Lynn K. White

Determinants of Divorce: A Review of Research in the Eighties.

This review encompasses work published in the 1980s that concerns the causes of divorce [in the United States]. Substantive findings are reviewed under three broad headings: macrostructure demographics and the life course and family process. Trends in methods samples and theory are also reviewed. This decades research on divorce is characterized by bigger and better data sets more sophisticated research techniques and a growing body of conclusive empirical findings in the areas of demographic and life course factors. Relatively neglected areas include theory and family process. The review ends with recommendations for future research. (EXCERPT)

The quality and stability of remarriages: the role of stepchildren

This paper separates the effects of remarriage and presence of stepchildren on the stability and satisfaction of second marriages. Using a [U.S.] nationwide probability sample of 1673 married individuals interviewed in 1980 and again in 1983 [the authors] show that the higher divorce rate among remarriages is limited to the most complex form of remarriage: where both spouses have been previously married and there are stepchildren in the household....In addition to breaking up their families through divorce stepfamilies are shown to move teenagers out of the home and empty the nest faster than biological families. [They] conclude that the presence of stepchildren is a destabilizing influence within remarriages and a major contributor to the somewhat greater rate of divorce. (EXCERPT)

Dimensions of Marital Quality Toward Methodological and Conceptual Refinement

The dimensionality of five conceptually distinct components of marital quality was evaluated in a representative national sample of 1845 married people. Confirmatory factor analysis found two dimensions, one consisting of scales of marital happiness and interaction; the other, of marital disagreements, problems, and instability. Further examination of the two dimensions showed that they operate in distinctly different ways over forms of marital structure including wifes employment, marital duration, sex, and presence of children. It was concluded that scales of marital quality that combine measures from these two dimensions are likely to yield ambiguous findings and contribute little to an understanding of marital process.

Age and religiosity : Evidence from a three-wave panel analysis

Using pooled time series with random and fixed effects regression models, we examine the effect of age, period, and family life course events on a measure of religious influence on daily life in a panel of 1,339 adults interviewed three times between 1980 and 1992. The results show a significant, non-linear increase in religiosity with age, with the greatest increase occurring between ages 18 and 30. We also found a significant decline in religiosity between 1980 and 1988, but no evidence of a period effect between 1988 and 1992. Comparison of fixed and random effects solutions found little evidence that a cohort effect accounted for the age findings. The age effect was significantly stronger for Catholics than Protestants and the lower religiosity of males was also significantly stronger for Catholics. Adding children in the range from age two to ten significantly increased religiosity, but family life course events accounted for little if any of the age effect.

The impact of parental divorce on courtship.

While a limited number of studies focus on the impact of parental divorce on courtship, none examine the conditions surrounding the divorce that may influence children s attempts to form intimate heterosexual relationships. Drawing on a large sample of college students that includes 365 cases of parental divorce, we examine the impact of the amount of parental conflict during and after divorce, change in the quality of parent-child relations, and parents remarriage on the level and evaluation of courtship relations. Our analysis shows that parental divorce increases courtship activity among offspring. Such activity increases even more if the divorce is accompanied by acrimony during and after the divorce, parent-child relations deteriorate, and the custodial parent remains single. The perceived quality of courtship relations seems to be eroded only if there is postdivorce conflict and a decline in parent-child relations. The age at which the divorce occurred seems to have no bearing on the quality or quantity of courtship activity and, with few exceptions, males and females were similarly affected.

Children and Marital Happiness Why the Negative Correlation

This study examines the causal processes that lead to the widely observed negative association between presence of children and marital happiness. Using a nationwide panel of 1535 married individuals, we find support for two primary causal mechanisms. First, the presence of children is associated with differences in marital structure (lower interaction, more dissatisfaction with finances and the division of labor, and more traditionalism of the division of labor) that are, in turn, associated with lower marital happiness. We also find, however, that the relationship between marital happiness and children is partially spurious. The presence of preschoolers and especially the birth of a first child serve to reduce the likelihood that unhappily married people will divorce within a three-year period. As a result, a larger proportion of unhappily married people is retained temporarily in the parent population and thus contributes to the observed negative relation between presence of children and marital happiness.

Children's Work in the Family: Its Significance and Meaning.

Using data from a random sample of 790 Nebraska parents, this paper reports on extent of childrens involvement in the household division of labor and the meaning of this work for the family. These data indicate that childrens chores are an ubiquitous feature of family life. Based on parental report, four rationales for these chores are discussed: developmental, reciprocal obligation, extrinsic, and task learning. The relationships between these meanings of work and structural and family characteristics are explored. It is suggested that these meanings form a family theme, providing insight into values surrounding the parent-child bond and the duties that parents and children owe one another.

Divorce Over the Life Course The Role of Marital Happiness

Using a national panel of married individuals interviewed in 1980 and 1988, this study explores the apparent anomaly that marital happiness and divorce are both lower in longer marriages. We find that marital happiness has a stronger effect on divorce at longer durations than at shorter durations. Exploration of the interactions between barriers and alternatives to marriage dissolution and marital happiness suggests that this interaction arises because longer marriages are more often characterized by high barriers and few alternatives, a situation that strengthens the relationship between divorce and happiness.

The Transition to Parenthood and Marital Quality

An extensive literature demonstrates a negative correlation between the presence of children and marital quality. Few of these studies are designed to test the reasons for this relationship. Using a national panel study, we examine two possible paths: that people who choose to have children differ from those who do not in ways that affect marital quality, and that having a child changes marital structure and process. The results of the analysis support neither hypothesis. Although marital quality deteriorated over the three-year period, the transition to parenthood does not seem to affect changes in marital happiness, interaction, disagreements, division of labor, satisfaction with division of labor, or number of marital problems. Having a child did, however, seem to deter divorce and permanent separation.

The Effect of Parental Divorce and Remarriage on Parental Support for Adult Children

This article uses the NSFH data set to examine the consequences of parental divorce and remarriage for parental support for adult children. Using three dimensions of parental support (social, instrumental, and financial), the findings show a significant and substantial support deficit when comparing divorced to first-married parents. Remarriage does not substantially enlarge nor decrease this support deficit. Although there are gender interactions, support deficits are generally significant for both mothers and fathers. With the exception of financial support, support deficits from ever-divorced parents appear to be due largely to lower parent-child solidarity rather than to decreased parental resources.