For Better or for Worse: Divorce Reconsidered
Debunking the accepted view of the devastating psychological and social effects of divorce, this text presents a nuanced picture. This study gathers nearly three decades of research involving 1,400 families and explores divorce as a process. The text identifies the kinds of marriages, or "pathways", that predispose a couple to divorce or not, and pinpoints "windows of change" that allow some to fashion the challenges of divorce into an opportunity. The work follows how women and girls experience divorce differently from men and boys; why single-mother-son relationships and stepfather-daughter relationships are the most difficult; and how mentoring and authoritative parenting can buffer against negative effects. This study concludes that the aftermarth of divorce need not be a pathway of dissolution but can be one of healing and fulfillment.