health. Among women, higher income, fewer previous divorces, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict predicted better physical health while higher income, participant divorce initiation, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict predicted better mental health. The findings underscore the relevance of providing assistance to divorcees who experience higher levels of divorce conflict immediately following divorce, in seeking to reduce potential long-term negative health effects of divorce.

Introduction

The last 20 years of research have consistently found strong associations between divorce and adverse health outcomes among adults. Generally, divorcees report poorer physical and mental health and more symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, and social isolation than the general population ( Amato, 2000 , 2010 ; Kessing et al., 2003 ; Hewitt and Turrell, 2011 ; Hewitt et al., 2012 ; Hald et al., 2020b ). Furthermore, divorce is associated with more frequent hospitalization ( Nielsen et al., 2014 ), substance use ( Waite et al., 2009 ), higher suicide rates ( Kposowa, 2000 ), lower levels of psychological well-being ( Bracke et al., 2010 ; Colman et al., 2012 ), and greater overall mortality risk ( Kposowa, 2000 ; Sbarra and Nietert, 2009 ). However, four limitations relate to a significant part of this research.

First, often studies include only one or two health-related outcomes per study (e.g., stress and/or depression) (e.g., Lindström, 2009 ; Hewitt et al., 2012 ; Knöpfli et al., 2016 ). While this is important in mapping out specific effects of divorce, it limits the ability to gain insight into more comprehensive physical and mental health profiles among divorce populations. These could be important for more accurate and comprehensive assessments and profiling of the effects of divorce on health. Second, most countries in the world require separation periods before juridical divorce is granted. This means that divorce studies able to employ “real-time” research are scarce and there has been a call for such studies (e.g., Thuen, 2001 ; Cipric et al., 2020 ). The concept of “real-time” research usually refers to the collection of data among divorcees with little or no separation periods before formal juridical divorce ( Hald et al., 2020a ). When studying health effects of divorce, this may be especially important since many health outcomes related to divorce may be sensitive to a “time heals effect,” whereby negative effects of divorce naturally decline over time ( Amato, 2010 ; Sander et al., 2020 ). Therefore, current research on adverse health effects of divorce may, in fact, underestimate negative health effects of divorce as data have often been collected after a divorce that was preceded by significant periods of separation and thus is likely to be subject to the “time heals effect” ( Sander et al., 2020 ). Third, studies employing thoroughly validated and population-normed measures are few. Validated measures are needed for accurate assessment of the health outcomes studied. However, these assessments may benefit from contextualization by having background population norms against which the results can be directly compared. This allows for more direct insights into the degree to which divorcees may differ from background population norms and thus the relative impact of the divorce on health. Fourth, studies are needed that include a more comprehensive array of previously researched sociodemographic- and divorce-related predictor or explanatory variables of mental and physical health. This would allow for a more thorough assessment of the individual and combined effect of these variables on mental and physical health. The current study was designed to bridge these four important gaps in health research related to divorce.

Divorce theory and divorce research suggest that there are sociodemographic variables and divorce-related characteristics that may moderate the effects of divorce on mental and physical health. Theoretically, Amato’s Divorce-Stress-Readjustment perspective (DSR; Amato, 2000 ) suggests that adverse effects of divorce depend on a number of risk and protective factors experienced during and following the divorce process. Examples of risk factors include lower standards of living, loss of benefits associated with marriage, and conflict with the former partner, whereas examples of protective factors include having a new romantic partner, adequate income, and holding positive views about the divorce. According to the DSR, it is the interplay between risk and protective factors that may be important in determining the effects of divorce on mental and physical health ( Amato, 2010 ).

From an empirical perspective, studies suggest that lower socioeconomic status, being unemployed, lower levels of education, and lower family income ( Barrett, 2000 ; Simon, 2002 ; Symoens et al., 2013b ) are associated with lower mental and physical health following divorce. In addition, younger age has been found to be associated with lower mental health following divorce ( Bulloch et al., 2017 ). In relation to divorce characteristics, mutual divorce agreement initiation ( Weiss, 1976 ; Gray and Silver, 1990 ; Wang and Amato, 2000 ; Sweeney and Horwitz, 2001 ; Sakraida, 2008 ; Cohen and Finzi-Dottan, 2012 ; Symoens et al., 2013a ), having a new partner ( Mastekaasa, 1994 ; Amato, 2000 ; Øygard, 2004 ; Blekesaune, 2008 ; Kulik and Heine-Cohen, 2011 ; Symoens et al., 2013b ; Symoens et al., 2014 ) and lower levels of divorce-related conflict ( Symoens et al., 2014 ; Petren et al., 2017 ) have been found to be associated with better mental and physical health. Both empirically and from an applied point of view, divorce conflict has been found to adversely affect or accelerate declines in mental health among divorcees. While the cross-sectional nature of the current study does not allow for investigation of the impact of divorce conflict on mental health over time, it does allow for an independent assessment of the explanatory value of divorce conflict on mental health, accounting for basic sociodemographic variables and other divorce-related characteristics. Compared with previous research, this allows for a more thorough and “independent” investigation of divorce conflict on mental health immediately following divorce.

The current study took place in Denmark, providing a unique perspective on divorce and divorce-related processes. First, in Denmark, there is high societal acceptance of divorce ( Uggla and Andersson, 2018 ), and in general, divorce is not associated with societal stigma, as it is in many other parts of the world. Second, Denmark is a country with high levels of equality, both in terms of gender equality ( European Institute for Gender Equality, 2018 ) and income equality ( OECD, 2018 ). As such, Denmark offers a unique context in which to study whether sociodemographic and divorce-related factors predict post-divorce mental and physical health.

Based on the above, the current study sought to investigate mental and physical health among recently divorced Danes using a well-known, comprehensive, and population-normed mental and physical health measure. Further, the study sought to examine the explanatory value of a comprehensive array of previously identified sociodemographic variables and divorce-related characteristics on overall mental and physical health. Finally, the study sought to compare overall mental and physical health to relevant population norms. Accordingly, the following two research questions and one study hypothesis guided the study investigation:

RQ1: What is the mental and physical health among recently divorced individuals and how does it compare to population norms?
RQ2: What is the explanatory value of sociodemographic variables (i.e., age, number of children, income, education) and divorce-related characteristics (i.e., marriage duration, number of previous divorces, divorce initiator status, new partner status, and divorce conflict) on overall mental and physical health among recently divorced individuals?
H1: Divorce conflict will significantly add to the explanatory value of mental health after accounting for basic sociodemographic variables (i.e., age, number of children, income, education) and divorce-related characteristics (i.e., marriage duration, number of previous divorces, divorce initiator status, and new partner status).

Materials and Methods

Participants.

