Medium-term Consequences Research Articles

Soil Microbial Biomass and Microarthropod Community Responses to Conventional and Biodegradable Plastics

Plastic mulch is a commonly employed technique in agriculture to enhance crop production. Given the persistence of plastic residues in soil, bioplastics offer a potential alternative. Unfortunately, little is known about the medium-term consequences of both plastic and bioplastic mulches on soil properties. This study aimed to assess the medium-term consequences of plastic and bioplastic mulches and their replacement on soil properties. To this aim, the impact of conventional plastic (polyethylene, CP) and biodegradable plastic (BP) mulches on soil’s abiotic (pH, water content, total and organic carbon and total nitrogen contents) and biotic (microbial biomass, microbial respiration, enzymatic activities and microarthropod communities) properties after 2 years of exposure (T1) and after 3 (T2) and 6 (T3) months of mulch replacement was investigated. Moreover, uncovered soils were assessed as a control. The results highlighted that the samples were more significantly impacted by exposure time to mulches than by the different kinds of mulches. The replacement of both mulches (T2 and T3) decreased the content of C and increased the microbial biomass and activities; moreover, the mulch replacement changed the microarthropod community composition with a decrease of Collembola and an increase of Oribatida and Gamasida, especially in soils covered by biodegradable plastic mulches. Further investigations are needed to better understand the long-term impact of mulches on soil biota in order to prove the potential ecological implications of transitioning to sustainable alternatives.

Utilization of an Automatic Tool for Building Material Selection by Integrating Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment in the Early Design Stages in BIM

Recent international scientific studies have described the current situation regarding CO2 emissions and have provided evidence of its catastrophic short- and medium-term consequences. The implementation of solutions of a more sustainable nature to reduce and mitigate this situation is becoming increasingly urgent. To this end, the integration of multi-dimension and life cycle assessment into the design process of buildings can help and support decision making. Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) is one of the scientific community’s most widely recognized methodologies for this purpose, combining the evaluation of the social, economic, and social dimensions (Triple Bottom Line). One of the main obstacles to implementing this methodology lies in the difficulties in automatically comparing alternative design options for the selection of different materials. To overcome this limitation, the authors developed the BIM3LCA (Building Information Modelling Three Life Cycle Assessment) tool conceived to guide the decision-making process during the early design steps. This study introduces a Building Information Modelling (BIM) plug-in development and validates its application in a case study to support the multi-criteria building material selection based on the LCSA implementation at the early design stage. Three building material alternatives for the structural system of a multi-family residential building are employed to validate this plug-in. The results show the viability of using this tool during the early design stages and demonstrates the consistency of the results regarding the use of the BIM model to conduct the LCSA. The study discusses the benefits and limitations of the BIM3LCA tool. This research contributes towards the integration of multi-dimension real-time assessment in the building design process by using semantically rich BIM models.

Impact of Employment De-Standardisation on its Quality: Reflections on Academic Discussion at the VI St. Petersburg International Labour Forum

The transformation of traditional models and forms of employment raises questions both about the impact of such processes on the quality of employment and about the mainstreaming of these issues into contemporary academic discourse. The purpose of the article is to analyze and assess the impact of de-standardisation of employment on its quality based on the materials - digests of participants' presentations - of the academic discussion held as part of the VI St. Petersburg International Labour Forum in March 2022. During the discussion, employment quality was at the intersection of approaches and principles shaping it (decent work, work-life balance); megatrends ((anti)globalisation of economy, digitalisation, population ageing); macro development conditions (quality of growth, quality of life of population); short- and medium-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic; initial labour market response to geopolitical tensions, significantly increased in 2022; and employment precarisation. The variety of angles in this discussion enabled the authors to form a general idea of the current debate on the quality of employment and its perspectives. Objective of the article is employment quality. Subject is employment de-standardization, understood as a shift of employment from the model of direct relations between the employee and the employer on the terms of a standard employment contract with appropriate rights and guarantees. The first result of the article is that it captures the most prominent issues of the recent academic debate on employment quality. The second result is the conclusion about the fragmented theoretical concepts of employment quality in Russia, limiting their application in public policies. The third resultis recommendations on the content of systemic approaches to measuring employment quality to assess its impact on living standards and include in the system of macroeconomic development indicators.

