Search

We assess how divorce through midlife affects the subsequent probability of work-limiting health among U.S. women. Using retrospective marital and work disability histories from the Survey of Income and Program Participation matched to Social Security earnings records, we identify women whose first marriage dissolved between 1975 and 1984 (n = 1,214) and women who remain continuously married (n = 3,394). Probit and propensity score matching models examine the cumulative probability of a work disability over a 20-year follow-up period. We find that divorce is associated with a significantly higher cumulative probability of a work disability, controlling for a range of factors. This association is strongest among divorced women who do not remarry. No consistent relationships are observed among divorced women who remarry and remained married. We find that economic hardship, work history, and selection into divorce influence, but do not substantially alter, the lasting impact of divorce on work-limiting health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a quantitative life-cycle model to study the increase in married women's labour force participation (LFP). We calibrate the model to match key life-cycle statistics for the 1935 cohort and use it to assess the changed environment faced by the 1955 cohort. We find that a higher divorce probability and changes in wage structure are each able to explain a large proportion of the LFP increase. Higher divorce risk increases LFP not because the latter contributes to higher marital assets or greater labour market experience, however. Instead, it is the result of conflicting spousal preferences towards the adjustment of marital consumption in the face of increased divorce risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the identity of a 19th century New Harmony, Indiana, artist and musician known as "Clorion." The author discusses the possibility that "Clorion" was artist Martha F. Chase Owen. It describes her divorce from her first husband, Dr. Thomas G. Chase, and her marriage to artist Richard Owen. The article discusses Martha Chase Owen's anatomical drawings, the author's historical research concerning the drawings, and why Martha Chase Owen may have attributed the drawings to "Clorion." The article also describes the history and social conditions of the New Harmony settlement during the early-to-mid-19th century.

For decades, policymakers have discussed how to remedy the high poverty rates of older widows. Yet older divorced women are more likely to be poor than older widows, and historical divorce and remarriage trends suggest that in the future a larger share of retired women will be divorced. This article uses the Social Security Administration's Modeling Income in the Near Term (version 6) to project the retirement resources and well-being of divorced women. We find that Social Security benefits and retirement incomes are projected to increase for divorced women and that their poverty rates are projected to decline, due in large part to women's increasing lifetime earnings. However, not all divorced women will be equally well off; economic well-being in retirement varies by Social Security benefit type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blacks, Hispanics, and divorced women have historically experienced double-digit poverty rates in retirement, and divorce and other demographic trends will increase their representation in future retiree populations. For these reasons, we might expect an increase in the proportion of economically vulnerable divorced women in the future. This article uses the Social Security Administration's Modeling Income in the Near Term (version 6) to describe the likely characteristics, work experience, Social Security benefit status, and economic well-being of future divorced women at age 70 by race and ethnicity. Factors associated with higher retirement incomes include having a college degree; having a strong history of labor force attachment; receiving Social Security benefits; and having pensions, retirement accounts, or assets, regardless of race and ethnicity. However, because divorced black and Hispanic women are less likely than divorced white women to have these attributes, income sources, or assets, their projected average retirement incomes are lower than those of divorced white women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the change in women's earnings following marital dissolution from a longitudinal approach. Using unique data that matches the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) with Social Security longitudinal earnings records, we examine marital dissolution events occurring between 1985 and 2003. Results show significant increases in women's labor market involvement and earnings following marital dissolutions over the past two decades. We find greater labor force involvement prior to the dissolution event among more recent divorcees; however, among those already in the labor force, the pattern of change in earnings associated with divorce has changed little over the examined period. Human capital and family characteristics were associated with the change in earnings after marital dissolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divorce can be a distressing event. Although various studies have been conducted to better understand this phenomenon, little research has focused on the combined effect of age, initiator status, spousal infidelity, and spiritual well-being on divorce adjustment. To determine the effect of these 4 factors on divorce adjustment, 133 divorced women in the United States were surveyed using the Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and a participant questionnaire. Results indicate that initiator status, spousal infidelity, and spiritual well-being together can predict 38% of the variance in overall divorce adjustment for women. Spiritual well-being was found to be the strongest contributor. Recommendations for researchers and implications for clinicians are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of alternatives to Social Security's auxiliary benefit system have been proposed in the context of changes in American family and work patterns. This article focuses on one modification therein—lowering the 10-year duration-of-marriage requirement for divorced spouses. Using a powerful microsimulation model (MINT), we examine the distributional effects of extending spouse and survivor benefit eligibility to 5- and 7-year marriages ending in divorce among female retirees in 2030, a population largely comprised of baby boomers. Results show that the options would increase benefits for a small share of female retirees, around 2 to 4%, and would not affect the vast majority of low-income divorced older women. However, of those affected, the options would substantially increase benefits and lower incidence of poverty and near poor. Low-income divorced retirees with marriages between 5 and 9 years in length and a deceased former spouse face the greatest potential gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divorce is a personal experience, often negative, and each couple experiences it differently. However. the divorce experience may provide opportunities for personal growth. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the challenges and growth opportunities women who have divorced experience from their own perspective. Ten women with similar backgrounds participated in personal interviews. Individual interviews revealed the following themes: (a) dating reflections, (b) married life, (c) self-perceptions, (d) support or lack of support, (e) family, (f) personal emotions, (g) personal growth, and (h) the future. Mezirow's (2000) theory of transformational learning was the framework used to organize the findings to understand growth through transitional phases. This article presents the findings of this study and implications for women going through divorce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the study why are divorced mothers economically disadvantaged and what can be done about it. It concludes that change is needed in order to pull not only these women, but also the millions of children that they are raising out of poverty and to ensure that futures are more secured. Further, in order to effect this change, both gender will need to work to redefine the U.S. divorce laws, in both substance and enforcement.

