thesis on marriage and divorce

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The Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Families and Children

Presented Before the Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate

Chairman Brownback, Senator Lautenberg, and Members of the Subcommittee:

My name is Gordon Berlin. I am the executive vice president of MDRC, a unique nonpartisan social policy research and demonstration organization dedicated to learning what works to improve the well-being of disadvantaged families. We strive to achieve this mission by conducting real world field tests of new policy and program ideas using the most rigorous methods possible to assess their effectiveness. I am honored to be invited to address your committee about what we know and do not know about the effects of marriage and divorce on families and children and about what policies and programs might work to promote and strengthen healthy marriages, especially among the poor. My goal is to briefly summarize the evidence in three areas: (1) what we know about the effects of marriage, divorce, and single parenthood on children; (2) what we know about the effectiveness of policies and programs that seek to stem persistently high rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing; and (3) what we know about the likely effects of these policies on low-income families and children. The central focus of my remarks will be to explicate the role that marital education, family counseling, and related services might play in promoting and strengthening healthy marriages and to discuss what we know about the potential of strategies that seek to ameliorate the key stressors (for example, job loss, lack of income, domestic violence, and childbearing) that make it difficult to form marriages in the first place or act as a catalyst that eventually breaks up existing marriages. To summarize my conclusions:

• First, children who grow up in an intact, two-parent family with both biological parents present do better on a wide range of outcomes than children who grow up in a single-parent family. Single parenthood is not the only, nor even the most important, cause of the higher rates of school dropout, teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, or other negative outcomes we see; but it does contribute independently to these problems. Neither does single parenthood guarantee that children will not succeed; many, if not most, children who grow up in a single-parent household do succeed.
• Second, an emerging body of evidence suggests that marital education, family counseling, and related services can improve middle-class couples' communication and problem-solving skills, resulting initially in greater marital satisfaction and, in some cases, reduced divorce, although these effects appear to fade over time.
• Third, we do not know whether these same marital education services would be effective in reducing marital stress and eventual divorce among low-income populations or in promoting marriage among the unmarried. Low-income populations confront a wide range of stressors that middle-class families do not. The evidence is limited, and mixed, on whether strategies designed to overcome these stressors, for example, by providing job search assistance or by supplementing low earnings, rather than relying solely on teaching marital communication and problem-solving skills would also increase the likelihood that low-income couples would marry or that married couples would stay together.
• Fourth, to find out whether and what types of policies and programs might successfully strengthen marriage as an institution among low-income populations as well as among a wide variety of ethnically and culturally diverse populations, our national focus should be on the design, implementation, and rigorous evaluation of these initiatives.

Marriage, Divorce, and Single Parenthood

Encouraging and supporting healthy marriages is a cornerstone of the Bush Administration's proposed policies for addressing the poverty-related woes of single-parent households and, importantly, for improving the well-being of low-income children. The rationale is reasonably straightforward: About a third of all children born in the United States each year are born out of wedlock. Similarly, about half of all first marriages end in divorce, and when children are involved, many of the resulting single-parent households are poor. For example, less than 10 percent of married couples with children are poor as compared with about 35 to 40 percent of single-mother families. The combination of an alarmingly high proportion of all new births occurring out of wedlock and discouragingly high divorce rates among families with children ensures that the majority of America's children will spend a significant amount of their childhood in single-parent households. Moreover, research shows that even after one controls for a range of family background differences, children who grow up living in an intact household with both biological parents present seem to do better, on average, on a wide range of social indicators than do children who grow up in a single-parent household (McLanahan and Sandefur, 1994). For example, they are less likely to drop out of school, become a teen parent, be arrested, and be unemployed. While single parenthood is not the main nor the sole cause of children's increased likelihood of engaging in one of these detrimental behaviors, it is one contributing factor. Put another way, equalizing income and opportunity do improve the life outcomes of children growing up in single-parent households, but children raised in two-parent families still have an advantage. If the failure of parents to marry and persistently high rates of divorce are behind the high percentage of children who grow up in a single-parent family, can and should policy attempt to reverse these trends? Since Daniel Patrick Moynihan first lamented what he identified as the decline of the black family in his 1965 report, The Negro Family: The Case for National Action, marriage has been a controversial subject for social policy and scholarship. The initial reaction to Moynihan was harsh; scholars argued vehemently that family structure and, thus, father absence was not a determinant of child well-being. But then in the 1980s, psychologists (Wallerstein and Kelly, 1980; Hetherington, 1982) began producing evidence that divorce among middle-class families was harmful to children. Renewed interest among sociologists and demographers (Furstenberg and Cherlin, 1994) in the link between poverty and single parenthood soon emerged, and as noted above, that work increasingly began building toward the conclusion that family structure did matter (McLanahan and Sandefur, 1994). Of course, the debate was not just about family structure and income differences; it was also about race and gender. When Moynihan wrote in 1965, 24 percent of all births among African-Americans occurred outside of marriage. Today, the black out-of-wedlock birthrate is almost 70 percent, and the white rate has reached nearly 24 percent. If single parenthood is a problem, that problem cuts across race and ethnicity. But the story has nuance. Yes, growing up with two parents is better for children, but only when both mother and father are the biological or “intact” (as opposed to remarried) parents. In fact, there is some evidence that second marriages can actually be harmful to adolescents. Moreover, marriage can help children only if the marriage is a healthy one. While the definition of a “healthy marriage” is itself subject to debate, it is typically characterized as high in positive interaction, satisfaction, and stability and low in conflict. Unhealthy marriages characterized by substantial parental conflict pose a clear risk for child well-being, both because of the direct negative effects that result when children witness conflict between parents, and because of conflict's indirect effects on parenting skills. Marital hostility is associated with increased aggression and disruptive behaviors on the part of children which, in turn, seem to lead to peer rejection, academic failure, and other antisocial behaviors (Cummings and Davies, 1994; Webster-Stratton, 2003). While our collective hand-wringing about the number of American births that occur out-of-wedlock is justified, what is often missed is that the birthrate among unmarried women accounts for only part of the story. In fact, birthrates among unmarried teens and African-Americans have been falling — by a fourth among unmarried African-American women since 1960, for example (Offner, 2001). How, then, does one explain the fact that more and more of the nation's children are being born out of wedlock? Because the nonmarital birth ratio is a function of (1) the out-of-wedlock birthrate (births per 1,000 unmarried women), (2) the marriage rate, and (3) the birthrate among married women (births per 1,000 married women) - the share of all children born out of wedlock has risen over the last thirty years, in large measure, because women were increasingly delaying marriage, creating an ever larger pool of unmarried women of childbearing age, and because married women were having fewer children. Indeed, families acted to maintain their standard of living in the face of stagnant and falling wages, earnings, and incomes during the 1970s and 1980s by having fewer children and sending both parents into the workforce, a strategy that undoubtedly has increased the stress on low-income two-parent families (Levy, 1988), and that contributed to the rise in out-of-wedlock births as a proportion of all births. Concern about these trends in out-of-wedlock births and divorce, coupled with the gnawing reality that child poverty is inextricably bound up with family structure, has encouraged conservatives and some liberals to focus on marriage as a solution. Proponents of this approach argued that many social policies — welfare and tax policy, for example — were actually anti-marriage, even if research only weakly demonstrated that the disincentives to marry embedded in these policies actually affected behavior. Moreover, they maintained that social policy should not be neutral — it should encourage and support healthy marriages — and they stressed the link between child poverty and single parenthood and the positive child effects associated with two-parent families. The focus on marriage was met with skepticism by others. Critics argued that marriage was not an appropriate province for government intervention and that income and opportunity structures were much more important factors than family structure. They questioned why the focus was on low-income families when the normative changes underlying the growth in single-parent households permeated throughout society, as witnessed by the prevalence of divorce across all economic classes. 