The study sample comprised 1,856 participants of which 66% were women. The average age of women was 44.65 years ( SD = 8.34), while for men, it was 46.66 years ( SD = 9.31). The majority of participants had at least a medium educational level and earned at least the national average salary (see Table 1 ). The majority of the sample (88.3%) were parents, with an average of 1.88 ( SD = 0.99) children per participant. The average marriage duration for men was 12.22 years ( SD = 8.11) and for women 13.0 ( SD = 7.98), and for approximately 88% of the sample, this was their first divorce. A majority of women (52%) reported to have initiated the divorce, with 29% of men reporting to be divorce initiators. The majority of both male and female participants did not have new partners following their divorce (65% men, 64% women). The mean legal divorce duration before survey completion was 4.47 days ( SD = 6.97) for men and 5.23 ( SD = 7.66) days for women. Of note, there were some gender differences in sociodemographic and divorce-related characteristics. Specifically, compared to men, women were younger, had been married slightly longer, were more highly educated, earned less than men, had initiated the divorce more often, and had a different partner status than men [age ( t (1854) = 4.74, p < 0.001); duration of marriage ( t (1854) = −1.972, p = 0.049); education (χ 2 = 32.61, p < 0.001); income (χ 2 = 107.41, p < 0.001); initiator status (χ 2 = 90.50, p < 0.001); new partner (χ 2 = 14.82, p = 0.002)].

Participant demographics ( N = 1,856).


Age, years, mean ( )	46.66 (9.31)	44.65 (8.34)**

0	13.3	11.0
1	15.2	15.8
2	49.3	49.7
3	19.1	19.6
4 or more	3.1	3.9

Low level of education	43.9	32.5**
Medium level of education	28.8	41.5
High level of education	27.2	26.0

Below national average salary	26.7	47.7**
National average	47.0	41.8
Above national average salary	26.3	10.8
Marriage length, mean ( )	12.22 (8.11)	13.0 (7.98)*
Total divorce duration in days, mean (SD)	4.47 (6.97)	5.23 (7.66)

One time	86.7	88.2
Two times	10.7	10.1
Three times	1.9	1.5
More than three times	0.6	0.2

Participant	28.5	51.8**
Mutual agreement	19.2	13.2
Former spouse	52.3	35.0

Both have new partners	3.6	5.3*
Neither have new partners	64.7	63.7
Participant does, former spouse does not	13.5	8.7
Participant does not, former spouse does	18.3	22.3
Divorce Conflict Scale Scores, mean (SD)	13.28 (4.92)	13.97 (4.97)*

Data on all people who divorced in Denmark during the study period were obtained from Statistics Denmark and compared to the study sample. The study sample was found to be representative in terms of age, income, and marriage duration ( p > 0.05). There were statistically significant differences between participants and the comparison population in terms of gender (more women participated: χ 2 = 208.45, p < 0.001), educational attainment (study participants were more highly educated: χ 2 = 1135.23, p < 0.001), and the number of previous divorces [participants had on average fewer previous divorces than the average Danish divorcee: t (1855) = −8.47, p < 0.001].

During the study period (January 2016 to January 2018), those seeking divorce in Denmark initiated formal legal divorce and separation procedures by submitting an application to the Danish State Administration (DSA). Legal divorce was granted immediately when there was a mutual agreement to the marital dissolution. However, if there was disagreement regarding the divorce itself or its terms, a 6-month separation period was instituted, after which divorce was granted even in the absence of mutual agreement. The DSA reports that approximately 30% of couples underwent the 6-month separation period. The average processing time required by the DSA to issue divorce decrees was 2–3 weeks.

Invitations to the present study were sent by the DSA along with the divorce decree. The invitation letter described the 12-month Randomized Controlled Trial intervention study entitled “Cooperation after Divorce” that sought to investigate the effects of a digital intervention platform called “Cooperation after Divorce (CAD)” on divorcees’ mental and physical health. As the DSA sent out invitations, we were unable to send re-invitations to those who did not respond to the initial invitation sent out by the DSA. Those who completed the baseline survey received invitations from the intervention platform to complete surveys at 3, 6, and 12 months; for each of these time points, two reminder e-mails were sent out, one after 3 days and one after 14 days, if no response had been provided.

Cooperation after Divorce covers three main areas: (1) the divorce, (2) children, and (3) cooperation following divorce, employing 17 learning modules delivered through an online platform. This paper reports only the baseline results of the study, therefore, please also see Hald et al. (2020a) for a more thorough description of the CAD platform. The letter also described the procedure for participation, which consisted of clicking on a web-link in the invitation letter, provide informed consent, and respond to the baseline questionnaire anonymously. The research received approval from the Danish Data Protection Agency and was exempt from further ethical evaluations following the rules and regulations as set forth by the Scientific Ethical Committees of Denmark.

The exact response rate is not possible to report because the DSA could not provide the precise number of study invitations sent during the study period. There were 32,487 legal divorces in Denmark during the RCT enrollment period; however, it is unknown whether all individuals who divorced received an invitation along with their divorce decree. In total, 1,882 people began the study and due to impossible or invalid responses, 26 were excluded (i.e., those who did not report gender, reported to be married less than 1 day, or to have married the same year as they were born). Thus, 1,856 participants were included in the final analytical study sample.

Sociodemographic Variables

(a) Age at divorce was measured in years and months. (b) Sexual identity was determined by answering: “Are you a man or a woman?” with the response options: 1 = “Man” 2 = “Woman.” (c) Education level was assessed by answering: “What is the highest education you have completed?” with the following response options: 1 = “low level of education” (e.g., primary school, high school, business high school, vocational education), 2 = “medium level of education” (e.g., medium-length tertiary education, bachelor’s degree), and 3 = “high level of education” (e.g., master’s degree or higher). (d) Income was measured with the question “What is your monthly income before tax?” in Danish Crowns (1 USD = 6.35 DKK). The response options were: 1 = “Below 10,000DKK,” 2 = “10–20,000DKK,” 3 = “20–30,000DKK,” 4 = “30–40,000DKK,” 5 = “40–50,000DKK,” 6 = “50–60,000DKK,” 7 = “60–70,000DKK,” 8 = “70–80,000DKK,” 9 = “More than 80,000DKK.” These categories were reduced for descriptive purposes for Table 1 so that 1–3 = “Below average,” 2–4 = “Average,” 5+= “Above average”; however, in all analyses the original scale was used. (e) The number of children was obtained by asking how many children participants had from 0 to 8.

Divorce-Related Variables

(a) Marriage duration was calculated in years and months from marriage date to divorce date; (b) legal divorce duration was calculated in days from the legal divorce date to survey response date; (c) number of divorces was obtained by asking, “How many time have you divorced?” with response options including 1 = “One time,” 2 = “Two times,” 3 = “Three times,” and 4 = “More than three times”; (e) divorce initiator status was ascertained with the question “Who initiated your divorce” and 1 = “Me,” 2 = “Mostly me,” 3 = “We mutually agreed,” 4 = “Mostly my former spouse,” 5 = “My former spouse,” 6 “Not sure.” Initiator status responses were reduced so that 1–2 = “Me,” 3 = “We mutually agreed,” 4–5 = “My former spouse,” and 6 = “System missing” [only seven participants (0.4%) responded “not sure”]; (f) New partner status was obtained with the question “Do you or your ex have a new partner?” with the following response options: 1 = “Yes, we both have a new partner,” 2 = “No, none of us have a new partner,” 3 = “I have a new partner, but not my ex,” 4 = “My ex has a new partner, but not me”; (g) Divorce conflict was assessed employing the six-item self-report Divorce Conflict Scale (DCS). The DCS measures six dimensions of divorce-related conflict: communication, co-parenting, global assessment of former spouse, negative and pervasive negative exchanges and hostile, insecure emotional environment, and self-perceived conflict ( Hald et al., 2020d ). The internal consistency of the DCS scale was high (α = 0.88).