This paper presents evidence of changes in employment and real wages in the population of divorced single women during the 1990s. Using data from the U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS) for 1989 and 1999, the paper estimates multivariate models of labor force participation and hourly wages for each year. Differences between years in employment and wages are decomposed into portions attributable to changes in measured characteristics and changes in coefficients of the models. Estimates indicate that full time employment remained virtually unchanged during the decade, and real wages increased by less than 2%. Decomposition of the regression models shows that measured characteristics in this population changed in a direction that would have lead to higher wage growth, but those changes were offset by changes in the model’s coefficients. The result is that earnings experienced only modest growth. In the labor force participation model, changes in measured characteristics worked in the direction of a modest decrease in full time employment, but again coefficient changes provided an offsetting effect. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examines self-reported reasons for divorce and correlates of the psychological well-being of divorced Korean immigrant women. Face-to-face interviews with the 73 divorced subjects reveal a substantially different pattern of self-reported reasons for divorce from that of non-Korean, mostly white, divorced women. The majority of Korean immigrant women in the study cite their exhusbands' concrete abusive/negative behaviors and financial problems as their reasons for divorce, while non-Korean American women have tended to report abstract and affective reasons. Patterns of reasons for divorce reported by women in the study seem to be related to their difficult post-divorce experiences. Results from a multiple regression analysis reveal two predictors of the psychological well-being of divorced women: self- reported health status and self-reported reason for divorce. Implications for culturally competent practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using projections from the Social Security Administration's Modeling Income in the Near Term (MINT1), we examine the characteristics and retirement income of white non-Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic divorced women in the baby boom cohort. Although we find significant differences in retirement income for divorced women of different racial and ethnic groups, the characteristics associated with higher or lower retirement income are very similar. That is, being college educated, owning a home, and having pension and asset income, for example, correspond to increased retirement income for all racial and ethnic groups. However, because black and Hispanic women are less likely than white women to be college educated, to own their home, and to have pension and asset income, their retirement income tends to be lower than that of white women. We conclude the paper by briefly discussing policy options to address the retirement needs of divorced women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the economic resources and economic well-being of future divorced women at retirement, using data from the United States Social Security Administration's project on Modeling Income in the Near Term (MINT). Overview of MINT; Description of the social security program in the country; Percentage of divorced women at retirement; Types of social security benefits for divorced women; Sources of retirement income.

