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Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Effects Of Premarital Education Promotion Policies On U.S. Divorce Rates, Tiffany L. Clyde, Jocelyn S. Wikle, Alan J. Hawkins, Spencer L. James
The Effects Of Premarital Education Promotion Policies On U.S. Divorce Rates, Tiffany L. Clyde, Jocelyn S. Wikle, Alan J. Hawkins, Spencer L. James
Faculty Publications
Currently, 10 states have enacted policies to promote premarital education and counseling. However, no research has documented whether these policies have actually decreased divorce rates in implementing states. The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of premarital education promotion policies on divorce rates. First, we conducted an implementation study to understand how well each state implemented the policy. A combination of methods was used, including reviewing the legislative documents and archival records, as well as interviewing academics and key persons knowledgeable of the legislation. Following the implementation study, we conducted an evaluation study to analyze the effects …
Divorce Stress, Stepfamily Stress, And Depression Among Emerging Adult Stepchildren, Kevin Shafer, Todd M. Jensen, Erin K. Holmes
Divorce Stress, Stepfamily Stress, And Depression Among Emerging Adult Stepchildren, Kevin Shafer, Todd M. Jensen, Erin K. Holmes
Faculty Publications
Several decades of research have shown that parental divorce can be a stressful experience for children and may lead to depression and other negative outcomes. Similarly, research has highlighted the stressors often induced by stepfamily formation and their effects on children. Although singular family transitions can exert influence, few studies explore how the combined stress from two family transitions may interact to influence long-term outcomes. Our study addresses this gap by using national data from 1142 respondents who experienced parental divorce and a subsequent transition to stepfamily life. Congruent with prior research, we find that retrospective reports of divorce and …
Revisiting Financial Issues And Marriage, Jeffrey P. Dew
Revisiting Financial Issues And Marriage, Jeffrey P. Dew
Faculty Publications
This chapter examines research pertaining to the association between financial issues and marriage. The majority of the research reviewed was published after 2008. These studies show that financial issues relate to marriage formation, marital quality, and marital stability (i.e., divorce). Specifically, financial stability is associated with a greater likelihood of marriage. Further, behaviors that financial practitioners would label “sound financial management” are positively associated with marital quality and stability. For example, longitudinal studies found that consumer debt was positively associated with divorce whereas financial assets were negatively associated with divorce. Studies have also found that financial arguments create worse relationship …
Variation In Marital Quality In A National Sample Of Divorced Women, Spencer L. James
Variation In Marital Quality In A National Sample Of Divorced Women, Spencer L. James
Faculty Publications
Previous work has compared marital quality between stably married and divorced individuals. Less work has examined the possibility of variation among divorcés in trajectories of marital quality as divorce approaches. This study addressed that hole by first examining whether distinct trajectories of marital quality can be discerned among women whose marriages ended in divorce and, second, the profile of women who experienced each trajectory. Latent class growth analyses with longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample were used to “look backward” from the time of divorce. Although demographic and socioeconomic variables from this national sample did not predict the trajectories …
Wedding Album: An Antiheterosexist Performance Text, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.
Wedding Album: An Antiheterosexist Performance Text, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.
Faculty Publications
Historical and personal snapshots of weddings become poetic stanzas that advocate for marriage equality and for a social safety net strong enough to protect the human rights and meet the human needs of everyone, regardless of relational—or any other—status
The Association Between Consumer Debt And The Likelihood Of Divorce, Jeffrey P. Dew
The Association Between Consumer Debt And The Likelihood Of Divorce, Jeffrey P. Dew
Faculty Publications
As part of the Center for Financial Security’s 2010 symposium, this study examined the association between consumer debt and divorce. Longitudinal data from the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 4,574 couples) indicated that consumer debt was positively associated with divorce. Financial conflict completely mediated this association for both husbands and wives and marital satisfaction also completely mediated the association for wives. These findings suggest that when families take financial steps to secure their financial stability they may also be taking steps to secure their relationship stability.
Is Love A Flimsy Foundation? Soulmate Versus Institutional Models Of Marriage, W. Bradford Wilcox, Jeffrey P. Dew
Is Love A Flimsy Foundation? Soulmate Versus Institutional Models Of Marriage, W. Bradford Wilcox, Jeffrey P. Dew
Faculty Publications
Steven Nock argued that love—understood narrowly in terms of emotional and sexual intimacy—was a flimsy foundation for relationships and that the institution of marriage provided a firmer footing for stable, high-quality relationships than love alone. Relying on data from the Marriage Matters Survey of 1414 married men and women in Louisiana (1998–2004), we extended Nock’s insights to consider whether contemporary marriages organized along institutional lines enjoyed more stability, satisfaction, and less conflict than marriages organized around a soulmate model. Largely consistent with Nock’s perspective, we found that individuals who embraced norms of marital permanency and gender specialization and were embedded …
The Gendered Meanings Of Assets For Divorce, Jeffrey P. Dew
The Gendered Meanings Of Assets For Divorce, Jeffrey P. Dew
Faculty Publications
Scholars identified a negative relationship between assets and divorce decades ago, but the mechanisms behind this relationship remain unknown. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 4,721 couples), this study compared three mechanisms that might link assets and divorce. Non-proportional Cox hazard models indicated that two of the three mechanisms explained the relationship between assets and divorce. Wives’ marital satisfaction and their perceptions of their hypothetical post-divorce standard of living completely mediated the relationship between assets and divorce. The relationship between assets and divorce was not related to husbands’ characteristics.
Will Legislation To Encourage Premarital Education Strengthen Marriage And Reduce Divorce?, Alan J. Hawkins
Will Legislation To Encourage Premarital Education Strengthen Marriage And Reduce Divorce?, Alan J. Hawkins
Faculty Publications
Many legislators are wondering whether there is a constructive role that government can play to strengthen marriages and reduce divorces. A handful of states have passed legislation providing incentives for couples to participate in formal premarital education. The purpose of this article is to examine the research that can help answer the question whether legislation to promote premarital education can strengthen marriages and reduce the divorce rate. Of course, there are numerous legal and policy issues related to marriage and divorce being discussed these days. The focus of this article however, is only on one. In the end, I conclude …
A Home Of Her Own: (Writing) A Family Story Of Separation And Second Chances, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.
A Home Of Her Own: (Writing) A Family Story Of Separation And Second Chances, Lisa M. Tillmann Ph.D.
Faculty Publications
On March 16, 1996, I interviewed my mother, Beth Tillmann, about her parents' divorce and her life as a foster child. From detailed notes taken during our phone conversation and from family stories told to me throughout my life, I constructed a narrative titled "A Home of Her Own." Its structure and tone mimic the way my mother speaks about the dissolution of her family of origin and her attachments to and separations from those who tried to help her rebuild a sense of home. After the story, I discuss what narrative representations of loss offer the writer, the participant, …