Physical and Mental Health

The second version of the Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Assessment was used for the core outcomes of this study. The SF-36 is a 36-item self-report measure that is a widely used instrument to assess health-related quality of life over the previous 4 weeks among general populations and diverse patient groups ( Maruish, 2011 ). The instrument includes the following eight domains which are measured using 35 items: physical functioning, role physical (role participation with physical health problems), bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional (role participation with emotional health problems), and mental health. The final item is not included in the domains subscales and addresses self-evaluation health transition. The responses are given with a Likert scale or a yes/no format. Domain scores are reported in 0–100 transformed scores and t -scores that are calculated from the raw scores and higher scores indicate better health status (see Maruish, 2011 for more information). The physical health and mental health summary variables are calculated using all eight health domains based on their relative factor analytical weights. Many language versions of the SF-36 exist and the instrument has been determined to be a valid and reliable instrument for a wide range of populations ( Bjorner et al., 1998 ; Maruish, 2011 ). In this study, all of the eight health scales demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.85–0.93).

Data Analyses

Missing data were less than 5% for all variables in the present paper, which is below the proportion of missingness that may bias results ( Schafer, 1999 ; Bennett, 2001 ; Dong and Peng, 2013 ). Thus, the data were omitted “listwise” in analyses. For the legal divorce duration variable, outliers were changed to missing values using the moderately conservative ± 2.5 times the median absolute deviation (MAD) threshold, as recommended by Leys et al. (2013) . To assess gender differences, sociodemographic and divorce-related characteristics were compared using two-sample t -tests and chi-square tests.

Prior to any other data analyses, a rake weight was constructed and applied to the data. The rake weight was based on gender, education, and previous number of divorces and adjusted for sample representativeness (see section “Participants”). When constructing rake weights, a set of variables for which the distribution is known are chosen, and the statistical program creates weights for each case until the sample distribution aligns with the population for those variables. The resultant weight was applied to the data. Thus, all following data analyses (correlations, comparisons to norms, cut-off score comparison, and hierarchical regressions) reflect results with the weight applied.

One-sample t -tests were employed to compare our sample with the available Danish normative data from the Danish SF-36 user’s manual, which comprise a random population sample of 4,080 Danish adults (52% women) from the SF-36 Health Assessment Danish Manual study (for more information regarding this normative population sample, see also Bjorner et al., 1998 ). For comparisons, the SF-36 0–100 transformed scale scores were used.

Pearson correlation analyses were used for assessing bivariate correlations between variables. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to assess the independent contribution to the explanation of the variance SF-36 physical and mental health summary t -scores. In a first step, age, number of children, income, and education were entered as predictors; in a second step, marriage duration, number of previous divorces, divorce initiator status, and new partner status were entered as predictors. DCS scores were entered as a predictor in the third step. This approach allows for an assessment of the unique contributions of sets of variables (i.e., demographics and divorce-related variables), and specifically, allows for an assessment of the unique contribution of divorce conflict, beyond the contribution of demographics and divorce-related factors.

When compared with Danish normative data, male participants reported lower role physical scores [ t (878) = −9.38, p < 0.001, d = 0.32], worse general health [ t (878) = −5.66, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.19], lower vitality [ t (875) = −31.88, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.08], decreased social functioning [ t (878) = −23.51, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.79], lower role emotional scores [ t (878) = −25.63, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.87], and worse mental health [ t (875) = −40.79, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.38], but better physical functioning [ t (879) = 6.66, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.23] and lower levels of bodily pain [ t (878) = 2.34, p = 0.020, Cohen’s d = 0.08], than the Danish normative male population.

Statistically significant differences were found on the SF-36 domains for women. Compared with the Danish normative female population, female participants reported lower role physical scores [ t (880) = −3.00, p = 0.003, d = 0.10], worse general health [ t (883) = −7.25, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.24], lower vitality [ t (878) = −33.00, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.11], lower social functioning scores [ t (880) = −23.19, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.78], decreased role emotional capacity [ t (880) = −25.86, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.87], and worse mental health [ t (878) = −38.31, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.29], but better physical functioning [ t (883) = 9.94, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 0.33] and lower levels of bodily pain [ t (880) = 2.92, p = 0.004, Cohen’s d = 0.10] (see Figures 1 , ,2 2 ).

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SF-36 physical health domain means compared to normative data.

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SF-36 mental health domain means compared to normative data.

Comparison cut-off scores were created such that those with t -scores below 44 were categorized as poor functioning, those with t -scores between 44 and 56 (i.e., average) were categorized as normal functioning, and those with t -scores above 56 (i.e., above) were categorized as superior functioning. The comparisons revealed that for the intervention group, 8.3% fell below the cut-score on physical health (normal = 23.8% and superior = 68%) and 73.6% fell below the cut-score on mental health (normal = 19.9% and superior = 6.6%). Similarly, for the control group, 8.0% fell below the cut-score on physical health (normal = 22.5% and superior = 69.5%) and 72.6% fell below the cut-score on mental health (normal = 23.8% and superior = 3.6%).

Among men, bivariate correlation analyses demonstrated that lower age, higher income, higher education, shorter duration marriages, fewer previous divorces, and lower mental health scores were significantly associated with better physical health ( p < 0.05). Among women, lower age, higher income, higher educational level, fewer previous divorces, new partner status, lower divorce conflict, and lower mental health scores were significantly associated with better physical health ( p < 0.05). Among men, higher age, longer marriage duration, more previous divorces, initiator and new partner status, and lower divorce conflict scores were significantly associated with better mental health, while for women higher income, fewer previous divorces, initiator status, and lower divorce conflict scores were significantly associated with better mental health ( p < 0.05; see also Table 2 ).

Correlations among sociodemographic variables, divorce conflict scale scores, physical and mental health summary scores ( N = 1856, men n = 617, women n = 1239).