“Fragile Families” Are Pro-Marriage

More recent evidence from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study tipped the balance for many in favor of the pro-marriage arguments. Designed by two prominent academics, Sara McLanahan and Irv Garfinkel, the study is a longitudinal survey of 5,000 low-income married and nonmarried parents conducted in 75 hospitals in twenty cities at the time of their child's birth. Among mothers who were not married when their child was born, 83 percent reported that they were romantically involved with the father, and half of the parents were living together. Nearly all of the romantically involved couples expressed interest in developing long-term stable relationships, and there was universal interest in marriage, with most indicating that there was at least a fifty-fifty chance that they would marry in the future. Looking at employment history and other factors, researchers estimated that about a third of the couples had high potential to marry; another third had some problems, like lack of a job, that could be remedied; while the final third were not good candidates due to a history of violence, incarceration, and the like (McLanahan, Garfinkel, and Mincy, 2001). There was certainly reason to be cautious about presuming a link between what people said and what they might actually do, and longer follow-up data did indeed throw some cold water on initial optimism. However, when the Fragile Families data were thrown into the mix with the trend data and with the data that suggested that family structure was a determinant of poverty, the reaction was catalytic. The notion was reinforced that more marriage and less child poverty would result if public policies could just be brought in line with the expressed interests of low-income couples. 

Marital Education Can Work

But what, if anything, could government actually do to promote marriage among low-income families? For some policy analysts, the discovery of marriage education programs seemed to provide the missing link. To the surprise of many, not only did these programs exist, but there was a body of evidence, including more than a dozen randomized trials, indicating that marriage education programs could be effective. Marriage education refers to services that help couples who are married or planning to marry to strengthen their communication and problem-solving skills and thus their relationships. Models range from those that adopt a skills-based instructional approach to those that use a therapeutic “hands on” approach that addresses the specific marital problems facing individual couples. Some of the cutting-edge work now underway provides a flavor of the approaches being developed. Dr. Phil Cowan and Dr. Carolyn Cowan, both professors of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, have been involved in the development and rigorous testing of family instruction models for more than twenty years. Dr. Benjamin Karney, a psychologist at the University of Florida, has been conducting a longitudinal study of newly married couples. Dr. Richard Heyman, a psychologist at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, has 15 years’ experience conducting prevention and treatment research on couple and family interaction. Dr. John Gottman, who leads the Relationship Research Institute where he focuses on marriage, family, and child development, has developed and carefully evaluated some of the most innovative new approaches to marital education and group instruction. Dr. Pamela Jordan developed the Becoming Parents Program, a couple-focused educational research program being tested in a large randomized trial. Dr. Howard J. Markman and Dr. Scott Stanley, both of the University of Denver, developed and refined the Preparation and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP). Among the skills-training programs, PREP is the most widely used with couples who are about to marry. It teaches skills such as active listening and self-regulation of emotions for conflict management and positive communication. PREP also includes substantial content on topics such as commitment, forgiveness, and expectations clarification. PREP appears to have a significant effect on marital satisfaction initially, but the effect appears to fade over time (Gottman, 1979), and there is some indication that it improves communication among high-risk couples but not low-risk couples (Halford, Sanders, and Behrens, 2001). Therapeutic interventions are more open-ended and involve group discussions, usually guided by trained professionals to help partners identify and work through the marriage problems they are facing. The most carefully evaluated of the structured group discussion models targeted couples around the time of their child's birth, an event that triggers substantial and sustained decline in marital satisfaction. Couples meet in a group with a trained therapist over a six-month period that begins before the child is born and continues for another three months after the birth. Initially, marital satisfaction soared and divorce rates plummeted relative to a similar group of families that did not participate in the program. But the divorce effects waned by the five-year follow-up point, even while marital satisfaction remained high for those couples who stayed together (Schultz and Cowan, 2001). More recent work by Cowan and Cowan and by John Gottman appears to produce more promising results. Both the Cowans’ model of education via structured group discussions and a marital-education and skills-development model pioneered by John Gottman led to positive effects on children. The Cowans found positive effects in the school performance of children whose parents participated in their couples instruction and group discussion program. Gottman describes improved cooperative interaction between the parents and their infant child and sustained increased involvement by fathers. While the results from the marriage education programs are encouraging, they are not definitive. Most of the studies are small, several have serious flaws, and only a few have long-term follow-up data (and those that do seem to show decay in effectiveness over time). Moreover, only a handful of the studies collected information on child well-being. Most importantly, all of the programs studied served mostly white, middle-class families, not the low-income and diverse populations that would be included in a wider government initiative. 

Context and Low-income Families

Not surprisingly, low-income couples have fewer resources to cope with life's vagaries. They are more likely to experience job loss, have an unexpected health or family crisis, be evicted from or burned out of their home, be the victim of a violent crime, and so forth. As a result, they face greater difficulty than middle-class individuals in forming and sustaining marriages. With the exception of African-Americans, low-income couples are not less likely to marry; but they are more likely to divorce when they do marry. Yet evidence from the Fragile Families survey of 5,000 low-income couples who have just given birth to a child and ethnographic interviews conducted with low-income women in Philadelphia by Kathy Edin of Northwestern University provide convincing evidence that low-income people share the same normative commitment to marriage that middle-class families demonstrate. As Kathy Edin told the Senate Finance Committee last week, “[T]he poor already believe in marriage, profoundly so. The poor want to marry, but they insist on marrying well. This…is the only way to avoid an almost certain divorce.” If poor families share the same commitment to marriage as better-off couples, what is it about their low-income status that inhibits the formation of stable marriages? One possible explanation is the mismatch between a large number of stressful events they face and few resources with which to respond to those stressors. The imbalance places greater demands on the individuals in a dyad, leaving less time together and less time to dedicate to relationship building than might be the case for a middle-class couple. In addition, the problems low-income couples have to manage — problems such as substance abuse, job loss, eviction, chronic infidelity, a child with a chronic condition like asthma or developmental delays, and criminal activities — may be more severe than those confronted by better-off couples. (Edin, 2004; Karney, Story, and Bradbury, 2003; Heyman, 2000). Because the problems low-income couples confront are likely to be more acute and chronic than those faced by middle-class couples, it is an open question whether the problem-solving and communication skills taught by marital education programs will be as effective among low-income couples as they appear to have been for middle-class couples (where the evidence base is still evolving). Clearly, the skill sets taught in those programs and the strategies applied by therapists and counselors to solve the problems couples present will need to be adapted. Moreover, it is possible that these kinds of stressors overwhelm the abilities of individuals to use the skills they are taught. It is difficult to be understanding of a partner's failings when the rent is due and there is not enough money to pay it. Such concerns have elicited two kinds of responses: first, efforts to adapt marital education programs to better meet the needs of low-income families; and second, proposals to combine marital education with strategies that would directly tackle the poverty-related stressors on family life — for example, with help in finding a job, income supplements to make up for low wages, child care assistance, and medical coverage. 

