Lecture 23Outline of Last Lecture I. DivorceII. Divorce MeasuresIII. Divorce RegulationA. Eras of DivorceIV. Viewing DivorceA. Formal and InformalB. Common Grounds for DivorceC. Reasons for Divorce in Western SocietyOutline of Current Lecture I. Cross-Cultural Research Examining DivorceII. Divorce in the U.SA. Factors Relating to DivorceB. Impact of Divorce on Family MembersIII. Results of DivorceIV. Divorce Laws and Terminology Current LectureI. Cross-Cultural Research- is often limited, dated, and assumes there is one normative family form to be compared to.- a multicultural viewpoint helps us understand families and societiesII. Divorce in the U.S- The U.S has the highest rate of divorce out of the 19 industrialized nations.- The divorce rate has slowed, and has been declining since 1981.- The average marriage lasts 6.3 years* However, this consists of averaging out extreme highs and extreme lows as well as the in between.- Long-term marriages tend to be healthy and short-term to medium term marriages tend to be loq quality relationships.A. Factors Relating to Divorce1. Education- Higher education and income= higher chance for divorce.2. Income: In general, people who are poor divorce more.3. Employment: Those who are unemployed are more likely to get a divorce.4. Age: People who get married before the age of 20 are more likely to get divorced.5. Children- People with up to 3 children have more stability than those who have more than 5. Those with more than 5 children have an increased risk of divorce. Also, people who have children prior to their marriage are more likely to get divorced.6. Race/Ethnicity- African Americans have twice the rate of divorces as Whites and Latinos. Interracial couples are more likely to divorce as well.7. Religion- People with no religion are more likely to divorce. FAS 370 1st Edition8. Cohabitation- People who love together before engaged/married have a higher risk for divorce. Also, married fathers are more involved with their children than cohabitating fathers are.9. Urban vs. Rural- People who live in Urban communities are more likely to divorce.10. Approval of friends and family- There is less divorce among family and friends who support the marriage.11. Parental Divorce- If one’s parents are divorce, that person is more likely to get divorced themselves.B. Impact of Divorce on Family Members- ¼ of kids from divorced families have significant issues.- How effectively the mother handles the divorce impacts the child.- When people divorce, they experience changes to their way of living. This is because it is cheaper to live in one household rather than two households. In a study, it was concluded that women’s standard of living drops 73%, and men’s standard increases 42%; however, after a review, it was shown to actually be that the women’s standard dtops 29% and the men’s increased 10%. Less difference than previously thought.III. Results of Divorce- Lower levels of psychological well-being, lower happiness, higher stress, poor self-concept, more healthissues, higher death rates, less-satisfying sex lives, more negative life events.- These problems are correlated; meaning that we do not know which one is a result of the other.- Some people have better outcomes if they are getting away from an abusive relationship.- Women are more likely to initiate divorce- Most people who divorce remarry.- Remarrriages are more unstable and have a higher divorce rate.- 1/3 of divorces are second or third time divorces.- Median interval between marriage and divorce: 1st marriage- 8 years, 2nd marriage- 6 years, 3rd marriage- 4 years. - Serial divorcers (divorcing more than once) are different from those who divorce one time. They have more unstable personalities, are stressful to get along with, and are less committed.- However, there is a weak link between personality and divorcing. You cannot tell if someone is more likely to divorce based off their personality.IV. Divorce Laws and Terminology- Divorce laws vary by state- Some states have covenant marriages; which means you must find fault in order to get a divorce.- Mediation- when one person represent both partner is a divorce to share the resources fairly.- Alimony- The money a person pays their spouse so that they can keep their standard of living- Child support- tax-deductible money that pays for the child.- USA stands out as extreme. There is a high number of single mothers, higher chance of divorce, and often has less healthy