1	Age	–	0.026	−0.094**	0.080*	0.560**	0.354**	0.048	0.104**	0.155**	−0.097**	−0.022
2	Number of children	−0.026	–	0.011	−0.064	0.297**	−0.140**	−0.092**	0.001	0.022	0.037	0.033
3	Education	0.013	0.032	–	0.331**	−0.072*	−0.103**	−0.049	−0.023	−0.047	0.116**	0.046
4	Income	−0.006	0.090**	0.304**	–	0.053	−0.012	−0.013	0.082*	−0.051	0.214**	0.114**
5	Marriage duration	0.459**	0.204**	0.037	0.167**	–	−0.193**	−0.027	0.145**	0.096**	−0.011	0.033
6	Number of prev. divorces	0.498**	−0.121**	−0.040	−0.159**	−0.184**	–	0.050	−0.023	0.102**	−0.131**	−0.080*
7	Initiator status	−0.116**	0.031	−0.075*	−0.133**	−0.067*	−0.052	–	0.199**	0.048	0.058	−0.215**
8	New partner status	−0.109**	0.116**	−0.052	−0.039	−0.121**	−0.089**	0.057	–	0.196**	0.087**	−0.020
9	Divorce Conflict Scale	−0.019	0.027	−0.050	−0.071*	−0.094**	−0.012	−0.138**	0.142**	–	−0.078*	−0.144**
10	Physical Health Summary	−0.260**	0.019	0.116**	0.240**	−0.121**	−0.159**	0.008	0.041	−0.056	–	−0.095**
11	Mental Health Summary	0.256**	0.047	0.043	0.040	0.127**	0.271**	−0.200**	−0.171**	−0.131**	−0.165**	–

Force enter hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to assess whether socio-demographic and divorce characteristics predicted mental and physical health and whether divorce conflict added to the explanatory value of mental health after controlling for sociodemographic variables and divorce characteristics. The first step of the analyses included the sociodemographic variables of age, number of children, income, and education, and the second step included the divorce-related variables of marriage duration, number of previous divorces, divorce initiator status, and new partner status, while the third and final step included divorce conflict. The variables (Step 3) explained 14.6% of the variance of the physical health summary scores for men [ F (12,875) = 12.33, p < 0.001, R 2 = 0.146] and 8.8% for women [ F (12,878) = 6.96, p < 0.001, R 2 = 0.088]. Among men, lower age and higher income significantly added to the prediction of better physical health ( p < 0.05). Among women, higher income, fewer previous divorces, new partner status, and lower divorce conflict added to the prediction of better physical health ( p < 0.05) (see also Table 3 ).

Multiple regression analyses predicting SF-36 physical health summary t -scores.



Age	−0.225**	0.027	−0.261	−0.198**	0.042	−0.230	−0.194**	0.042	−0.225
Number of children	0.020	0.274	0.002	0.176	0.286	0.020	0.221	0.286	0.026
Education	0.683	0.417	0.054	0.729	0.416	0.058	0.702	0.416	0.056
Income	2.600**	0.383	0.225	2.733**	0.393	0.236	2.686**	0.393	0.232
Duration of marriage				−0.057	0.048	−0.053	−0.065	0.048	−0.062
Number of times divorced				−0.108	0.601	−0.008	−0.162	0.601	−0.012
Initiator Status: Participant vs Former Spouse				−0.507	0.656	−0.031	−0.769	0.670	−0.047
Initiator Status: Participant vs Mutual Agreement				−1.173	0.827	−0.056	−1.546	0.850	−0.074
New Partner Status: Both vs neither				0.837	1.368	0.049	0.849	1.366	0.050
New Partner Status: Both vs Participant Yes, Ex No				−1.766	1.539	−0.071	−1.749	1.537	−0.070
New Partner Status: Both vs Participant No, Ex Yes				1.384	1.462	0.068	1.543	1.462	0.076
Divorce Conflict							−0.103	0.055	−0.062
		0.36			0.38			0.38
Adjusted		0.12			0.13			0.13
		31.99**			13.10**			12.33**
Change					0.02			0.003
Change					2.14*			3.47

Age	−0.117**	0.034	−0.113	−0.088	0.051	−0.085	−0.081	0.051	−0.079
Number of children	0.536	0.299	0.059	0.498	0.319	0.055	0.505	0.318	0.055
Education	0.451	0.454	0.035	0.441	0.453	0.034	0.432	0.452	0.033
Income	3.001**	0.487	0.216	2.930**	0.487	0.211	2.859**	0.487	0.206
Duration of marriage				−0.009	0.053	−0.009	−0.008	0.053	−0.007
Number of times divorced				−1.808*	0.760	−0.096	−1.711*	0.760	−0.091
Initiator Status: Participant vs Former Spouse				1.098	0.666	0.059	1.094	0.664	0.059
Initiator Status: Participant vs Mutual Agreement				−0.813	0.904	−0.031	−1.086	0.911	−0.041
New Partner Status: Both vs neither				1.637	1.342	0.089	1.511	1.341	0.082
New Partner Status: Both vs Participant Yes, Ex No				1.432	1.633	0.045	1.340	1.630	0.042
New Partner Status: Both vs Participant No, Ex Yes				2.728	1.455	0.129	2.937*	1.456	0.139
Divorce Conflict							−0.133*	0.062	−0.073
		0.25			0.29			0.30
Adjusted		0.06			0.07			0.08
		14.76**			7.15**			6.96**
Change					0.02			0.005
Change					2.69*			4.52*

For mental health, sociodemographic and divorce-related variables, as well as divorce conflict (Step 3) accounted for 19.3% of the explained variance among men [ F (12,875) = 17.15, p < 0.001, R 2 = 0.193] and 9.9% among women [ F (12,878) = 7.89, p < 0.001, R 2 = 0.099]. Factors that significantly added to the prediction of better mental health for men were more children, more previous divorces, participant divorce initiation, new partner status, and lower divorce conflict, while for women, higher income, participant divorce initiation, new partner status, and lower divorce conflict significantly added to the prediction of better mental health.

Regarding the study hypothesis, among both men and women, divorce conflict was found to significantly add to the explanation of mental health after controlling for basic sociodemographic variables and divorce characteristics (see also Table 4 ).

Multiple regression analyses predicting SF-36 mental health summary t -scores.



Age	0.384	0.049	0.256	0.086	0.072	0.057	0.100	0.072	0.066
Number of children	0.715**	0.492	0.048	0.936	0.486	0.062	1.083*	0.484	0.072
Education	0.689	0.749	0.031	0.428	0.708	0.020	0.339	0.704	0.015
Income	0.547	0.687	0.027	0.411	0.668	0.020	0.256	0.665	0.013
Duration of marriage				0.175*	0.081	0.095	0.146	0.081	0.079
Number of times divorced				5.611**	1.022	0.237	5.435**	1.016	0.230
Initiator Status: Participant vs Former Spouse				−3.997**	1.115	−0.139	−4.856**	1.133	−0.169
Initiator Status: Participant vs Mutual Agreement				2.402	1.407	0.066	1.180	1.437	0.032
New Partner Status: Both vs neither				−5.127*	2.327	−0.173	−5.088*	2.311	−0.172
New Partner Status: Both vs Participant Yes, Ex No				−1.723	2.617	−0.040	−1.666	2.599	−0.038
New Partner Status: Both vs Participant No, Ex Yes				−8.862**	2.486	−0.251	−8.341**	2.473	−0.236
Divorce Conflict							−0.337**	0.094	−0.117
		0.27			0.43			0.44
Adjusted		0.07			0.17			0.18
		16.49**			17.29**			17.15**
Change					0.11			0.01
Change					16.57**			13.02**

