Chapter 9 Flashcards
1
Q
Divorce historically
A
- Not a new concept, started over 3000 years ago
- Historically, divorces were rare and were granted only to men
- Only 5 divorce acts were passed in Canada prior to confederation in 1867
- Until 1968 the only common grounds for a divorce were adultery or seven years of desertion -> person would have to petition the government for an Act of Divorce placing it publicly in the Canada Gazette as well as two local newspapers. This remained in the paper for a 6-month period
- Only eleven divorces registered in 1900 in Canada
2
Q
Divorce Act of 1968
A
- Granted divorce for couples who had experienced marital breakdown and been separated for 3 years
- The number of divorces between 1968 and 1970 almost doubled
3
Q
Divorce Act of 1985
A
- Reduced waiting period from 3 years to 1
- In theory you can get divorced in 60 days, but it usually takes much longer
4
Q
What has made divorce normative?
A
- Social changes over the past 100 years, like…
- Secularization and modernization
- Increased rate of women in paid workforce reduce their economic dependency
5
Q
What’s causing divorce?
A
- Macrostructural influences
- Life course and demographics
- Family processes
6
Q
Macrostructural influences
A
- Legislative changes – no-fault divorce laws
- Decreasing importance of family
- Women’s increased labour force participation
7
Q
Life course and demographics
A
- More complex family forms and secondary marriages at greater risk
- Cohabitation, premarital pregnancy, age at marriage (strongest predictor)
- Having a child reduces likelihood of divorce (especially if the child was a son rather than a daughter)
8
Q
Family processes
A
- Rational choice/exchange theory approach: couples with high cost of divorce (because of kids) with low alternatives (because of age or employment) are less likely to divorce
- More family income = less divorce; more female employment = more divorce
- Parental divorce
9
Q
risk factors for divorce
A
- Race (different races have different cultural expectations for marriage, family forms, etc.)
- Age at marriage (people under 21 have higher risk factors because there’s a huge shift between 18-24 -> you grow as a person, want different things, etc.)
- Education (the more education you have, the less risk -> if you have a degree, you’ll likely be marrying older, have higher SES, are exposed to more diversity, have better critical thinking skills, etc.)
- Premarital births and conception (having a baby accidentally and then deciding to get married = higher risk)
- Religion and parental divorce (religious people less likely to divorce; people with divorced parents higher risk)
10
Q
Amato discovered higher risk for
A
- Marrying before age 20
- Low SES
- Periods of unemployment
- Cohabitation
- Premarital birth
- Stepchildren
- Interracial marriage
- Second and higher order marriages
11
Q
DVFM (divorce variation and fluidity model)
A
- describes diversity of pathways in and out of divorce
- states that factors like gender, race, cultural values, economic conditions, and the socio-cultural and legal contexts are all part of the ecosystem people face during divorce, with risk factors and protective factors influencing the adjustment of those affected
12
Q
effects of divorce on children
A
- Children of divorced parents scored lower on social, emotional, health, and academic outcome measures when compared to children of continuously married parents
- adolescents of divorced parents report double the level of distress when compared to adolescents of intact and non-distressed parents
- Early parental divorce has more negative effects on kids’ behaviour than parents who divorce later on in life, but later divorces have more negative effects on kids’ academic performance
13
Q
effects of divorce on adult children
A
- Adult children of divorced parents are more likely to:
- Attain less education
- Have lower psychological wellbeing
- Are more likely to have troubles in their own marriages
- Are at greater risk of divorcing
14
Q
effects of divorce on the individuals
A
- when compared to married people, divorced people exhibit…
- More symptoms of depression and anxiety
- More health problems
- More substance use (as a coping mechanism)
- Greater risk of death (increase in risky behaviour)
15
Q
protective factors against negative effects
A
- Children show little negative affect and may even show improvement if divorce ends a high conflict marriage
- Quality of pre- and post-divorce parental relationship is most important factor in mediating long-term affects of divorce on kids and teens
- Stability for children has been shown to mitigate negative child outcomes (divorce involves a series of transitions, but goal is to minimize transitions for the child in order to have best outcomes)
