Reactions and Adjustments to Divorce: Differences in the Experiences of Males and Females

Abstract

Divorce rates in the United States have increased significantly in recent years and the trend shows no tendency toward reversal. Consequently an increasing number of persons is going to confront the problems associated with adjusting to the termination of a marriage. Past research on divorce adjustment has concentrated primarily on female subjects. In this analysis the divorce experiences of males are compared with those of females for a sample of 500 ever-divorced persons from eight Rocky Mountain states. Contrary to some early suggestions the experiences of males and females are quite different particularly in such areas as stress associated with the divorce property settlements changes in social participation and effects on income. (authors)