Age	−0.051	0.053	−0.033	−0.008	0.076	−0.005	0.011	0.076	0.007
Number of children	0.596	0.462	0.044	0.097	0.480	0.007	0.115	0.477	0.008
Education	0.087	0.700	0.004	−0.104	0.683	−0.005	−0.128	0.677	−0.007
Income	2.477**	0.752	0.118	2.254*	0.734	0.108	2.061**	0.729	0.098
Duration of marriage				0.021	0.080	0.013	0.024	0.079	0.015
Number of times divorced				−1.462	1.145	−0.051	−1.197	1.138	−0.042
Initiator Status: Participant vs Former Spouse				−5.617**	1.002	−0.202	−5.627**	0.994	−0.202
Initiator Status: Participant vs Mutual Agreement				0.125	1.361	0.003	−0.621	1.364	−0.016
New Partner Status: Both vs neither				−5.553**	2.021	−0.200	−5.898*	2.007	−0.212
New Partner Status: Both vs Participant Yes, Ex No				−0.904	2.459	−0.019	−1.156	2.440	−0.024
New Partner Status: Both vs Participant No, Ex Yes				−4.510*	2.192	−0.142	−3.941	2.179	−0.124
Divorce Conflict							−0.362**	0.093	−0.132
		0.13			0.29			0.31
Adjusted		0.01			0.07			0.09
		3.51*			7.13**			7.89**
Change					0.07			0.02
Change					9.06**			15.06**

Pertaining to research question one, across gender, the study found that the mental health of Danish divorcees was significantly different from and worse than the Danish background population immediately following divorce. Further, across all mental health indicators, the magnitudes of these differences were large [i.e., Cohen’s ( d ) = 0.78–1.38]. The results for physical health were more equivocal. While both male and female divorcees reported better physical functioning in everyday life than the Danish background population, both genders also reported worse general health than the background population immediately following divorce.

The results for mental health corroborate existing research in the field and, notably, the effect sizes here were large, which may mainly reflect the timing of the collection of baseline data. With the unique opportunity to collect data very close to the juridical divorce (on average less than five days from juridical divorce) and the fact that the majority of the sample divorced without any prior separation period, data may have been less subject to a “time heals effect” ( Hald et al., 2020a ). Following Amato (2000) DSR, this means that time has not yet had a chance to mitigate the adverse effects of the divorce. Further, although caution needs to be taken regarding the generalizability of the sample, due to the non-probability sampling process, the results offer some of the first insights into how adverse the impacts of divorce on mental health may be immediately following divorce, using a range of common mental health indicators ( Sander et al., 2020 ).

The equivocal findings concerning physical health among divorcees immediately following divorce, we speculate, mainly have to do with (a) the study sample, (b) the content of questions of the outcome measure, and (c) the timing of measurements. Accordingly, the study sample comprised relatively younger individuals as compared to the background population sample used for comparisons. The majority of the items from the physical health scale include responses to tasks most non-elderly individuals would easily be able to accomplish, but which may prove increasingly difficult with age (e.g., walking one block, dressing and bathing, or lifting or carrying groceries), and this may account for the better physical health among our study sample as compared to the background population. Further, as first suggested by Sander et al. (2020) , when it comes to physical health, a “time hurts” effect may also be at play, whereby physical health is more adversely affected over the course of time following divorce than immediately after the divorce. A causal mechanism may be that reduced mental health increasingly adversely affects physical health over time ( Sander et al., 2020 ). We encourage future studies to further investigate this.

From an applied point of view, across diverse samples and patient groups, better health-related quality of life as measured by the SF-36 has been found to be associated with lower risk of morbidity, mortality, cancer as well as the recurrence of cancer, anxiety, and depressive symptoms (e.g., Lacson et al., 2010 ; Saquib et al., 2011 ; Folker et al., 2019 ). Further, multiple studies have found that worse health-related quality of life as measured by the SF-36 instrument is predictive of higher occurrence of work absence due to sickness, hospitalizations, and higher health care costs among both general populations and across multiple subpopulations (e.g., Lacson et al., 2010 ; Laaksonen et al., 2011 ; Pymont and Butterworth, 2015 ). In conjunction with the study results, especially for mental health, this means that there is sound human and financial reasoning in developing interventions that may help divorcees cope with adverse (mental) health effects of their divorce and, that among many divorcees, the need for help may be especially pronounced immediate following their divorce.

Pertaining to research question 2 and the study hypothesis, it was found that for men, lower age and higher income added to the prediction of better physical health. Among women, higher income, fewer previous divorces, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict added to the prediction of better physical health. For mental health, among men, it was found that more children, more previous divorces, participant divorce initiation, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict added to the prediction of better mental health, while for women, higher income, participant divorce initiation, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict were found to add to better mental health. Moreover, our study hypothesis that divorce conflict would add to the overall prediction of mental health, even when other sociodemographic variables and divorce characteristics were controlled for, was supported. Of note, lower divorce conflict also predicted better physical health for women.

The current study indicates that, already at the time of or close to juridical divorce, higher degrees of divorce conflict are associated with worse mental health, even after accounting for other sociodemographic variables and divorce-related factors. This may not be surprising, given that higher degrees of divorce conflict are likely to negatively interfere with or complicate important decisions and life choices around the time of juridical divorce, like division of property, co-parenting, and child custody. This study finding accentuates the need to focus on divorce conflict levels already at divorce onset ( Hald et al., 2020d ).

Amato’s DSR theory stipulates that the adverse effects of divorce depend on the interplay between risk and protective factors ( Amato, 2010 ). These factors include many of those found in this study to significantly predict both mental and physical health, including income (DSR = economic security, standards of living), new partner status (DSR = having a new partner), and levels of divorce conflict (DSR = conflict with the former partner). Accordingly, the results of this study may be seen as support for Amato’s DSR theory, in that DSR theory views divorce “not as a discrete event, but as a process that unfolds over months and even years” ( Amato, 2010 , p. 10). Moreover, it follows that mental and physical health may already be adversely affected prior to the juridical divorce as a consequence of a prolonged stressful and/or unsatisfactory relationship ( Hald et al., 2020c ). Therefore, the measurements of mental and physical health employed in this study, done immediately after juridical divorce with little or no prior separation period, may “capture” the mental and physical health consequences of this “…process that unfolds over months and even years” ( Amato, 2010 , p. 10).

Notably, even in an egalitarian society such as the Danish one, with a large public sector, a well-developed welfare system, and fewer differences between rich and poor as compared to most other Western countries, higher income still significantly predicted mental well-being among women and physical well-being among both men and women. In accordance with DSR theory, this suggests that income may be a key protective factor against negative divorce-related health impacts ( Leopold, 2018 ), even in highly egalitarian societies. Even more so, income may be more important than level of education, a variable previously found to be related to post-divorce psychological and physical health outcomes ( Cohen and Finzi-Dottan, 2012 ; Perrig-Chiello et al., 2015 ), but which was not found to significantly predict mental or physical well-being in this study.