Adapting Marital Education to the Needs of Low-Income Families

Underpinning the interest in public support for marital education programs is a conviction that low-income individuals do not have good information about the benefits of marriage. In part, this dearth results from their experience of having grown up in single-parent households where they were simply not exposed to role models that might inform their own relationships. In part, it is a consequence of their lack of access to the same kinds of supports and information, counseling, and therapy that are often available to middle-class couples contemplating marriage or divorce. Buoyed by the success of the model marriage education programs with middle-class families, and following the lead of former Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, who was determined to end his state's embarrassing status as the nation's divorce capital, practitioners of marital education programs have begun applying and adapting these models to the needs of low-income couples. The objective is to equip low-income couples with relationship skills to improve couple interaction by reducing negative exchanges (anger, criticism, contempt, and blaming) and strengthening positive behaviors (expressions of support, humor, empathy, and affection). The logic is obvious: When couples enjoy positive interaction and are successful in handling conflict, their confidence and commitment would be reinforced, thereby fostering satisfaction and stability. But the designers of these programs recognize that they must adapt marital education as middle-class families know it to better meet the different needs of low-income households. This might involve changes in the types of agencies that deliver services, the training leaders would get, the content and examples used in the training, the duration and intensity of services, and the balance between strengthening internal communication and the forging of links to community programs that can provide support related to the contexts in which poor families live. 

Does Reducing Financial Stress Promote Marital Stability?

While there is a strong relationship between poverty and marital breakup, would programs that ameliorate poverty by providing supports to the working poor actually improve marital relationships? There have been few tests of this question; the most relevant recent reform that has been carefully evaluated for two-parent families is the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP). Implemented in 1994, MFIP used the welfare system to make work pay by supplementing the earnings of recipients who took jobs until their income reached 140 percent of the poverty line, and it required nonworkers to participate in a range of employment, training, and support services. For two-parent families, MFIP also eliminated the arcane work-history requirements and the “100-hour rule,” a policy that limited the number of hours a primary earner could work and still receive welfare but which had the perverse, unintended effect of encouraging couples to divorce so they could remain eligible for welfare. MDRC's evaluation of MFIP examined program effects on employment, income, marriage, and other family outcomes up to three years after entry. Because MFIP treated two-parent family recipients (who were receiving welfare at the onset of the study) and new applicants differently, outcomes for these groups were examined separately. We found that two-parent recipient families in MFIP were as likely as those in a comparable group of welfare recipients who were not eligible for MFIP to have at least one parent work; but the MFIP sample was less likely to have both parents work, leading to an overall reduction in their combined earnings of approximately $500 per quarter. Yet because the program supplemented the earnings of participating families, the two-parent recipient families who participated in MFIP still had slightly higher family incomes (up $190 per quarter more, on average, when taking into account their decreased likelihood of separating or divorcing — and, thus, retaining access to both partners' earnings). In contrast, MFIP had fewer effects on parental employment, earnings, and income for welfare applicants, a finding that is not entirely surprising given their short welfare spells. One of the striking findings of the three-year evaluation was that, among the 290 two-parent recipient families who were part of a follow-up survey sample, families in the MFIP group were 19.1 percentage points more likely than families in the group who received traditional welfare payments under the Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program to report being married and living with their spouse. Most of this increase in marital stability was a result of fewer reported separations in MFIP families as compared to AFDC families, although some of it was a result of small reductions in divorce. Because there is some question about how families on welfare might report their marital status, MDRC also obtained and analyzed data from publicly available divorce records. We did this for some 188 two-parent recipient families who were married at study entry. (The other 100 or so families in the original survey sample were cohabiting, and we did not look for marriage records for them). The data confirmed that these couples were 7 percentage points less likely than their AFDC counterparts to divorce. This gave us confidence that MFIP did indeed reduce marital instability. (Again, divorce records would not tell us about the separations we found in the survey, so the effect should be smaller than the 19 percentage point effect we found there). These findings have two important implications. First, make-work-pay strategies might reduce financial stress and increase the likelihood that two-parent families stay together. Second, given the small number of people followed in the MFIP survey sample, MFIP's marriage effects on all two-parent families should be investigated and the results should be replicated in other locations before the findings are used to make policy. As a first step in that process, MDRC went back to the state of Minnesota to obtain divorce and marriage records for the full sample of 2,200 two-parent MFIP families (including both recipients and applicants) for a follow-up period of more than six years. This fuller record would give us the opportunity to understand whether the positive effects on divorce (but not the much larger effects on separation) we found for the 290 two-parent families in the survey sample applied to the larger group of two-parent MFIP families. In addition, we wanted to learn about MFIP's possible effect on subgroups of two-parent families that we could not previously examine. Six years later, the full-sample story on divorce is decidedly mixed. Overall, for the full sample of two-parent families, there is no discernable pattern of effects on divorce over time. When we look at the two-parent recipient families only, those eligible for the MFIP program appear to be less likely to get divorced, but the finding is not statistically significant until the last year of follow-up, leaving open the possibility that the pattern we see could still be due to chance. Moreover, the pattern among applicants is also uncertain — barely statistically significant in one year, but favoring more rather than less divorce. The different direction in the findings for the recipient and applicant groups explains the absence of an overall effect on divorce. And in both cases, the effects we did see were small — about a 3 to 4 percentage point difference in divorce between the MFIP group and the AFDC group. Finally, recall that public marriage and divorce records can capture only a family's legally documented marital status. They cannot distinguish informal statuses like separations, the form of marital dissolution that drove the dramatic 36-month recipient findings mentioned above. We are currently planning further analyses to better understand MFIP's effects on divorce for these and other subgroups. We have no reliable way of exploring the separation findings. MFIP's initial results were tantalizing in large part because MFIP was not specifically targeted to affect marriage, divorce, or separations, and yet it appeared to produce large effects on the likelihood that some two-parent families would stay together, suggesting that strategies that tackle the vagaries of poverty could promote marital stability by reducing some of the economic stress on poor families. But the full-sample findings cast some doubt on that promise (with regard to divorce but not separations), reinforcing the need to replicate programs like MFIP for two-parent families in different settings before reaching conclusions about the contribution such strategies might make toward strengthening marriage. The findings particularly leave open the question of the possible range of effects that programs could achieve if policies providing marital education were combined with policies designed to affect employment and income. 

What We Don't Know

While the evidence base on marital education is extensive, there is much left to learn. For example:

• Will participation in marital education programs by low-income couples lead to an increase in marriage and in marital harmony and, in turn, have lasting effects on couples' satisfaction, on parenting skills and practices, and on children?
• Will the skills taught in marital education programs be a match for the poverty-related stresses experienced by low-income families, or are additional supports such as employment and income also needed to reduce divorce and increase the number of healthy marriages?
• Will marriage education programs be effective regardless of race, ethnic identity, and cultural norms, and how should these programs be adapted to better meet different groups' divergent needs?
• Who will participate in marital education programs? Will they attract predominantly couples who already have a deep commitment to each other or couples whose problems are acute? Will a broad cross-section of low-income couples participate or only a narrow slice of the population?
• Will these programs facilitate the dissolution of unhealthy marriages as proponents contend, or will they prolong marriages that might be better off dissolving or not forming in the first place?
• Can a relatively short education course — say, 10 to 20 hours spread over a few months — have a long-lasting effect on marital and couple discord, or are more long-term strategies and even one-on-one back-up couple-counseling services necessary? What is the right duration and intensity of an initiative? Can courses be short term and intense, or must they be longer and more sustained to yield longer-lasting effects? What is the right content? What are the implications for affordability and scale? 

