TWO FACES 0F DIVORCE

Wested, San Francisco CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Two Faces of Divorce Study will examine the antecedents and consequences of divorce from the perspective of mothers and fathers. The project has three primary objectives: (1) to determine whether perceptions of the costs and benefits of divorce are related to subsequent divorce and to determine what types of costs and benefits (i.e., economic, social, and parental) are given the most weight, (2) to expand our knowledge of the gains and losses associated with divorce by examining a broad variety of areas of well-being from the perspective of both mothers and fathers, and (3) to assess the extent to which mothers and fathers can accurately assess the consequences of divorce. The project has both theoretical and applied significance. Prior research on the determinants of divorce suggests that many couples choose to divorce when they expect to be better off from doing so, while research on the consequences of divorce indicates that divorce leads to declines in well-being in a variety of areas. This study bridges research and theory on the determinants of divorce with research and theory on the consequences of divorce to address this puzzle - focusing on how couples' motivations for- and expectations about divorce are related to divorce outcomes. It examines the extent to which (a) the consequences of divorce are unanticipated, (b) divorce is associated with increases in well-being in some areas of life that counteract negative consequences in other areas of life, and (c) different parties of divorce benefit at the expense of each other. The analysis will use longitudinal data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Regression techniques are used to examine the relationship between pre-divorce expectations and subsequent divorce, the consequences of divorce, the accuracy of pre-divorce expectations about the consequences of divorce, and the extent to which the consequences of divorce are shared between mothers and fathers.