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to include a large sample of very recently divorced individuals, employ standardized and validated mental and physical health measures consisting of multiple health-related indicators with available background population data for direct comparisons, and a multitude of sociodemographical and divorce-related variables previously shown to be associated with health-related outcomes. However, when evaluating the results, the following study limitations should be taken into consideration. The study used a non-probability sample of divorcees and employed self-report measures, which may limit the generalizability of findings. Specifically, the study sample may have consisted of individuals with more conflicts and more mental and physical problems than those who did not participate in the study, as these individuals may have believed that the intervention platform would be particularly helpful to them. Conversely, it may also be that people with more conflicts and more mental and physical problems may have decided not to participate because it may have felt threatening to their sense of self ( Howell and Shepperd, 2012 ; DiBello et al., 2015 ), and thus, are underrepresented in the current study. Additionally, we were unable to determine if both partners in a prior marriage participated in the study, which may affect the assumption of independence of data in the analyses. Further, due to the cross-sectional nature of our data, the results preclude causal inferences. Lastly, while the Danish context is interesting for several reasons, including the minimal societal stigma surrounding divorce and the presence of greater gender and income equality, there is also great acceptance of non-marital cohabitation, such that many couples choose to not get legally married. As the study targeted formerly legally married individuals, individuals who cohabitate were not recruited, and thus, it is unclear whether the study results may generalize to this group of individuals. However, we expect that the relationship dissolution process is similar for married and cohabitating individuals, to the extent that there can be children involved and shared assets (e.g., house). Therefore, we do not have reason to expect that non-married individuals differ from married individuals; however, future research should seek to examine this point.

In conclusion, the study found that the health-related quality of life of Danish divorcees immediately following divorce was significantly different from and worse than the comparative Danish background population. Further, higher levels of divorce conflict predicted worse mental health even after controlling for other sociodemographic variables and divorce characteristics often targeted in research on the interplay between divorce and health. The findings underscore the relevance of providing divorce interventions for divorcees as early as possible following their divorce to improve health-related quality of life.

Data Availability Statement

Ethics statement.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency and the Regional Scientific Ethical Committee of Copenhagen, Denmark. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author Contributions

This original research report is part of the doctoral thesis for SS. SS and GH were responsible for the design of the intervention and the study protocol and also responsible for the manuscript writing. JS was responsible for data analysis. CØ and AC were responsible for feedback and editing. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

For due diligence, we would like to declare that the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, where the authors work, owns the digital intervention platform “Cooperation after Divorce (CAD)” while two of the co-authors (GH and SS) hold the commercial license and intellectual property rights to the platform through the Company “CAD” (Samarbejde Efter Skilsmisse ApS). The reviewer LL declared a shared affiliation, with no collaboration, with the author to the handling editor at the time of the review.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the Egmont Foundation for support with the development of the digital platform “Cooperation After Divorce,” the Danish State Administration for help during the data collection process, and the Carlsberg Foundation for their funding of the research project “When Marriage Fails.”

Funding. This work was financially supported by “The Carlsberg Foundation Distinguished Associate Professor Fellowship” (the last author) under Grant No. CF16-0094.

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Persuasive & Argumentative Essays about Divorce: Free Tips

A divorce is a life-changing experience that affects spouses and their children (if there are any). Since divorce rates are relatively high in modern society, more and more people face this problem nowadays.

When you are assigned to compose an argumentative essay about divorce, you should be as careful as possible. Remember that the split-up of marriage can be a painful experience for everyone involved.

The article will give you useful advice on how to write an outstanding paper on the topic. Learn the essential features of the following types:

persuasive essay about divorce,
for and against essay,
causes and effects of divorce essay,

Check tips from Custom-writing.org below and write the best paper!

💍 How to Write It
📂 Essays by Type
✒ Causes and Effects

✍️ Divorce Essay Topics

💍 how to write a divorce essay.

The general structure of essays on divorce is quite common:

introduction;
conclusion.

Yet, there are some variations of what info to include in the body, depending on the essay type. The following structure is applicable for divorce argumentative essay. To learn about the features of other types, keep on reading our article.

Argumentative divorce essays are composed according to the standard structure:

1. Thesis Statement about Divorce

A divorce essay introduction isn’t anything extraordinary as you have to introduce your topic and position.

You should always give broad information about the issue and state the main problems you will discuss in your writing.
Make a general statement about the consequences of divorce or the common divorce effects on people.
Then write your thesis statement on divorce. Clearly explain to the audience the topic you’re going to discuss and your position on that topic. In case you find this task difficult, try using a thesis generator for argumentative essay . This will save you some time.

That’s it! Now your divorce essay introduction is ready.

What’s next?

2. Main Body

This section presents all of your ideas and arguments related to the topic of divorce.

Here you can write about the adverse effects of divorce on children or the most common reasons people divorce.
Use compelling arguments and support your ideas with examples.

There are tons of surveys and statistics about divorce on the internet, so it won’t be too challenging to gather the information you need.

3. Conclusion

In the last paragraph, you have to sum up your paper and leave a final expression.

Summarize every idea presented in your divorce essay.
Restate your thesis statement on divorce, relying on your reasoning.
Then list your concluding thoughts on this topic.

Make your sentences clear and easy to follow. Use synonyms to improve your writing style. Such an approach will help you convince the readers and express your thoughts better.

📂 Divorce Essays by Type

The content and reasoning of each paper on divorce depend primarily on the type of essay . See the following sections to understand how to write each of them.

Here are a few types you can consider:

Argumentative Essay about Divorce

When it comes to divorce, there are many disputable topics—for example, the reasons people separate or its impact on children. It’s easy to find support and statistics for both issues. And you’ll need them as facts are a crucial part of a divorce argumentative essay.

As a starting point:

Research your idea and choose a side to support. Make sure that among all argumentative essay topics about divorce, you selected the most interesting for yourself. In your thesis statement, concisely express your position, so the reader can quickly get it.

Then, start writing the entire essay. Regardless of what type of paper you are writing—anti or pro divorce argumentative essay—your writing should meet these requirements:

Base your points on logic;
Present both sides of the arguments, but support only one;
Take into consideration counterclaims;
Support all the arguments by valid evidence;
Use a calm, informative tone.

Don’t forget to incorporate quotes and figures to convince your readers.

Persuasive Essay about Divorce

What is the goal of writing persuasive essays ? It’s to convince your reader that your position on a particular problem is true.

Therefore, writing this paper means that you should identify an individual problem related to the topic. In the introduction of your persuasive essay about divorce, you should choose your side and deliver it to the reader.

Crucial note:

Similarly to an argumentative essay, you have to provide credible facts to support your position. Yet here, you use them to back up your opinion and persuade your reader.

While composing your persuasive essay about the legalization of divorce, remember its distinctive features:

Based on emotions;
Presents only one side of the argument;
Ignores counterclaims;
The tone is dynamic, emotionally-charged, and aggressive to some extent.

Cause and Effect Essay on Divorce

Whether it concerns old parents or a young couple, divorce typically has the same causes and effects. You can often see them clearly, even in books or movies.

The essay outline for the causes and effects of divorce essay is quite common:

Introduction.