An Opportunity to Learn

On substantive, policy, and financial grounds, there are good arguments to be made for public involvement in the marriage field. If marital education programs could be mounted at scale, if participation rates among those eligible were high, and if the programs were effective in encouraging and sustaining healthy two-parent families, the effects on children could be important. The key word is if ! The strong correlation between growing up in a two-parent family and improved child outcomes does not ensure that intervening to encourage more marriage and less divorce will have the intended results. Indeed, social policymaking based on correlation has an uncanny way of ending with unintended consequences. The only reliable way to understand whether marital education and other supports designed to strengthen marriage produces such results is to conduct a social experiment with the right mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to answer the “what difference,” “how,” and “why” questions. The Administration of Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched two new projects to do just that. Managed by Mathematica Policy Research, the Building Strong Families evaluation is targeted to low-income unwed couples beginning around the time of their child's birth. The Supporting Healthy Marriage initiative, which is being overseen by MDRC, is aimed at low-income married couples. Both projects will involve large-scale, multisite, rigorous random assignment tests of marriage-skills programs for low-income couples. The goal is to measure the effectiveness of programs that provide instruction and support to improve relationship skills. Some programs might also include services to help low-income couples address barriers to healthy marriages, such as poor parenting skills or problems with employment, health, or substance abuse. Programs operated under these demonstration umbrellas will screen for domestic violence and help participants gain access to appropriate services. Done well, the results from these path-breaking projects should inform the marriage field, and they should add value to our existing understanding of the potential and the pitfalls of government intervention in this critically important arena. 

Cummings, E. M., and P. Davies. 1994. Children and Marital Conflict. New York: Guilford. Edin, K. 2004. Testimony Before the United States Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy. The Benefits of Healthy Marriage Hearing, May 5. Edin, K., and M. Kefalas. 2004. Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage. Berkeley: University of California Press. Gennetian, L. and V. Knox. 2004. Getting and Staying Married: The Effects of a Minnesota Welfare Reform Program on Marital Stability. New York: MDRC. Gottman, J. M. 1979. Marital Interaction: Experimental Investigations. Oxford, England: Elsevier. Furstenberg, F. and A Cherlin. 1994. Divided Families: What Happens to Children when Parents Part. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Halford, W. K., M. R. Sanders, and B. C. Behrens. 2001. “Can Skills Training Prevent Relationship Problems in At-Risk Couples? Four-Year Effects of a Behavioral Relationship Education Program.” Journal of Family Psychology 15, 4: 750-768. Hetherington, E. M., M. Cox, and R. Cox. 1982. “Effects of Divorce on Parents and Children.” In M. Lamb (ed.), Nontraditional Families. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Heyman, R. E. 2001. “Observation of Couple Conflicts: Clinical Assessment Applications, Stubborn Truths, and Shaky Foundations.” Psychological Assessment 13: 5-35. Karney, B. R., L. Story, and T. Bradbury. 2003. “Marriages in Context: Interactions Between Chronic and Acute Stress Among Newlyweds.” Presentation at the International Meeting on the Developmental Course of Couples Coping with Stress, October 12-14, 2002, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. Levy, F. 1988. Dollars and Dreams: The Changing American Income Distribution. New York: Norton. McLanahan, S., I. Garfinkel., and R. B. Mincy. 2001. “Fragile Families, Welfare Reform, and Marriage.” Policy Brief No. 10. Washington DC: Brookings Institution. McLanahan, S., and G. D. Sandefur. 1994. Growing Up with a Single Parent: What Hurts? What Helps? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Moynihan, D. P. 1965. The Negro Family: The Case for National Action. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Policy Planning and Research. Offner, P. 2001. “Reducing Non-Marital Births.” Policy Brief No. 5. Washington, DC: Welfare Reform and Beyond. Schultz, M., and C. P. Cowan. 2001. Promoting Healthy Beginnings During the Transition to Parenthood. Minneapolis: Society for Research in Child Development. Wallerstein, J., and J. Kelly. 1980. Surviving the Breakup: How Children and Parents Cope with Divorce. New York: Basic Books. Webster-Stratton, C. 2003. The Incredible Years. Toronto: Umbrella Press.

Document Details

A family-strengthening program for low-income families.

Final Impacts from the Supporting Healthy Marriage Evaluation

Perspectives of Low-Income African-American and Latino Couples on Relationship Education

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Home > Family, Home, and Social Sciences > Family Life > Marriage and Family Therapy > Theses and Dissertations

Marriage and Family Therapy Theses and Dissertations

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The Relationship Between Relational Aggression and Sexual Satisfaction: Investigating the Mediating Role of Attachment Behaviors , Melece Vida Meservy

The Effects of Family Stressors on Depression in Latino Adolescents as Mediated by Interparental Conflict , Jenny Carolina Mondragon

A Longitudinal Examination of Parental Psychological Control and Externalizing Behavior in Adolescents with Adolescent Internalized Shame as a Mediating Variable , Iesha Renee Nuttall

Multiculturalism and Social Work: A Content Analysis of the Past 25 Years of Research , Lauren Christine Smithee

Implicit Family Process Rules Specific to Eating-Disordered Families , Mallory Rebecca Wolfgramm

The Impact of Timing of Pornography Exposure on Mental Health, Life Satisfaction, and Sexual Behavior , Bonnie Young

Theses/Dissertations from 2016 2016

The Relationship Between the Poor Parenting in Childhood and Current Adult Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: Attachment as a Mediator , Kayla Lynn Burningham

Longitudinal Examination of Observed Family Hostility and Adolescent Anxiety and Depression as Mediated by Adolescent Perspective Taking and Empathic Concern , Trevor Dennis Dahle

The Influence of Client General Anxiety and Attachment Anxiety onAlliance Development in Couple Therapy , Erica Leigh Delgado

U.S. Ethnic Groups in the Journal of Family Psychology : A Content Analysis , Jessica Croft Gilliland

Passion and Sexuality in Committed Relationships , Emilie Iliff

Does Self-Esteem Mediate the Effect of Attachment on Relationship Quality , Alexis Lee

A Content Analysis and Status Report of Adolescent Development Journals: How Are We Doing in terms of Ethnicity and Diversity? , Jason Bernard Lefrandt

The Effect of Marital Therapy on Physical Affection , Tiffany Ann Migdat

Predicting Externalizing Behaviors in Latino Adolescents Using Parenting and EducationalFactors , Sergio Benjamin Pereyra

Pathways to Marriage: Relationship History and Emotional Health as Individual Predictors of Romantic Relationship Formation , Garret Tyler Roundy

Examining the Link Between Exercise and Marital Arguments in Clinical Couples , Bailey Alexandra Selland

