Despite the increase in divorces after a long relationship, this trend remains a neglected research topic. The present contribution seeks to identify patterns of psychological adaptation to divorce after a long-term marriage. Data from a questionnaire study with 308 persons aged 45–65 years, who divorced after having been married for an average of 25 years, are presented. Exploratory latent profile analysis with various well-being outcomes revealed five groups: one with average adapted, one with resilients, and three small groups with seriously affected individuals. Discriminant variables between the groups were personality, time since separation, a new relationship, and financial situation. Age, gender, and length of marriage played a marginal role; satisfaction with the former marriage and initiator status were not relevant.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0265407514533769

Patterns of psychological adaptation to divorce after a long-term marriage

Patterns of psychological adaptation to divorce

This study assessed the key aspects of romantic relationship dissolution in emerging adulthood as predictors of future mental health and romantic qualities. It utilized a longitudinal, multiinformant, multimethod study of 160 participants with their romantic partners and close friends followed from ages 20-25, with a breakup assessed at age 22. Having control over initiating a breakup at age 22 predicted relative increases in peer-rated internalizing symptoms and autonomy-undermining interactions with a new partner at ages 23-25. Having a greater understanding of the reasons for a breakup predicted lower self-reported internalizing symptoms and relative decreases in partner-reported romantic conflict as well as relative increases in self-reported relationship satisfaction and peer-rated intimate relationship competence at ages 23-25. Predictions remained after accounting for numerous potential confounds including age 20-22 baseline relationship quality, social competence, internalizing symptoms, and gender. Implications for understanding links between breakup characteristics on emerging adult psychological and relationship functioning are discussed.

/pdf/making-sense-and-moving-on-the-potential-for-individual-and-2is71nim5d.pdf

Making Sense and Moving On: The Potential for Individual and Interpersonal Growth Following Emerging Adult Breakups.

Life course research has been developing quickly these last decades for good reasons. Life course approaches focus on essential questions about individuals’ trajectories, longitudinal analyses, cross-fertilization across disciplines like life-span psychology, developmental social psychology, sociology of the life course, social demography, socio-economics, social history. Life course is also at the crossroads of several fields of specialization like family and social relationships, migration, education, professional training and employment, and health. This Series invites academic scholars to present theoretical, methodological, and empirical advances in the analysis of the life course, and to elaborate on possible implications for society and social policies applications. Topics appropriate for the series include among others: Longitudinal analyses and methods Educational and employment trajectories Occupational careers Migration Social networks and family configurations Health trajectories Non-normative events Social and individual vulnerabilities Stress over the life course Resources Accumulation of (dis) advantages and social inequalities Social mobility Personality and identity development Agency within social structures Work-family balance Social policies Volumes in this series are of interest for researchers, professionals, policy makers, and students in social sciences and related fields. Ideas and proposals for additional contributions to the Series should be sent to Laura Bernardi, Jean-Michel Bonvin, and Dario Spini, Series Editors,, Switzerland. E-mail: laura.bernardi@unil.ch. or to the publisher: Evelien Bakker, Springer Science+Business Media, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands. Email: Evelien.Bakker@springer.com

/pdf/surveying-human-vulnerabilities-across-the-life-course-5ajf1b9c6t.pdf

Surveying Human Vulnerabilities across the Life Course

Adjusting to divorce can be a painful process to endure. Fortunately, research is available to help understand what factors contribute to a healthier recovery for both men and women. Similar to an earlier study (Steiner, Suarez, Sells, & Wykes, 2011) conducted only on women, this study focuses on the effect of infidelity, initiator status, and spiritual well-being on men’s divorce adjustment. One hundred and three divorced men in the United States were surveyed using the Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and a participant questionnaire. Results indicate that spiritual well-being can predict 21% of the divorce adjustment in men. Recommendations for researchers and implications for clinicians are discussed.

Effect of Infidelity, Initiator Status, and Spiritual Well-Being on Men’s Divorce Adjustment

People usually experience a great deal of emotional pain when a romantic relationship ends. It is not uncommon for people to refer to 'scars' when discussing a breakup, as if the experience was so painful, and the healing process so difficult, that it left a lasting mark just as a physical injury does. Of course, some breakups are more painful than others. Occasionally, breakup from a romantic relationship causes no lasting heartache, and recovery is reported to be relatively painless and easy. Many factors likely influence the extent to which people suffer after a breakup, and researchers have uncovered a number of them. Much of the research on recovering from a breakup has focused on recovery after a divorce. Wang and Amato (2000), for example, found that adjusting to divorce was associated with being the person who initiated the divorce, having a favorable attitude toward divorce beforehand, having a higher income, and dating a new person steadily or remarrying. Interestingly, stress (as measured by income decline, loss of friends, moving, etc.) did not make adjusting to divorce more difficult, except among people who were unemployed. Kitson (1982) found that lingering feelings of emotional attachment to the ex-spouse is another powerful cause of distress during and after divorce, with gender differences apparent at different stages. Women experience more distress during the initial separation, but men experience more distress from the divorce itself (Riessman & Gerstel, 1985). Women and men also have different coping styles when it comes to recovering. Women are more likely to discuss problems and emotions with close friends, while men tend to avoid such discussions and instead focus on beginning another relationship (Sorenson, Russell, Harkness, & Harvey, 1993). Other research has examined emotional recovery from romantic relationship breakups between people who were not married. A great deal of this research has focused on attachment style as a moderator of the impact of a breakup (e.g., Davis, Shaver, & Vernon, 2003; Feeney, & Noller, 1992; Pistole, 1995). Davis et al. (2003), for example, found that people with an anxious attachment style have the most difficulty dealing with a breakup, and people with a secure attachment style are more likely to seek social support to cope with loss. Sbarra (2006) examined factors that predicted how quickly people recovered from their sadness and anger after a breakup. Emotional recovery was defined as a point in time when the individual felt as good (for three successive days without relapse) as a comparison group of participants in an intact relationship. Results of the study revealed that sadness recovery was hindered by a preoccupied attachment style, difficulty in accepting that the relationship was over, a high level of love for the partner, and a high level of anger toward the partner. Anger recovery was hindered by a non-secure attachment style and feelings of sadness. Given the broad range of situational factors that could influence how rapidly a person recovers from a breakup, it is useful to begin to further identify which factors are most influential and whether they account for unique variance when multiple factors are considered simultaneously. Our focus was basic situational or behavioral factors that concerned the romantic relationship itself, rather than personality variables or general attitudes about relationships. As our interest is primarily in a person's self reported perception of recovery, we examined variables that may be related to positive or negative cognitions or behaviors concerning a breakup. Our choice of predictors was guided both by prior research that has provided evidence that a given variable is related to recovery from a breakup (including those related to recovery from divorce) or situational factors that co-occur with a breakup that have not yet been fully investigated but could reasonably be expected to have some influence. …

The Breakup of Romantic Relationships: Situational Predictors of Perception of Recovery

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The Breakup of Romantic Relationships: Situational Predictors of Perception of Recovery