In your divorce essay introduction, provide a general background and compose a clear thesis statement. For example, your thesis might look like this:

A divorce, caused by the spouses’ expectations mismatch, results in a lack of communication between children and one of the parents.

In this part of your essay, investigate the cause and effect of divorce, you stated before.

For the given thesis, the main points would be the following:

The primary cause of divorce is the mismatch in the spouses’ expectations from the marriage.

The divorce often results in a lack of children’s interactions with one of the parents.

Conclusion.

Synthesize all of your arguments and give your audience a space for a further investigation of your issue.

Narrative Essay about Divorce

If your assignment is to write a family essay, you can choose from a wide range of topics. For this purpose, a marriage essay or a divorce essay would be perfect.

In a short paper about your family, it isn’t easy to cover many topics. So choose only one.

Look through some narrative essay topics and select the one you like:

The story of my divorce: how did I decide to break up with my spouse?
My life completely changed after my parents divorced.
How my life looked like before the divorce with my wife/husband and how it looks now.
The way divorce destroys healthy communication between children and parents in my family.

For and Against Divorce Essay

As you know, both the negative and positive effects of divorce are disputable, making them appealing to discuss. There are many recent studies and relevant statistical data on the topic to help you write such an essay.

This topic would also be great for a speech on divorce.

Wondering what are the for and against divorce arguments? Take a look at the following:


If a person is in an abusive relationship, divorce might be the only option. It’s better to feel safe and protected than to be predisposed to violence.	You are still a family: you raise children and have a set of values. Consider preserving them and saving your family.
Are you that type of person that cannot forgive adultery? Then, break with your spouse and don’t waste your time.	Are you sure you and your partner are capable of living on their own? Often, spouses are financially dependent and cannot afford to lead the household after the divorce.
If a spouse continually mistreats their children and is unwilling to change their behavior, consider getting divorced.	If you decided to divorce after a single quarrel, don’t hurry up! Reconsider your decision and give your relationship a try.

✒ Divorce: Causes and Effects

We have a pleasant bonus for you! Below, you can find useful arguments and insightful ideas that you can use in your papers on divorce. Apply our concepts in any type of essay, adjusting them to your topic.

Divorce essays can cover the following issues:

Generally Known Facts on Divorces

When covering this issue in your persuasive essay on divorce, you will have to cover the problem altogether. Include the common marriage problems that psychologists all over the world study. Use their statistical data on divorces when crafting your argument.

Divorce is quite a broad topic, and you may want to narrow it down. With so much information available, you could write a research paper on divorce without any difficulty.

Statistical Data on Divorces

Good divorce essays should include enough statistical data. It will add more scientific value and reveal your research abilities. Besides, facts and figures present many exciting topics to comment on.

For example:

You can do significant research concerning divorce causes and consequences. Draw a contrast between divorce in several countries, or examine the age and education of people who officially separate more often.

Reasons for Divorces

What does an essay on divorce mean without discussion of its reasons?

Find out different sociologists’ viewpoints on the reasons for divorces. Then underline the cause you consider to be the most truthful one.

You can also provide your own theory on the grounds for divorces in your persuasive essay on divorce. The key point is to prove the accuracy of your statement.

Divorce Prevention Ideas

If there is a problem, there must be some solution. So, think of the possible ways to make a marriage work.

Investigate divorce causes from a scientific point of view. Examine the primary studies that reveal why people actually break up. Also, discuss the precautions that can help married couples avoid significant conflicts.

Effects of Divorce on Children

Parents sometimes forget that their divorce isn’t only about them but also about their children. It causes psychological problems for kids, which you can classify in your paper. Don’t forget to add some statistical data on divorce to support your arguments.

Every child reacts differently to their parents’ breakup. It’s a rare case when divorce consequences are positive, making the effects on kids an urgent topic to discuss.

Positive Effects of Divorce

Sometimes divorce isn’t a catastrophe but rather the only way to heal wounds and begin a new life. Often, people don’t recognize that they need to change their lives for the better. This situation is primarily related to abusive marriages or those with regular cheating.

In these cases, the positive effects of divorce may seem easy to understand. However, psychologists have to make great efforts to persuade people to end their relationships. Write a paper making this same argument.

Negative outcomes of divorce on children.
Connection between divorce and antisocial behavior of children.
Family crises and the issue it causes: divorce, remarriage, stepparents, adoption.
Effect of divorce on teenagers’ academic performance.
Causes and consequences of divorce .
What can be done to decrease divorce rates in America?
Does parental divorce affect the rates of juvenile delinquency ?
The most widespread reasons for divorce.
Analyze marital success factors and Gottman’s predictors of divorce.
Impact of divorce on child’s mental health.
Change of divorce law throughout history.
Positive and negative changes in children’s behavior after divorce.
Divorce : a disaster or a benefit?
Is cheating one of the main reasons of divorce?
Gender stratification impact on divorce trends.
Effect of divorce on family relationship.
Do divorced parents change their child-rearing styles?
List of factors typically associated with higher divorce rates.
The support required for all the members of divorced and single-parent families .
Analyze the reasons for high divorce rates .
Does divorce only impact adolescent in a bad way?
Effect of poverty on divorce rates.
Specifics of divorce in the UAE.
Does divorce lead to depression?
Family therapy and its role in decreasing divorce rates.
The impact of divorce on children-parents relationship.
Evaluation of child custody in divorce proceedings.
How to manage the stress of divorce.
Effect of divorce on children’s self-esteem.
How to minimize the devastating consequences of divorce.
Addiction as the reason for divorce.
Effective communication in marriage and its role in preventing divorce.
Divorce as the only way out of an abusive relationship.
Financial issues of divorce and how to overcome them.
Parental support is the best way to help children to go through divorce.
How do adolescents adjust to parental divorce?
Do boys and girls react to the parental divorce the same way?
Social media can destroy relationship and lead to divorce.
Can Christian counseling help couples to resolve their issues and avoid divorce?
Poverty among divorced women.
Young marriage has more chances to break-up.
Respect is the best way to get marriage satisfaction and avoid divorce.
Is interfaith marriage doomed to divorce?
Why a successful marriage may end in divorce?
Marriage contract will help to facilitate the legal side of divorce process.
Reduction of the number of divorces.
Personal development after divorce.
How family relationships influence future marriage and divorce chances of children.
Child support in case of marriage divorce.
Will lack of family and work balance definitely result in divorce?

If you are stuck on writing, you can always ask us for help! Whether you need a persuasive essay on divorce or any other paper, we are here and ready to assist.

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🔗 References

Essay Introductions
Transitional Words and Phrases
Argumentative Paper Format
The Writing Process
Divorce Argument Essay: Bartleby
Cause and Effect Essay: The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Roane State Community College and UNC at Chapel Hill Writing Center
Counterargument: Gordon Harvey, the Writing Center at Harvard University
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The Causes of Divorce Essay

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Introduction

Inequality in spending or earning money.

Divorces are socially significant actions that often have negative implications for both former families involved and society as a whole. The causes behind this social phenomenon can vary significantly, but for the sake of a deeper understanding, there is a necessity to explore some of them in-depth. One of the main causes of divorces is betrayal; another is unequal spending and earning. Exploring these causes could provide an insight into how to avoid them.