Medium-term consequences (5 years) of the Covid-19 crisis on work organization and occupational risks: a prospective study

The health crisis linked to Covid-19 has had the effect of strongly increasing the activity of certain trades or, on the contrary, decreasing it to the point of stopping. It has also disrupted the organization of work in companies: remote work, physical distancing, etc. The question that now arises is to know the sustainability of these developments, their influence on working conditions, and the associated occupational risks. To do this, a prospective study was conducted involving the reference body for occupational risk prevention in France (INRS), a prospective think tank (Futuribles), representatives of a dozen French companies, and a number of experts on these issues.

Radiation environmental situation in Japan, 10 years after the accident at the nuclear power plant "Fukushima-1"

This paper reports the results of environmental studies conducted in May‒June 2021 in 16 prefectures of Japan, over which radioactive clouds spread as a result of the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in March 2011, namely: Aomori, Miyagi, Fukushima, Niigata, Ishikawa, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Okayama, Tottore, Shimane, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, and Ehime. Some effects of the impact of accidental emissions of BWR-3 and BWR-4 reactors on the environment in the settlements neighboring the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant were summed up. The methods of conducting research are described, starting with a sampling of environmental objects in the above prefectures (atmospheric air, soil, vegetation, agricultural products, sea and ocean water, and aquatic fauna) and sample preparation up to measurements and data processing to obtain results and their subsequent analysis. A comparison of the results of research with the volumes of emissions of radioactive substances due to the normal operation of various objects for the use of atomic energy was carried out. Conclusions are drawn about the medium-term (after 10 years) consequences of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. The maximum background radiation equal to 2 µmSv/h observed at point No. 83, 20 km from the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, will not lead to irradiation of a person with doses exceeding the permissible limits if the time of his stay at the reference point is limited to 1.36 hours per day. The concentration of cesium-137 in the water of Japanese waters does not exceed the level of the radiation factor, upon reaching which protective intervention is necessary. The maximum specific activity of cesium-137, detected in soil and vegetation samples near the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, does not exceed the maximum specific activity (MZUA). In Japan as a whole, the specific activity of radionuclides in soils used for agricultural production and livestock grazing does not exceed the levels of global pollution.

The medium-term consequences of a COVID-19 lockdown on lifestyle among Spanish older people with hypertension, pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disease, depression, and cancer.

This study investigated the associations of chronic diseases with changes in lifestyle and health behaviours in older people following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown in Spain and compared the differences in changes over time. 1,092 participants (80.3±5.6 years; 66.5% female) from 2 Spanish cohorts were included. Telephone-based questionnaires were conducted to evaluate lifestyle and health risk behaviours at the end of lockdown and 7 months post-lockdown. Participants were classified as having physician-diagnosed chronic diseases based on self-reported data. Cox proportional models adjusted for major confounders were used. Compared to those without the corresponding chronic diseases, older people with hypertension were less likely to report increased alcohol consumption (hazard ratio [HR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55 to 0.99). Pulmonary diseases were associated with lower risks of increased sedentary time (HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.39 to 0.86) and worsened sleep quality (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.87), while cardiovascular diseases were associated with a lower risk of decreased sedentary time (HR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.88). Depression was linked to a higher likelihood of improved diet quality (HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.00 to 2.36). Cancer pacients were less likely to have worsened sleep quality (HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.22 to 0.89) but more likely to have reduced their frequency of social contact (HR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.05 to 3.99). Older people with chronic diseases showed beneficial changes in lifestyle and health risk behaviours after the COVID-19 lockdown. In particular, older people with hypertension, pulmonary disease, and cancer tended to make beneficial lifestyle and health behaviour changes. However, older people with cardiovascular disease and depression engaged in more health risk behaviours.

ТЕНДЕНЦИИ И РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ ВНЕШНЕЙ ТОРГОВЛИ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ ЗА ПЕРИОД 2013–2020 гг.