Present information on a study which explored the pre-divorce, divorce and postdivorce experiences of African American working women. Information on how they receive free legal and social work services in the United States; Consequences of divorce; Factors that help the women cope with divorce.

Focuses on the behavior of women in filing divorce in the United States. Reasons for filing divorce; Impact of the changes of custody rules on the pattern of marriage and divorce; Legal ramifications of the no-fault variable.

Presents information on a study which examined the effect of divorce on African American working women in the United States (U.S.). Information on the divorce problem in the U.S.; Methodology and study design; Types of cases which identify that causes of the divorces; Four different areas of interpersonal functioning.

This study examines the role of a wide range of community characteristics in determining the risk of married and nonmarried nonblack women having a live birth. We find that context affects the risk of both a marital and nonmarital birth, although the number of contextual influences is greater for nonmarried women. For married women, the factors that affect the likelihood of a birth are: the extent of full-time female labor-force participation, percent white-collar workers, and percent females in the community who are separated or divorced. Contextual factors affecting the risk of an out-of-wedlock birth include: the female unemployment rate; median housing value; percent females separated or divorced; percent females of childbearing age; the sex ratio of the never married population; and the child/woman ratio for women aged 15-24. Almost all these community characteristics operate independently of individual-level characteristics of the woman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the determinants of divorced older women's labor supply in the United States. Wages, education, pension wealth, and asset wealth as significant predictors of labor supply for both divorcees and other unmarried women; Effects of Medicaid coverage for the divorced women.

This article examines changes in household headship reported in U.S. census data, 1940-1960, with some 1970 material. Household headship is discussed as a demographic variable which has substantial importance for sociologists and economists. Change occurred both in the likelihood of an adult being a household head and in type of head. Increases came both from favorable shifts in marital status and from rate changes, holding marital status constant. The most striking change is the enormous increase in the proportion of older widowed and divorced women living alone as household heads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a paper that examines the economic costs of separation and divorce for young women in the United States from the late 1960s through the late 1980s. Family patterns have changed dramatically since 1960s. Broadened opportunities for women outside marriage have alleviated some of the severe economic costs of marital disruption for women. To understand these factors, the experiences of following two categories of young women have been compared and contrasted: one, those women who married and separated or divorced in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s and second, those who experienced these events in the 1980s. Analysis of the data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979-1988, Young Women 1968-1978, and Young Men 1966-1978, shows that young women in the second category have more labor force experience before disruption than those in the first category, but prior work history does not protect women from the severe costs of marital disruption.

The article cites a study which focuses on problems related to child-visiting in domestic abuse cases in the U.S. According to national data, more than half of all children under 18 years of age have experienced the divorce of their parents. In 25 percent of marriages, the wife has been the victim of physical abuse complicating the difficulties of the families. Reportedly, abusive men continue harassing the women in circumstances related to the pickup and return of the children. It has also been found that 60% of women face psychological abuse in the form of threats and intimidation if they maintain contact through child-visiting.

The article discusses the projected living arrangements of American women in 2030 and the current problems of female heads of families, and speculates on the living conditions of women who will reach old age in early decades of the 21st century. Special attention is given to women who live alone, because they are the strongest source of the demand for formal care, a great public concern. According to the projections of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, 17.7 million women will live alone in 2030, compared with 6.4 million women in 1983. Of the 17.7 million women who will live alone in 2030, 6.6 million women will be 80 years, or older. Also, three of four elderly people who will live alone in 2030 will be women. Similarly, an increasing proportion of women aged 75 and older will be unmarried and living alone in 2030, 61 percent compared to 51 percent in 1990. It was assumed that the rates of marriage and divorce in 2010 and 2030 would be the same as those in 1984. If one assumes that marriage rates will be lower and divorce rates will be higher in the future, one may anticipate that, in the 21st century, a growing proportion of women will be unmarried in old age and, therefore, that a greater proportion of older women will live alone than the U.S. Congressional Budget Office projected.

