Abstract
This study examines early adjustment to marital separation as a function of sex and parent status in a sample of 153 persons separated an average of eight weeks from their spouses because of marital discord. Men were much more satisfied with the quality of their marriages prior to separation and much more opposed to its ending than were women. Women consistently reported more gains than men as a consequence of their separations and a greater readiness to divorce. Social support systems were stronger in the case of women than men and in the case of parents than nonparents. Formal and informal helpseeking was very common. There was considerable difficulty in the areas of job performance and career planning, and the presence of children appeared to add to the difficulties faced by divorcing parents. In general, while the preseparation period appeared to be more stressful for women, the early postseparation period was far more difficult for men.
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Reference note
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This report is based, in part, on work supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, through Grant No. MH 26373 (Preventive Intervention for Newly Separated Persons). We are pleased to acknowledge this support. In addition, we would like to thank Shirley J. Asher and Stephen W. White for their participation in the development of this grant proposal, and Robert A. Caldwell, Cheryl Clement, Gregory W. Gerritsen, Jan L. Jenkins, Ellen Pettit, David Stevens, and Carol Watkins. Tierney for their participation as interviewers and research assistants.
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Bloom, B.L., Hodges, W.F. The predicament of the newly separated. Community Ment Health J 17, 277–293 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00779384
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00779384