Betrayal or infidelity is one of the most common causes for a husband and wife to split. Infidelity for each particular person can mean a multitude of things. Some people, arguably most, define betrayal in marriage as having sex with another person. This is deeply connected with the nature and tradition of the intimate relationship between men and women. Letting another person into one’s personal space to the point of having intercourse is already an issue of deep-felt trust and having utter conviction in the other party’s genuine feelings. If a marriage partner reveals that they have had that same kind of intimacy and affection with someone else, it will definitely insult the other partner. No wonder, then, that after such an incident, the victim of infidelity would want to sever the relationship as trust is violated. At first glance, it seems understandable and logical.

There is also another explanation for such a reaction. Religious people consider the marital vow of loving and honoring each other for as long as they both live sacred; sacred as something that is witnessed, blessed, and sealed by the higher power. Such an alliance is forbidden to break by divine law. If a person decides to violate this vow, it means not only that they betrayed their partner but also that they went against God. Such an action for a deeply religious person is much more than a violation of trust. Therefore, there are not many choices left other than to drift apart.

There can also be other understandings of betrayal. Some people have more conservative views on marital fidelity and may consider even holding hands with a person of the opposite sex for a second too long to be a friendly handshake. It may not lead directly to divorce but may give grounds for monitoring each action of an allegedly cheating wife or husband. This is often considered a norm in middle-eastern countries where women are not allowed to even look at a person of the opposite sex in the eyes for too long. This is a deeply religious and cultural tradition that may not be acceptable to others. Interestingly, in some Islamic practices, men are allowed to have up to four wives, and this is not considered to be infidelity.

Additionally, people often vary in degrees of tolerance towards infidelity. Some consider it a violation of trust but not to the point of needing to end the relationship, especially if it didn’t last that long. Many people would consider writing a one-off or short-term event as a mistake, provided the circumstances did not imply serious consideration of deliberate and heartless assault on their partner’s feelings. Some people even forgive betrayal more than once or do so systematically for a number of psychological reasons. Some are very tolerant in their views on marital relationships and may even let the other party have sex with other people while not feeling betrayed at all. People in this category, with somewhat progressive or, as some may say, open-minded views are quite rare according to the author’s personal observations.

After staying in the relationship after a betrayal, most people cannot maintain the same level of emotional affection for longer than a few years. People may stay together because they have grown comfortable with each other and they are afraid of being alone again. Others demonstrate the opposite reaction and start slowly drifting towards other people in search of those sharp and intense feelings that they long for but cannot experience with the person they loved a few years back. Whatever the reasons for betrayal, be it lack of love or sexual attraction, a divorce requires the verbal or non-verbal consent of the two spousal parties.

Money can also become a reason to end a marriage and go separate ways. In this case, people have not necessarily entered a relationship seeking material benefit. At least, the financial well-being of a partner was not a defining characteristic. If love was the prime reason for getting married, then money could be just an excuse and a valid reason for not verbalizing the absence of feelings. People often tend to avoid upsetting their loved ones or the people they care about by not telling them the hard truth. However, divorce can often be accompanied by a long period of mutual accusations and even legal actions against one another in an attempt to retain a larger part of the matrimonial property. After seeing this happen, it can be hard to believe that these people ever loved each other.

There are also cases when people who were committed to building a career and have remained single into their thirties or even forties. Such people can be inexperienced in building a long-lasting relationship and are accustomed to a standard of living. Entering marriage late for such people may mean a rapid shift from a relatively calm and steady lifestyle into a costly endeavor as the needs of two people differ from just having to consider themselves. Frequently, divorce happens when people marry hastily, not having lived together long enough to grow accustomed to each other’s lifestyles. Another reason for money-based divorces could be one-sided love. An aged man or a woman with a considerable fortune could fall in love with a younger person who has deceitful intentions of waiting for their elder partner to die and pretend to be caring and loving enough to be mentioned in their will. An end to such relationships is often brought about by ‘failed’ acting or the elder partner following the advice from a close friend.

There are also situations when people end relationships because they do not consider themselves equal partners. For some people, marriage is not only about love and affection but also financial equality. Men often feel uneasy to earn less than their wives. Although this may not be discussed between the two, marriages sometimes become a topic of external discussion and gossip can make a proud man feel miserable in his relationship to the point he cannot see any positive side. The situation is often aggravated by the fact that men do not like to bring up such deep topics for discussion, and prefer to let things build up. This unhealthy pride, with gossip as a stimulating factor, could sever a marriage that otherwise could be happy.

Another side of this issue could entail a wife being dissatisfied with her husband earning low wages or a husband discontented with his wife’s excessive spending. These are clichés that are often seen on TV and read in books; the roles can be opposite too. Nonetheless, the disparity in earnings and spending between partners can become an issue that threatens a relationship. Marriage can be viewed as a union where each side is equal in everything. It would be safe to assume that each partner should contribute to keeping the flame within the family hearth either ‘by labor or by coin’ but in equal amount nonetheless. When contributions cannot be measured and compared in dollar equivalent, there may arise a question of equality that quickly becomes a fight over money and contribution.

There is a myriad of reasons for divorce. They may be well-established and evidenced with facts of infidelity or bank statements. However, a divorce still remains an act between two people who united for some reason in the past, who now wish to go their separate ways. For one party, it may seem a relief, for the other it is misfortune. Having analyzed two possible causes of divorce, it occurred to me that the underlying reason for divorce is a change in one of the partners or both of them. If marriage is a union of two people who found something that unites them, makes them similar, then it is some drastic difference that draws them apart. Thus, marriage depends on the ability to settle differences through conversation or frequent contemplation on the things that unite two people.

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The ballistic and shift contributions to the interband linear photogalvanic effect are calculated in the same band structure model of a noncentrosymmetric semiconductor. The calculation uses a two-band generalized Dirac effective Hamiltonian with the off-diagonal components containing $\mathbf{ k}$-dependent terms of the first and second order. The developed theory takes into account the Coulomb interaction between the photoexited electron and hole. It is shown that in typical semiconductors the ballistic photocurrent $j^{({\rm bal})}$ significantly exceeds the shift current $j^{({\rm sh})}$: the ratio $j^{({\rm sh})}/j^{({\rm bal})}$ has the order of $a_B/ \ell$, where $a_B$ is the Bohr radius and $\ell$ is the mean free path of photocarriers due to their quasi-momentum scattering.

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Influence of Coulomb interaction on interband photogalvanic effect in
The ballistic and shift contributions to the interband linear photogalvanic effect are calculated in the same band structure model of a noncentrosymmetric semiconductor. The calculation uses a two-band generalized Dirac effective Hamiltonian with the off-diagonal components containing $\mathbf{ k}$-dependent terms of the first and second order.

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The Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Families and Children

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Perspectives of Low-Income African-American and Latino Couples on Relationship Education

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When Love Hurts – Mental and Physical Health Among Recently Divorced Danes

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