Examines the context of mothers' economic risks after divorce in southwest Virginia. Decline in economic resources for women; Increase in income for husbands; Summary of risk factors encompassed by various systemic levels.

This article examines the relationships between marital status, household structure, and life satisfaction in a probability sample of 373 Afro-American women. Black families in the United States continue to suffer disadvantages. The median income for black families in 1979 was $11,650, or 57 percent of that of white families, which was $20,520 In 1978, 42.7 percent of black families were headed by women, and 82 percent of those families contained children under 18. Forty-two percent of all black children resided in families headed by theft mothers. In addition, the median income for households headed by black women was only 53 percent of those headed by black men. Some social scientists and members of the general public have attributed these disparities to what they perceive as weaknesses in the structure and functioning of the black family. Some research has indicated that many very poor blacks seem destined for marital failure. This article explores the relationship between marital status and the life satisfaction of black women. It also examines the relationship between family extension and augmentation and the life satisfaction of black women who are without husbands.

The emergence of local feminist policy networks is set within the context of the New Federalism of the Reagan-Bush administrations and the transformation of the U.S. interest group system over the past three decades. A case study of policymaking in a single urban setting focuses on changes in four policy areas of special interest to women: sexual assault, domestic violence, child care, and displaced homemakers. Single-issue feminist policy networks, composed of feminist advocacy groups, women-run services, local elected officials, and urban bureaucrats responsible for delivering, funding or regulating each policy, have formed around these issues. Each is characterized by: responsive policy changes; frequent interactions between local legislators, bureaucrats, and feminists; interlocking directorates; a symbiotic support system; diverse strategies and funding sources; and a federal-type organization. Local feminists have been incorporated in a new group universe embedded within a complex System of inter-governmental grants, contracts, and mandates. These networks help to sustain feminism and its public policy agenda through crises and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a detailed analysis of childbearing that occurs after the second marriage among women who remarry during their reproductive years in the U.S., using the June 1985 Current Population Survey data. Increases in divorce, age at first birth, and age at first marriage, combined with lower fertility, have changed the family unit in the U.S. during the past three decades. Approximately 70% of divorced women remarry. Thus a large proportion of marriages in the U.S. are likely to be second or higher-order marriages. Because divorce and remarriage often occur during the prime reproductive years, births following remarriage may comprise a greater percentage of the total births than at a previous time. Fertility following remarriage and its timing has important consequences for the development of. the new family unit. Childbearing among remarried women may reduce the couple's economic security as well as interrupt the woman's career in the work force. Further, a birth shortly after remarriage can create difficulties in the new marriage, since the couple must provide constant care for their newborn while trying to adjust to their marriage.

This article describes the changing life styles in the U.S. from 1970 to 1974. The concept of life style connotes an ideology and set of values that find expression in, among other things, varying combinations of living arrangements and marital status. A publication of the Census Bureau prepared by Arthur Norton and his staff provides data to help illuminate changing life styles of divorced men and women between 1970 and 1974 by age. Additional data are also provided by age for life styles in 1974. The article addresses itself to certain aspects of these phenomena. Living arrangements depend on a variety of factors, including age, sex, the presence of absence of children, and marital status. Four kinds of living arrangements are singled out for attention here: (1) living in a family as its head; (2) living alone; (3) living in a family but not as head; (4) living in a nonfamily household, either as head or as secondary individual. The first and the third are family situations; the second and fourth, though the members may constitute households, are nonfamily situations. In some cases, that is, family and household coincide but in others they do not. Marital status, as well as living arrangements, is a major component of, and influence on, life style. Some marital statuses permit the individual more options in living arrangements than do others. By and large, married men and women live together with their children; when the children grow up and leave home, the husband and wife live alone.

