chp14

1
Sociology of Families David M. Newman

• Chapter 14 Divorce and Remarriage

2
Divorce American Style

• U.S. divorce rate remains high
• Concept of voluntary contract
• Emotional gratification

3
Divorce Rates in Selected DevelopedCountries,
2005
4
Racial and Ethnic Variation

• African American
• Latino/a
• Asian American

5
Historical Trends in U.S. Divorce

• Divorce has always been a feature of U.S. society
• Divorce was considered a civil liberty
• Finances and religion

6
Changes in Divorce Laws

• No-fault divorce (1970)
• Bilateral no-fault divorce
• Unilateral no-fault divorce
• Displaced homemakers

7
The Movement to Make Divorce More Difficult

• Too quick and too easy
• walkaway wives
• Two tiered system of divorce

8
The Case to Retain No-Fault Divorce

• Liberalization argument overstated
• Only 19 of divorced mothers stated personal
  dissatisfaction as reason for divorce

9
Uncoupling

• The Process of Breaking Up
• The Initial Disclosure
• Outside Involvements
• The Decision to Separate

10
Uncoupling

• Going Public
• Non-initiator
• Moralistic tone
• Initiator
• Frame situation to justify reasons
• Social Stigma

11
Divorce and Children

• Children of single-parent homes tend to fare
  worse at every stage of life
• What about children whose parents stay together
  but fight constantly?

12
Childrens Adjustment to Divorce

• Five perspectives on post-divorce adjustment for
  children
• Parental loss
• Parental adjustment
• Parental conflict
• Economic hardship
• Divorce-stress-adjustment

13
Custody Decisions

• Physical custody
• Legal custody

14
Sole Custody

• Continuity for child
• Reward for parent
• Mothers receive sole physical custody 80 of the
  time

15
Joint Custody

• Policies vary from state to state
• Negates absence of one parent
• shuffling of child back and forth

16
The Father Role After Divorce

• Child Support Policies
• Absent Fathers

17
Remarriage and Stepfamilies

• 70 of those who divorce are likely to remarry
  sometime
• Close to 25 of remarriages end in divorce within
  5 years

18
The Complexities of Stepfamilies

• 11 of all children live with a biological and
  step parent
• Incomplete institution
• The law and step-families

19
Step-Siblings

• Feelings of rejection and envy
• Childs place in family hierarchy
• Most stepsiblings adjust well

20
Relationships Between Stepparents and
Stepchildren

• beau-parent
• New rules, routines, roles
• Friction and disruption