The article analyzes the consequences of sanctions and counter-sanctions interaction between partner countries and Russia. The author proposes a methodology for analyzing the trends and results of Russia's foreign trade for the period of 2014–2020. Special attention is paid to the analysis of export and import dynamics of Russia, structural changes in 2014–2020 in the ratio of commodity positions, as per which Russia is the leading country in the world, and the susceptibility of countries to the action of economic sanctions is analyzed. Using the indicators of the dynamics and structure of export and import, external turnover with partner countries in foreign trade, has allowed to analyze the level of susceptibility of countries and their reaction to shocks (2014–2020 sanctions / counter-sanctions), comprehensively present the short and medium-term (7-year period) consequences for the economy and foreign trade of Russia. Based on the results obtained in the process of the research focused on assessing the bilateral impact of the sanctions policy of Western countries, the author has systematized trends of the impact on the economy of Russia. Special attention in the article is paid to changes in the structure of export and import, which by the results of the analysis allows to form directions for the public authorities and business structures that are focused on the development of the domestic market, import substitution and stimulation of consumer and investment demand in Russia.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on acute appendicitis in children

Background and objectivesSince the COVID-19 pandemic confinement was established in Spain on March 9, 2020, the number of visits to the pediatric Emergency Department (ED) has decreased dramatically, probably due to the fear of parents becoming infected in the hospital environment. The aim of this work was to analyze the medium-term consequences during the first 9 months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in children with acute appendicitis (AA). Material and methodsA retrospective study was performed on children operated on for AA in our institution between 2017 and 2020, who were distributed in two groups according to the date of surgery: COVID-19 group (after March 9, 2020) and control group (before March 9, 2020). Demographic variables, associated symptoms, time from symptoms onset, hospital stay, rate of complicated AA and postoperative complications were analyzed. ResultsA total of 1274 patients were included (288 COVID group; 986 control group), without demographic differences. Time from symptom onset was significantly longer in COVID-19 group (34.5 vs. 24.2h; p=0.021), although no differences in associated symptoms were observed between both groups. COVID-19 group presented a higher rate of complicated AA (20.1% vs. 14%; OR: 1.55; CI 95% [1.10–2.18]; p=0.008), a longer hospital stay (3.5 vs. 2.8 days; p=0.042) as well as a higher rate of postoperative complications (21.5% vs. 15.7%; OR: 1.47; CI 95% [(1.06–2.04)]; p=0.008). ConclusionIn our experience there was a negative medium-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with acute appendicitis: delayed ED visits, increased rate of complicated AA, increased hospital stay and increased postoperative complications.

Depression and loneliness of older adults in Europe and Israel after the first wave of covid-19

Epidemic control measures that aim to introduce social distancing help to decelerate the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their consequences in terms of mental well-being might be negative, especially for older adults. While existing studies mainly focus on the time during the first lockdown, we look at the weeks afterward in order to measure the medium-term consequences of the first wave of the pandemic. Using data from the SHARE Corona Survey, we include retired respondents aged 60 and above from 25 European countries plus Israel. Combining SHARE data with macro-data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker allows us to include macro-indicators at the country level, namely the number of deaths per 100,000 and the number of days with stringent epidemic control measures, in addition to individual characteristics. The findings show that both macro-indicators are influential for increased feelings of sadness/depression, but that individual factors are crucial for explaining increased feelings of loneliness in the time after the first lockdown. Models with interaction terms reveal that the included macro-indicators have negative well-being consequences, particularly for the oldest survey participants. Additionally, the results reveal that especially those living alone had a higher risk for increased loneliness in the time after the first COVID-19 wave.

New challenges for the defense industrial enterprises of Ukraine in the conditions of the global pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic has made significant corrections to international trade in many countries around the world. The article is devoted to topical issues of identifying new challenges that have arisen at entities of the defense industry of Ukraine in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Comparative analysis of forced changes in defense budgets of different countries and statistical analysis of industries that are connected by supply chains with enterprises of the defense industry of Ukraine, which suffer from the introduction of quarantine restrictive measures, proves restrictions on interstate trade, disruption of domestic and global supply chains and significant losses in the economy. This situation may have medium-term consequences for the country's defense budget, and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine will be forced to apply optimization plans for effective measures of such a scale as modern sequestration. India, Thailand, and South Korea are identified as the most risk-sensitive counterparties of Ukrainian defense exporters due to the reorientation of finances to the priority segment of medicine to eliminate the consequences of the pandemic. To minimize the risk of non-performance of contractual obligations, it is recommended to review the basic terms of supply of goods under the contracts with risk-sensitive counterparties and make adjustments to force majeure clauses in regard to epidemics, as well as possible revise the contract's payment terms.