Cost-Effectiveness of Psychotherapy and Dementia: A Comparison by Treatment Modality and Healthcare Provider , Megan Ruth Story

Childhood Abuse Types and Adult Relational Violence Mediated by Adult Attachment Behaviors and Romantic Relational Aggression in Couples , Tabitha Nicole Webster

Theses/Dissertations from 2015 2015

The Effects of Marital Attachment and Family-of-Origin Stressors on Body Mass Index , Merle Natasha Bates

Shame, Relational Aggression, and Sexual Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Study , Austin Ray Beck

Parent and Adolescent Attachment and Adolescent Shame and Hope with Psychological Control as a Mediator , Natasha K. Bell

The Relationship Among Male Pornography Use, Attachment, and Aggression in Romantic Relationships , Andrew P. Brown

The Moderating Effect of Attachment Behaviors on the Association Between Video Game Use, Time Together as a Problem, and Relationship Quality , Stella Christine Dobry

Attachment Behaviors as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Disapproval and Relationship Satisfaction , Lauren Drean

Effects of Interparental Conflict on Taiwanese Adolescents’ Depression and Externalizing Problem Behavior: A Longitudinal Study , Chih Han Hsieh

The Cost Effectiveness of Psychotherapy for Treating Adults with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder , Micah LaVar Ingalls

Effects of Positive and Negative Events on Daily Relationship Effect for Clinical Couples: A Daily Diary Study , Kayla Dawn Mennenga

A Longitudinal Study of Therapist Emotion Focused Therapy Interventions Predicting In-Session Positive Couple Behavior , Josh Novak

Facilitative Implicit Rules and Adolescent Emotional Regulation , Lexie Y. Pfeifer

Avoidant Parental and Self Conflict-Resolution Styles and Marital Relationship Self-Regulation: Do Perceived Partner Attachment BehaviorsPlay a Moderating Role? , Erin L. Rackham

Individual Personality and Emotional Readiness Characteristics Associated with Marriage Preparation Outcomes of Perceived Helpfulness and Change , Megan Ann Rogers

Interactions Between Race, Gender, and Income in Relationship Education Outcomes , Andrew K. Thompson

Theses/Dissertations from 2014 2014

Partner Attachment and the Parental Alliance , Ashley B. Bell

A Glimmer of Hope? Assessing Hope as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Parenting and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms , Lisa D. Bishop

Father Influence on Adolescent Sexual Debut , Daniel Joseph Blocker

Stable Conflict Resolution Styles and Commitment: Their Roles in Marital Relationship Self-Regulation , Rebecca Suzanne Boyd

Me, You, and Porn: A Common-Fate Analysis of Pornography Use and Sexual Satisfaction Among Married Couples , Cameron C. Brown

The Relationship Between Partner Perceptions of Marital Power and Sexual Satisfaction as Mediated by Observed Hostile Interaction , Amanda Claire Christenson

The Impact of Parentification on Depression Moderated by Self-Care: A Multiple Group Analysis by Gender for South Korea and the U.S. , Sunnie Giles

Romantic Relational Aggression in Parents and Adolescent Child Outcomes , Jennifer Nicole Hawkley

Cost-Effectiveness of Treating Oppositional Defiant Disorder: A Comparison by Treatment Modality and Mental Health Provider Type , Julie Denise Malloy

Constructive vs. Destructive Anger: A Model and Three Pathways for the Expression of Anger , Kierea Chanelle Meloy

Treatment Outcomes for Mood Disorders with Concurrent Partner Relational Distress: A Comparison by Treatment Modality and Profession , Holly Pack

Cost Effectiveness of Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Adolescence: A Comparison by Provider Type and Therapy Modality , Kathryn Evelyn Reynolds

Commitment, Forgiveness, and Relationship Self-Regulation: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model , Heather Michele Smith

A Comparison of Contemporary Filial Piety in Rural and Non-Rural China and Taiwan , Li Ping Su

A Dyadic Analysis of Couple Attachment Behaviors as Predictors of Dietary Habits and Physical Activity Levels , Stephanie Young

Theses/Dissertations from 2013 2013

Cost-Effectiveness of Treating Pervasive Developmental Disorders: A Comparison by Treatment Modality , Jaime Elizabeth Ballard

Couples' Experience of Attachment-Related Change in Context of Couple-Centered, Enactment-Based Therapy Process and Therapist-Centered Therapy Process: A Qualitative Study , James Waid Ballard

Links between High Economic Distress and School Engagement as Mediated through Negative Marital Interaction and Parental Involvement , Lauren Alyssa Bone Barnes

The Relationship Between Frequency of Incest and Relational Outcomes with Family-of-Origin Characteristics as a Potential Moderating Variable , Kathleen Diane Baxter

Parental Involvement, Parent-Child Warmth and School Engagement as Mediated by Self-Regulation , Jeffrey James Bentley

The Effect of Attachment on the Therapeutic Alliance in Couples Therapy , Shawn A. Bills

Intrinsic Religiosity and Adolescent Depression and Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Components of Self-Regulation , Brent Charles Black

The Relationship Between Romantic Relationship Initiation Processes of Single LDS Emerging Adults and Change in Attachment Working Models with Implications for Practice , Matthew Lloyd Call

Attachment and Covert Relational Aggression in Marriagewith Shame as a Potential Moderating Variable: A Two Wave Panel Study , Charity Elaine Clifford

Family Implicit Rules, Shame, and Adolescent Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors , Jeffrey Paul Crane

Infidelity and Forgiveness: Therapists' Views on Reconciliation and Restoration of Trust Following Disclosure of Infidelity , Miranda Mae Goldie

Power of Shame: The Moderating Effects of Parental and Peer Connection on the Relationship Between Adolescent Shame and Depression, Self-Esteem, and Hope , Alexander L. Hsieh

Couple Attachment and Sexual Desire Discrepancy: A Longitudinal Study of Non-Clinical Married Couples at Mid-Life , Anthony Allen Hughes

Factors Relating to Romantic Relationship Experiences for Emerging Adults , Sabra Elyse Johnson

Attachment Behaviors as Mediators Between Family-of-Origin Quality and Couple Communication Quality in Marriage: Implications for Couples Therapy , Darin Justin Knapp

Division of Labor and Marital Satisfaction in China and Taiwan , Bryan C. Kubricht

Stability and Change in Women's Personality Across the Life Course , Carly D. LeBaron

The Cost Effectiveness of Collaborative Mental Health Services In Outpatient Psychotherapy Care , Ashley Ann Maag

The Relationship Between Insecure Attachment and Premarital Sexual Timing , Carly Ostler

A Longitudinal View of the Association Between Therapist Behaviors and Couples' In-Session Process: An Observational Pilot Study of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy , Lori Kay Schade

Conflict Resolution Styles as Mediators of Female Childhood Sexual Abuse Experience and Couple Relationship Satisfaction and Stability in Adulthood , Ashlee Elizabeth Sloan

The Relationship Between Video Game Use and Couple Attachment Behaviors in Committed Romantic Relationships , Jamie McClellan Smith

Psychological Control, Parental Support, Adolescent Grades and School Engagement , David Brian Thompson

