A Longitudinal Examination of the Separation/Divorce Process

Abstract

This research employs a longitudinal design to re-examine the linkage between psychological well-being and marital status. Results indicate that positing a causal relationship between psychological measures and marital status may be an oversimplification. When male respondents were followed through the separation/divorce process, it was found that their attitudes did not change substantially. Their well-being scores before, during, and after separation/divorce were, however, consistently lower than those of the stably married control group. This relationship was independent of whether the respondents were experiencing afirst, second, or subsequent marriage or separation/divorce. These results suggest that there needs to be further investigation into the possibility that separation/divorce is more likely to occur to men with low psychological well-being attitudes. Researchers cannot simply assume that the lower well-being scores of the separated/divorced are totally due to the separation/divorce process or the separated/divorced marital status.