Main Challenges and Prospects for the European Banking Sector: A Critical Review of the Ongoing Debate

This paper discusses the competing forces that are reshaping the European banking industry and the medium-term consequences for profitability and competition within the sector. The paper highlights that banks are rethinking their business model to address four challenges to emerge in the last decade: low interest rates, tighter regulation, technological innovation, and increasing competition from non-bank intermediaries. The shock generated by the Covid-19 pandemic adds to those developments and has the potential to accelerate them. Our analysis suggests that in order to successfully compete in the medium term banks will likely have to exploit the benefits of digitization, mainly deriving from the reduction in operating costs and the increase in the scale of production. Accommodating the surging demand for green finance is also likely to represent an important source of profits, resulting from the growth of the green market and the development of new specialized products and advisory services. Success in these strategies will presumably require a significant reorganization of banks’ activities to leverage on economies of scale and scope.

A tactical demand-supply planning framework to manage complexity in engineer-to-order environments: insights from an in-depth case study

The challenging demand-supply balancing in engineer-to-order (ETO) environments is often attributed to complexity. This study expands the understanding of managing complexity to obtain demand-supply balancing, focussing on the tactical planning logic of the order fulfilment process. An in-depth single case study was conducted and data describing the order fulfilment process at a construction company were collected and analysed. Findings suggest a tactical-level planning process framework, incorporating nine key decisions and three crucial activities, and their potential complexity-reducing and complexity-absorbing impact. The study contributes to the theoretical discussion of complexity in management practices, linking demand-supply balancing as a performance measure. The findings guide practitioners in ETO settings on anticipating potential medium-term consequences of key decisions on capacity. This emphasises the need of proper IT support to apply knowledge generated from previous projects and conduct comprehensive and robust scenario-based analyses.

Complicações neurológicas em pacientes infectados por coronavírus

Os coronavírus, um gênero da Família Coronaviridae, são conhecidos por serem vírus envelopados com genoma de RNA grande de cadeia positiva. Entre as principais vias de transmissão do coronavírus estão: a direta, por meio de tosse, espirro e perdigotos e transmissão por contato com mucosa oral, nasal e dos olhos. Apesar de que a presença de sintomas neurológicos nos primeiros pacientes infectados pelo COVID-19 tenha sido de baixa escala, nos últimos dias, os relatos de casos neurológicos estão mais frequentes, além daqueles sobre consequências da pandemia a médio e longo prazo no Sistema Nervoso Central (SNC) e/ou dos impactos sobre as doenças neurológicas. Com isso, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo descrever as complicações neurológicas em pacientes infectados pelo novo coronavírus. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa da literatura, de caráter exploratório, com abordagem qualitativa. Para a realização desse estudo foram consultadas as bases de dados: MEDLINE, Google Acadêmico e SCIELO. Utilizou-se os descritores de forma associada: Complicações Neurológicas, Neurologia, COVID-19 e Infecções por Coronavírus. Considerou-se, inicialmente, artigos que abordassem a temática proposta. Para compor a fundamentação da discussão deste estudo, foram recuperados pelas estratégias de busca um total de 9 artigos, que foram analisados e discutidos integralmente. Os sintomas neurológicos foram enquadrados em três categorias: sintomas ou doenças do Sistema Nervoso Central, como dor de cabeça, tontura, prejuízo da consciência, ataxia, doença cerebrovascular aguda e epilepsia, sintomas do Sistema Nervoso Periférico, como hipogeusia, hiposmia, hipopsia e neuralgia, e sintomas musculoesqueléticos.

‘There is new wording, but there is no real change in what we deliver’: Implementing the new National Curriculum for Physical Education in England

This paper focuses on how physical education (PE) teachers interpreted and implemented a new, minimalist and traditionalist National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) in England. Utilising a single-method, cross-sectional design, 43 teachers participated in semi-structured interviews which explored their approach to teaching the new curriculum. Constant Comparative method was used to develop significant themes through the data analysis process. The findings demonstrated that the minimalist nature of the curriculum document provided teachers with limited guidance for teaching and assessment, but was seen as liberating by some. The removal of specific assessment guidance offered curricular freedom, but opportunities for implementing innovative assessment approaches were not seized. The competitive curricular messages were noted, but teachers did not perceive a need for action because of these. The paper concludes that it is unlikely that the latest curriculum reform will have much impact on the current teaching of PE in England, with curricular stasis and divergence of practice being the most likely medium-term consequences.