Shame Not the Same for Different Styles of Blame: Shame as a Mediating Variable for Severity of Childhood Sexual Abuse and Trauma Symptoms in Three Attribution of Blame Groups , Tabitha Nicole Webster

Theses/Dissertations from 2012 2012

The Mediating Influence of Child Self-Regulation on the Relationship Between Couple Attachment Security in Parents and Anxiety in Their Children , David P. Adamusko

Couple Communication as a Mediator Between Work-Family Conflict and Marital Satisfaction , Sarah J. Carroll

The Role of Trait Forgiveness in Moderating the Relationship between Materialism and Relationship Instability in Couples , Lance J. Dome

Relationship Between Observed Parental Optimism and Adolescent Optimism with Parental Involvement as a Mediating Variable: Two Wave Panel Study , Allison Ellsworth

Mental Health Treatment for Children and Adolescents: Cost Effectiveness, Dropout, and Recidivism by Presenting Diagnosis and Therapy Modality , David Fawcett

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11 Theses on Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage & Adultery

Martyn McGeown

In a day when many people are living in open sexual sin, either living together without marriage, or living with another person’s wife or divorcing and remarrying at will, it is time to consider what the LORD says about this subject. We are to follow the Word of God, not our opinions, or what appears right and convenient to us.

1. All marriages are ordained of God. God joins a man and a woman in an unbreakable bond until death parts them. This is the case, even if the wedding vows were exchanged in a registry office between two pagans. A marriage is not a sacrament—as Rome teaches—so a non-Christian marriage in a secular place, or a marriage in a false church is still a joining of two in an unbreakable bond.

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder (Matt. 19:5).

The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth (I Cor. 7:39).

For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he liveth (Rom. 7:2).

Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (Gen. 2:24).

2. Anyone who comes between a man and a woman thus joined commits adultery.

3. If there is sexual unfaithfulness in a marriage, divorce is permissible, although not commanded. Ideally, there should be repentance by the guilty party and restoration. The only ground of divorce is adultery. “Incompatibility,” boredom with one’s spouse, poverty, sickness, lusting for a younger or prettier or wealthier woman, etc., cannot be grounds for divorce. The Lord recognises one and only one ground for divorce and no ground for remarriage. Divorce on any ground other than adultery is itself adultery: “Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery” (Matt. 5:32). The reason why he “causes” her to commit adultery is because he leaves her wide open to remarriage or getting involved with another man sexually.

4. Adultery cannot break the original marriage bond, which can only be broken by God at death .

5. If any man puts away his wife and marries another woman he commits adultery against his spouse. Neither the “guilty party” (the adulterer) nor the “innocent party” (the one cheated on) may remarry unless the original spouse has died.

Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery (Matt. 5:32).

Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery (Matt. 19:9).

Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery (Mark 10:11-12).

Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery (Luke 16:18).

If while her husband liveth, she [the wife] be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress (Rom. 7:3).

6. If a man divorces his first wife he is not free to make wedding vows to another woman: unless the first spouse is dead. Nothing can sanctify or make lawful a “marriage” to a second spouse: neither the passage of time, nor conversion of one or both of the partners, nor custom, nor human law, nor public or popular opinion, nor church decree or “blessing” can make lawful a second “marriage” while the first spouse lives. Jesus confronted the many-times-“married” Samaritan woman with these words, “Thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband” (John 4:18). John the Baptist confronted Herod who was married to Herodias while Herodias’ husband Philip was still living: “It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18). Because Philip was still alive Herod and Herodias were committing adultery. For speaking out, John the Baptist was imprisoned and executed. The same happens today. Today the persecution comes in the form of anger against the messenger. “You’re a legalist!” “God wouldn’t expect that of me!” “You are making everything too hard!” These are all common objections today.

7. To “repent” and then continue to live in the same sinful adulterous relationship with a second or third “wife” is not repentance. If a sodomite is converted or a fornicator is converted and he continues to live sexually, etc., with his “partner” while claiming to have repented, he shows himself to be unrepentant and rebellious.

8. If Jesus judges a relationship as adultery then to repent means that the adulterous relationship must stop . To continue—claiming love or hardship or any other reason—is not an option. That is part of taking up one’s cross and following Christ. You cannot live in sin and be in Christ.

9. If a man divorces his wife he has two options: be reconciled or live singly. “If she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband” (I Cor. 7:11). Entering a relationship with a third party (“marriage” or fornication or co-habitation) is not an option. Thus Jesus spoke of some who “made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake” (Matt. 19:12), people who deny themselves sex because they must live singly, being divorced.

10. If a believer is married to an unbeliever he should not seek to be loosed from such a difficult marriage. “If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him” (I Cor. 7:12-13).

11. Nobody can claim that this is easy. The disciples were so shocked by Christ’s teachings on the unbreakable marriage bond and one ground for divorce with no remarriage that they exclaimed: “If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry” (Matt. 19:10). Jesus replied, “All men cannot receive this saying, save them to whom it is given” (Matt. 19:11). However, as hard as Christ’s words may be, Jesus will not change His teachings to accommodate us. They are timeless and unchanging; they are neither culturally limited nor old-fashioned. They are the words of the Son of God, which He received from His Father. Jesus shows mercy to adulterers (“Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more;” John 8:11) but He commands that they repent (“Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish;” Luke 13:5). Those who repent—which involves forsaking their sins—are shown mercy; those who do not shall not enter the kingdom of heaven:

Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers with themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (I Cor. 6:9-11).

Jesus does not forgive somebody so that that person can continue in the same sin in which He found him. That would be a mockery.

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152 Brilliant Divorce Essay Topics & Examples

For those who are studying law or social sciences, writing about divorce is a common task. Separation is a complicated issue that can arise from many different situations and lead to adverse outcomes. In this article we gathered an ultimate list of topics about divorce and gathered some tips to when working on the paper.

Theses on Marriage, Divorce and Spousal Neglect/Abuse

These theses are offered in the same spirit of that memorable day in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his famous 95 theses for public debate on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. While my 62 theses are not as earth shaking as Luther’s were, I trust they will give pause to consider the sanctity of marriage, and the necessary steps one must take to protect it.

Related Papers

www.academia.edu

Fermin Lopez

In this paper, I put forward a soteriological interpretation for the two “exception clauses” found in Christ’s teaching on divorce in the Gospel of Matthew. This interpretation, unlike many other interpretations that have been advanced for these clauses, is fully consistent with Christ’s and the Apostle Paul’s teaching on divorce. I will argue that both Jesus and the Apostle Paul taught that references to “divorce” in the scriptures, including Old Testament scriptures, means “separation”, not the dissolution of marriage as is often asserted by evangelical theologians, and that this interpretation is the only way that all the scriptures that reference divorce can be cogently harmonised. The interpretation builds on the work of a minority of theologians who argue that the word “divorce” in scripture, means “separation”: a temporary discontinuation of married life, not its dissolution. This understanding is based fundamentally on a covenantal view of marriage; a relationship that mirrors the permanent and unbreakable marriage covenant between God and His people described in the Old Testament and evidenced by Christ’s marriage like relationship with the Church (Eph. 5:22-32). The interpretation is also consistent with the metaphor illustrating God’s dealings with His “adulterous wife” – Israel, as described throughout the Old Testament, but particularly in the prophets. My thesis is that there is a soteriological reason for the Matthean “exception clauses” which has hitherto been overlooked. The “exception clauses” provide a justification for the temporary separation that God experienced when the Word made flesh (John 1:1-17) was separated from the Father at the crucifixion, and instead of providing a “lawful” reason to terminate marriage, as is often asserted, they in fact reinforce the permanence of the marriage covenant (Jer. 31:31–34) as described in scripture, revealing important truths about God’s plan of salvation for mankind. This paper is divided into two parts. In the first part I demonstrate that Jesus and the Apostle Paul unambiguously taught the indissolubility of the marriage covenant and that this teaching is fully consistent with Old Testament scripture. The second part of this paper describes the implications that flow from this teaching. In particular, I demonstrate that the “exception clauses” both affirm the indissolubility of the marriage covenant and reveal important truths about God’s plan of salvation for mankind.

