Suchergebnisse

With the severe upswing in divorce experienced by developed nations in the last fifty years, social scientists in many disciplines are intensifying their focus on marital dissolution and its implications for society, families, and individuals [...]

In this article, the potential impact ofparental divorce on the lives of young adult offspring is discussed. Parental divorce may upset both social and psychological aspects of the transition to adulthood process. The family roles young adults are expected to assume could be altered by the break-up, as could opportunities for particularyoung adult pursuits, such as advanced education. Heightened adjustment problems also are likely to result, as divorce produces additional life changes during the highly transitional period of early adulthood. Qualitative data from an exploratory study of 39 college students, ages 18-23, illustrate many of the relevant issues. Suggestions for future research are provided.

This article reviews the relationship statuses that are common for older adults today. It addresses the prevalence of various statuses among the older adult population as well as their consequences for economic, social, psychological, and physical well-being and adjustment. In addition, consideration is given to how the prevalence and experience of various relationship statuses may change in the next few decades given such demographic changes as reduced mortality, increased education and employment for women, and reduced standardization of the life course. Throughout the article, differences for older men and women are highlighted.

The role of parental divorce in young adult adjustment has been overlooked in the divorce and developmental literature. This study addresses the association between recent parental divorce and mental health outcomes in young adults aged 18 to 23. Divorce decrees and driver's license registries in a single state were used to draw a sample of 485 White young adults, half of whom had experienced parental divorce within 15 months of the interview and the other half whose parents were still married. Comparison of the two groups indicated that at the bivariate level, parental divorce was associated with poorer mental health outcomes, but only among females. Furthermore, multivariate models estimating depression levels among these youth indicated that the significant effect of parental divorce on females was eliminated once parents' past marital quality was considered. Finally, the analyses indicated that dissatisfaction with current friendships or intimate relationships was predictive of greater depression in both sexes.

Traditionally, work and family roles have been less compatible for women than for men. Census data are used to describe changes in the work-family connection between 1970 and 1980 for highly educated men and women, aged 30 to 39. The analyses reveal that despite educational and occupational advances for women during the 1970s, gender differences in the connection between work and family experiences remained substantial over the decade. Marriage and parenting continue to be positively associated with work involvement and rewards for men, but are related to persistent employment disadvantages for women. The traditional pattern of men marrying less educated women, which has remained the norm across the 20th century, is offered as one explanation for this enduring gender gap in work-family connections.