Covid-19 and Post Intensive Care Syndrome: A Call for Action.

Although we are currently overwhelmed by the astonishing speed of infection of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the daily onslaught of new, and ever-worsening predictions, it is vital that we begin to prepare for the aftershocks of the pandemic. Prominent among this will be the cohort of post-intensive case survivors who have been mechanically ventilated and will like experience short- and medium-term consequences. The notion that patients surviving intensive care and mechanical ventilation for several weeks can be discharged home without further medical attention is a dangerous illusion. Post Intensive Care Syndrome and other severe conditions will require not only adequate screening but early rehabilitation and other interventions. Action must be taken now to prepare for this inevitable aftershock to the healthcare system.

КОМПАНИИ НЕФТЯНОГО СЕКТОРА В ПЕРИОД НЕФТЯНОГО КРИЗИСА – 2020

In order to prevent the consequences of the pandemic, governments were forced to take radical measures that restrict the mobility of the population, which had a negative impact on the oil market, which is based on the transport sector. The article discusses how such market fluctuations affect the market environment and the behavior of companies. Reductions in revenues and profits caused by falling demand and oil prices, forced companies to resort to cost optimization, including staff cuts and budget cuts in investment programs. The article shows how changes in the behavior of stakeholders represented by the state, investment banks, and civil society affect the activities of oil companies during the pandemic. It describes the impact of short- and medium-term consequences of the pandemic on long-term trends in the energy sector. The Russian Government faces a difficult task of combining two characteristics in the oil industry: an industry that can pull the entire economy out through its growth due to a multiplicative effect in the face of global environmental challenges, and an industry that is the main source of income that determines the country's financial condition. While the renewable energy sector is making a breakthrough in its development, the oil industry is forced to reduce investment in conditions of resource scarcity. If before the crisis, the profitability of the oil business could provide oil companies with investment resources for new projects, the pandemic shock and difficulties in overcoming it forced oil companies to reconsider their investment plans for an indefinite period. Despite the fact that it is not possible to predict the final consequences of the crisis, many industry giants have already announced a revision of their strategies in accordance with the growing trends for greening.

Do changes in divorce legislation have an impact on divorce rates? The case of unilateral divorce in Mexico

In 2008, Mexico City was the first entity to approve unilateral divorce in Mexico. Since then, 17 states out of 31 have also moved to eliminate fault-based divorce. In this paper, I investigate the effect of the changes in unilateral legislation on divorce rates in Mexico, given the remarkable growth of divorce rates over the past few decades in the country, but especially after the introduction of unilateral divorce. Following a difference-in-differences methodology, two models are developed using panel state-level data. The results indicate that divorce on no grounds accounts for a 26.4% increase in the total number of divorces in the adopting states during the period 2009–2015. Moreover, since no-fault divorce has been implemented gradually in the country, the rising trend in divorce rates is expected to continue over the coming years. Unilateral legislation has proved to be an effective tool in modifying family structures in Mexico, so it is important to be aware of the short- and medium-term consequences of the shift toward divorce on no grounds, in order to improve the delivery of these policies in the country. This is especially important at this point in time, when 14 remaining states may potentially adopt unilateral legislation. This paper is the first one to address the effect of adopting unilateral divorce in the context of a Latin American country.

Grave Consequences of Lack of Strategic Plan at the Highest Level of Government: S.P. as a Defense Against the Malice of Short-Sighted and Self-Serving Leaders