Anthony DeRosse

David Instone-Brewer

Joe Sprinkle

UNDERSTANDING THE FOUNDATION AND PURPOSE OF MARRIAGE FROM A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE

We are living in a time when the heavenly foundation of the institution of marriage is widely misunderstood. Western (European) culture, same as most other cultures all over the world, views marriage very differently than the Bible presents it. Today, marriage is usually presented as one among many lifestyle options, i.e. it can be found in the same box with the need for advanced education and career achievement. Alan J. Hawkins stated that a great number of scholars in social sciences and the law see marriage primarily as a personal lifestyle choice.1 Marriage is seen today as an institution where each partner has equal rights which are different than traditional marriages which were popular until several decades ago. From this quest for equality and freedom in marriage appeared numerous feminist and egalitarian movements which went to another (liberal) extreme from traditional marriages. Unfortunately in this quest for justice and liberty from marriage the way our Western culture has presented it over the years, these movements often have gone in completely different extreme by discarding marriage and presenting it in a new way, way which doesn’t lead to God but to satisfying personal needs. From the biblical perspective marriage is designed to be the majestic cover of the book whose primary subject is Jesus Christ. The content of every book needs to command more attention than its covers, so from this perspective understanding God’s design for marriage is much more important than our personal vision of marriage. The purpose of this research is to present the significance and value of marriage as a community not just of husband and wife, but also of God who is the Founder of this community. 1 Therefore, implies that marriage is not a unique and vital institution that is the foundation of individual, family, community, and societal well-being, but it is only one of a number of viable relationship forms that are capable of promoting personal well-being and societal support. (Alan J. Hawkins et. al. Revitalizing the Institution 1 The main notion which permeates this paper and comprehends all main problematic areas in marriage is commitment. Because several influential groups as are psychologists, feminists, and even some marriage counsellors, suggested that marriage is only a contract, an additional intention of this paper is to defend the biblical point of view by giving valid arguments on this topic. Through this research we will touch upon various problematic areas which affect marriage harmony. These areas are going to comprehend marriage conflict, communication, intimacy, mutual understanding, and accepting responsibility for causing marriage difficulties. These all will be comprehended through mutual understanding of the unity between husband and wife in the marital community. The first chapter will present marriage in the contemporary world by defining it and comparing traditional marriage with modern (contemporary) marriage. The second chapter will elaborate Paul’s verses on the issue of male headship and women submission. In the third chapter through biblical lenses major problematic areas will be perceived such as monogamy, polygamy, same – sex union, and divorce with the purpose to represent marriage as a covenant. Given that this research is written from a Christian perspective, it will be woven with the biblical principles for a happy, harmonious and religious2 marriage. The starting point of this research is the belief that the Bible is God’s Word which has power to change the life of everyone who is honest and willing to accept God as Creator and Father, and also the Founder of the marital community.

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Persuasive & Argumentative Essays about Divorce: Free Tips

A divorce is a life-changing experience that affects spouses and their children (if there are any). Since divorce rates are relatively high in modern society, more and more people face this problem nowadays.

When you are assigned to compose an argumentative essay about divorce, you should be as careful as possible. Remember that the split-up of marriage can be a painful experience for everyone involved.

The article will give you useful advice on how to write an outstanding paper on the topic. Learn the essential features of the following types:

• persuasive essay about divorce,
• for and against essay,
• causes and effects of divorce essay,

Check tips from Custom-writing.org below and write the best paper!

• 💍 How to Write It
• 📂 Essays by Type
• ✒ Causes and Effects

✍️ Divorce Essay Topics

💍 how to write a divorce essay.

The general structure of essays on divorce is quite common:

• introduction;
• conclusion.

Yet, there are some variations of what info to include in the body, depending on the essay type. The following structure is applicable for divorce argumentative essay. To learn about the features of other types, keep on reading our article.

Argumentative divorce essays are composed according to the standard structure:

1. Thesis Statement about Divorce

A divorce essay introduction isn’t anything extraordinary as you have to introduce your topic and position.

• You should always give broad information about the issue and state the main problems you will discuss in your writing.
• Make a general statement about the consequences of divorce or the common divorce effects on people.
• Then write your thesis statement on divorce. Clearly explain to the audience the topic you’re going to discuss and your position on that topic. In case you find this task difficult, try using a thesis generator for argumentative essay . This will save you some time.

That’s it! Now your divorce essay introduction is ready.

What’s next?

2. Main Body

This section presents all of your ideas and arguments related to the topic of divorce.

• Here you can write about the adverse effects of divorce on children or the most common reasons people divorce.
• Use compelling arguments and support your ideas with examples.

There are tons of surveys and statistics about divorce on the internet, so it won’t be too challenging to gather the information you need.

3. Conclusion

In the last paragraph, you have to sum up your paper and leave a final expression.

• Summarize every idea presented in your divorce essay.
• Restate your thesis statement on divorce, relying on your reasoning.
• Then list your concluding thoughts on this topic.

Make your sentences clear and easy to follow. Use synonyms to improve your writing style. Such an approach will help you convince the readers and express your thoughts better.

📂 Divorce Essays by Type

The content and reasoning of each paper on divorce depend primarily on the type of essay . See the following sections to understand how to write each of them.

Here are a few types you can consider:

Argumentative Essay about Divorce

When it comes to divorce, there are many disputable topics—for example, the reasons people separate or its impact on children. It’s easy to find support and statistics for both issues. And you’ll need them as facts are a crucial part of a divorce argumentative essay.

As a starting point:

Research your idea and choose a side to support. Make sure that among all argumentative essay topics about divorce, you selected the most interesting for yourself. In your thesis statement, concisely express your position, so the reader can quickly get it.

Then, start writing the entire essay. Regardless of what type of paper you are writing—anti or pro divorce argumentative essay—your writing should meet these requirements:

• Base your points on logic;
• Present both sides of the arguments, but support only one;
• Take into consideration counterclaims;
• Support all the arguments by valid evidence;
• Use a calm, informative tone.

Don’t forget to incorporate quotes and figures to convince your readers.

Persuasive Essay about Divorce

What is the goal of writing persuasive essays ? It’s to convince your reader that your position on a particular problem is true.

Therefore, writing this paper means that you should identify an individual problem related to the topic. In the introduction of your persuasive essay about divorce, you should choose your side and deliver it to the reader.

Crucial note:

Similarly to an argumentative essay, you have to provide credible facts to support your position. Yet here, you use them to back up your opinion and persuade your reader.

While composing your persuasive essay about the legalization of divorce, remember its distinctive features:

• Based on emotions;
• Presents only one side of the argument;
• Ignores counterclaims;
• The tone is dynamic, emotionally-charged, and aggressive to some extent.

Cause and Effect Essay on Divorce

Whether it concerns old parents or a young couple, divorce typically has the same causes and effects. You can often see them clearly, even in books or movies.

The essay outline for the causes and effects of divorce essay is quite common:

• Introduction.

In your divorce essay introduction, provide a general background and compose a clear thesis statement. For example, your thesis might look like this:

A divorce, caused by the spouses’ expectations mismatch, results in a lack of communication between children and one of the parents.

In this part of your essay, investigate the cause and effect of divorce, you stated before.

For the given thesis, the main points would be the following:

The primary cause of divorce is the mismatch in the spouses’ expectations from the marriage.

The divorce often results in a lack of children’s interactions with one of the parents.

• Conclusion.

Synthesize all of your arguments and give your audience a space for a further investigation of your issue.

Narrative Essay about Divorce

If your assignment is to write a family essay, you can choose from a wide range of topics. For this purpose, a marriage essay or a divorce essay would be perfect.

In a short paper about your family, it isn’t easy to cover many topics. So choose only one.

Look through some narrative essay topics and select the one you like:

• The story of my divorce: how did I decide to break up with my spouse?
• My life completely changed after my parents divorced.
• How my life looked like before the divorce with my wife/husband and how it looks now.
• The way divorce destroys healthy communication between children and parents in my family.

For and Against Divorce Essay

As you know, both the negative and positive effects of divorce are disputable, making them appealing to discuss. There are many recent studies and relevant statistical data on the topic to help you write such an essay.

This topic would also be great for a speech on divorce.

Wondering what are the for and against divorce arguments? Take a look at the following:

✒ Divorce: Causes and Effects

We have a pleasant bonus for you! Below, you can find useful arguments and insightful ideas that you can use in your papers on divorce. Apply our concepts in any type of essay, adjusting them to your topic.

Divorce essays can cover the following issues:

Generally Known Facts on Divorces

When covering this issue in your persuasive essay on divorce, you will have to cover the problem altogether. Include the common marriage problems that psychologists all over the world study. Use their statistical data on divorces when crafting your argument.

Divorce is quite a broad topic, and you may want to narrow it down. With so much information available, you could write a research paper on divorce without any difficulty.

Statistical Data on Divorces

Good divorce essays should include enough statistical data. It will add more scientific value and reveal your research abilities. Besides, facts and figures present many exciting topics to comment on.

For example:

You can do significant research concerning divorce causes and consequences. Draw a contrast between divorce in several countries, or examine the age and education of people who officially separate more often.

Reasons for Divorces

What does an essay on divorce mean without discussion of its reasons?

Find out different sociologists’ viewpoints on the reasons for divorces. Then underline the cause you consider to be the most truthful one.

You can also provide your own theory on the grounds for divorces in your persuasive essay on divorce. The key point is to prove the accuracy of your statement.

Divorce Prevention Ideas

If there is a problem, there must be some solution. So, think of the possible ways to make a marriage work.

Investigate divorce causes from a scientific point of view. Examine the primary studies that reveal why people actually break up. Also, discuss the precautions that can help married couples avoid significant conflicts.

Effects of Divorce on Children

Parents sometimes forget that their divorce isn’t only about them but also about their children. It causes psychological problems for kids, which you can classify in your paper. Don’t forget to add some statistical data on divorce to support your arguments.

Every child reacts differently to their parents’ breakup. It’s a rare case when divorce consequences are positive, making the effects on kids an urgent topic to discuss.

Positive Effects of Divorce

Sometimes divorce isn’t a catastrophe but rather the only way to heal wounds and begin a new life. Often, people don’t recognize that they need to change their lives for the better. This situation is primarily related to abusive marriages or those with regular cheating.

In these cases, the positive effects of divorce may seem easy to understand. However, psychologists have to make great efforts to persuade people to end their relationships. Write a paper making this same argument.

• Negative outcomes of divorce on children.
• Connection between divorce and antisocial behavior of children.
• Family crises and the issue it causes: divorce, remarriage, stepparents, adoption.
• Effect of divorce on teenagers’ academic performance.  
• Causes and consequences of divorce .
• What can be done to decrease divorce rates in America?  
• Does parental divorce affect the rates of juvenile delinquency ?
• The most widespread reasons for divorce.
• Analyze marital success factors and Gottman’s predictors of divorce.
• Impact of divorce on child’s mental health.
• Change of divorce law throughout history.
• Positive and negative changes in children’s behavior after divorce.
• Divorce : a disaster or a benefit?
• Is cheating one of the main reasons of divorce?
• Gender stratification impact on divorce trends.
• Effect of divorce on family relationship.
• Do divorced parents change their child-rearing styles?
• List of factors typically associated with higher divorce rates.
• The support required for all the members of divorced and single-parent families .
• Analyze the reasons for high divorce rates .
• Does divorce only impact adolescent in a bad way?
• Effect of poverty on divorce rates.
• Specifics of divorce in the UAE.
• Does divorce lead to depression?
• Family therapy and its role in decreasing divorce rates.
• The impact of divorce on children-parents relationship.
• Evaluation of child custody in divorce proceedings.
• How to manage the stress of divorce.
• Effect of divorce on children’s self-esteem.
• How to minimize the devastating consequences of divorce.
• Addiction as the reason for divorce.
• Effective communication in marriage and its role in preventing divorce.
• Divorce as the only way out of an abusive relationship.
• Financial issues of divorce and how to overcome them.
• Parental support is the best way to help children to go through divorce.
• How do adolescents adjust to parental divorce?
• Do boys and girls react to the parental divorce the same way?
• Social media can destroy relationship and lead to divorce.
• Can Christian counseling help couples to resolve their issues and avoid divorce?
• Poverty among divorced women.
• Young marriage has more chances to break-up.
• Respect is the best way to get marriage satisfaction and avoid divorce.
• Is interfaith marriage doomed to divorce?
• Why a successful marriage may end in divorce?
• Marriage contract will help to facilitate the legal side of divorce process.
• Reduction of the number of divorces.
• Personal development after divorce.
• How family relationships influence future marriage and divorce chances of children.
• Child support in case of marriage divorce.
• Will lack of family and work balance definitely result in divorce?

If you are stuck on writing, you can always ask us for help! Whether you need a persuasive essay on divorce or any other paper, we are here and ready to assist.

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Further reading:

• Top Ideas for Argumentative or Persuasive Essay Topics
• Best Argumentative Research Paper Topics
• 197 Inspirational & Motivational Argumentative Essay Topics
• Gun Control Essay: How-to Guide + Argumentative Topics
• Proposal Essay Topics and Ideas – Easy and Interesting
• Free Exemplification Essay Examples

🔗 References

• Essay Introductions
• Transitional Words and Phrases
• Argumentative Paper Format
• The Writing Process
• Divorce Argument Essay: Bartleby
• Cause and Effect Essay: The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Roane State Community College and UNC at Chapel Hill Writing Center
• Counterargument: Gordon Harvey, the Writing Center at Harvard University
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