This paper explores the implications of strategic Planning at the macro level by the US government in order to archive strategic long-term goals. While in the present tumultuous global environment, political, economical, social, and security areas that make planning more formidable and challenging and call for some kind of “built-in flexibility” in the plan as well as continuous environmental scanning using the state of the art technology, the need for strategic plan is felt more than ever at the highest level of government. In the absence of such plan, the bulk of government efforts will be focused on dealing with existing problems and finding short-term solutions that while necessary, prevent from having a more in-depth long-term perspective on strategic issues confronting the country causing problems that if not resolved, will jeopardize the country and the world in the future. Such short-term perspective will also encourage short-sighted leaders to sacrifice long-term essential goals at the expense of short-term achievements that attract less informed voters helping them to stay in office and satisfy their own whims and egos. This paper will look at the grave consequences of lacking the strategic plan at the highest level of government, i.e. the chief executive office (the presidential office) for achieving long-term strategic goals without interference by wishy-washy leaders holding high offices for short period of times that otherwise, may create damages that are not either repairable or hard and costly to correct, thus derailing the society from a sound and systematic pathway of progress. Example of strategic issues like ignoring long and even medium term consequences of environmental changes, economic and trade relationship with other countries that due to globalization demands an integrated network, ignoring international accords that lead to cooperation, collaboration among nations are addressed including a model for an effective and well designed strategic plan (SP) needs to be put in place using the state or art SP technologies that include a modified and expanded version of Balanced Score Card (BSC) within a systems framework.

A stochastic dynamic model of a dairy farm to evaluate the technical and economic performance under different scenarios

Dairy farms need to improve their competitiveness through decisions that are often difficult to evaluate because they are highly dependent on many economic and technical factors. The objective of this project was to develop a stochastic and dynamic mathematical model to simulate the functioning of a dairy farm to evaluate the effect of changes in technical or economic factors on performance and profitability. Submodels were developed for reproduction, feeding, diseases, heifers, environmental factors, facilities, management, and economics. All these submodels were simulated on an animal-by-animal and day-by-day basis. Default values for all variables are provided, but the user can change them. The outcome provides a list of technical and economic indicators essential for the decision-making process. Performance of the program was verified by evaluating the effects and sensitivity analysis of different scenarios in 20 different dairy farms. As an example, a case study of a dairy farm with 300 cows producing 40 L/d and a 12% pregnancy rate (PR) was used. The effect of using a time-fixed artificial insemination (TFAI) protocol in the first insemination at 77 d in milk, with 45 and 40% conception rates for first-lactation and older cows, respectively, and a cost of €13 was explored. During the 5-yr simulation, the TFAI increased PR (12 to 17%) and milk yield per milking cow (39.8 to 41.2 L/d) and reduced days to first AI (93 to 74), days open (143 to 116), and the proportion of problem cows (24.3 to 15.9%). In the TFAI, cows were dried 30 d earlier, resulting in more dry cows, and a smaller difference in milk yield by present cows (35.5 vs 36.0 L/d for control and TFAI, respectively). A longer productive life (2.56 vs. 2.79 yr) with shorter lactations in TFIA resulted in less first-lactation cows (42 vs 36%), 32 more calvings per year, and, therefore, more cases of postpartum diseases. Total (32.5 to 29.9%) and reproductive (10.5 vs 6.8%) culling rates decreased in TFIA. Overall, the net margin was €245 and €309/cow per year in control and TFIA, respectively. The net margin of applying TFAI decreased as PR of the farm increased, with limited benefit of TFAI at a PR of 30%. The model provides a powerful web-based tool to explore the short- and medium-term consequences of technical and economic decisions on the economic sustainability of dairy farms.

Gender Differences in the Consequences of Divorce: A Study of Multiple Outcomes

In this study, I examined gender differences in the consequences of divorce by tracing annual change in 20 outcome measures covering four domains: economic, housing and domestic, health and well-being, and social. I used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) and fixed-effects panel regression models on a sample of N = 18,030 individuals initially observed in a marital union, N = 1,220 of whom divorced across the observation period (1984–2015). Three main findings emerged from the analysis. First, men were more vulnerable to short-term consequences of divorce for subjective measures of well-being, but postdivorce adaptation alleviated gender differences in these outcomes. Second, a medium-term view on multiple outcomes showed more similarity than differences between women and men. The medium-term consequences of divorce were similar in terms of subjective economic well-being; mental health, physical health, and psychological well-being; residential moves, homeownership, and satisfaction with housework; and chances of repartnering, social integration with friends and relatives, and feelings of loneliness. Third, the key domain in which large and persistent gender differences emerged were women’s disproportionate losses in household income and associated increases in their risk of poverty and single parenting. Taken together, these findings suggest that men’s disproportionate strain of divorce is transient, whereas women’s is chronic.