Using data front the 1965 National Fertility Study we examine the differential infertility by whether a woman's first marriage was terminated by divorce or death of spouse, or whether it was still intact at the time of interview. For women 25 to 54 in1965 we find: (1) controlling for age and race differentials women whose first marriage was terminated by divorce have .14 children fewer than those who remain in intact first marriages; (2) this is an understatement of the overall differential infertility since women who have experienced divorce have an earlier age at marriage and thus higher fertility. When we take this fact into account the fertility deficit is about 0.6 children; (3) about one-half of the remaining differential is attributable to the higher incidence of childlessness among the divorced; (4) the fertility deficit is reduced to about 0.1 children when we control for months of "exposure" spent in a married state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age specific divorce rates for the United States as a whole are not available. This paper is an attempt to develop estimates of age specific incidence of divorce for the U.S. female population employing regression analyses. Certain correction factors are suggested to make the estimates built on a world divorce situation basis correspond to the American situation. Results derived in the paper reveal that the divorce curve for U.S. females is L-shaped in form. The age group below 20 years had the highest incidence of divorce (43 per 1000) followed by the age group 20 to 24 (33 per 1000) in 1969, while in 1960 these incidences were 33 per 1000 and 23 per 1000, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An upward trend in the divorce rate in the U.S. has been attributed to an increase in the earning ability of women. The reasoning for the increase in marital instability is that high-wage women gain less from marriage than other women do because higher earnings reduce the demand for children and the advantages of the sexual division of labor in marriage. Also divorced women tend to invest more in work experience and thus command a higher wage. This article presents evidence that adds support to the economic approach to divorce. It shows that the divorce rate is significantly and substantially affected by the earning ability of women in market work. Data has been drawn from the U.S. farm sector. After a brief overview of the economic theory of divorce and its relevance to the farm sector, data sources and regression specifications are discussed in the article. Perhaps more importantly, the shadow price of divorce is less for high-wage women. The reason for this is simply that an increase in the earning ability of women enables them to leave an unhappy marriage and either remain divorced or remarry.

Examines the labor force patterns of divorced and separated women in the U.S. from 1967 to 1975. Family status; Work during the year; Educational attainment; Occupations; Income.

The article presents an outline of a career-focused program for displaced homemakers in the U.S. Displaced homemaker is a term that refers to women or men who have lost their source of economic support through divorce, separation, widowhood and ineligibility for public assistance. The displaced homemaker program described was conducted according to group process to enhance the therapeutic value of the experience. The participants of the program had to be unemployed, adult heads of households, whose lives were sufficiently stable to enable them to focus on a career program. The results of the evaluation at the follow up session support the positive response. The participants felt enthusiastic about the experience; yet, they felt less confident to implement their career plans.

Although discrete-choice statistical techniques have been used with increasing regularity in demographic analyses, McFadden's conditional logit model is less well known and seldom used. Conditional logit models are appropriate when the choice among alternatives is modeled as a function of the characteristics of the alternatives, rather than (or in addition to) the characteristics of the individual making the choice. We argue that this feature of conditional logit makes it more appropriate for estimating behavioral models. In this article, the conditional logit model is presented and compared with the more familiar multinomial logit model. The difference between the two techniques is illustrated with an analysis of the choice of marital and welfare status by divorced or separated women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The divorce rate per thousand married women under 45 years of age in the United States increased by two-thirds between the mid-1950's and 1970. During the same period, the remarriage rate per thousand divorced or widowed women under 55 years of age rose about one-third. By contrast, first marriages per thousand single women under 45 years of age declined by one-tenth since the mid-1950's. These changes reinforce the general impression that a fundamental modification of life styles and values relating to marriage has been taking place. An analysis of nation-wide data on birth cohorts from 1900 to 1954 demonstrates that early marriage has declined since the mid-1950's but leaves open the question as to whether lifelong singleness is becoming more prevalent. The cohort study shows that the upward trend in divorce is not "phasing out" yet, as it did after World War II. An estimated 25 to 29 percent of all women near 30 years old now have ended or will end their first marriage in divorce. About four-fifths of these divorced women have remarried or probably will do so. Of all women around 30 years old now, some five to ten percent may he expected to experience divorce at least twice during their lifetime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tests the hypothesis that the apparent difference in broken home rates of male and female delinquents is not a real difference, and that it can be explained on the basis of the types of delinquency for which males and females are apprehended. Data used to test this hypothesis were obtained from the records of the juvenile court of Spokane, Washington. Pertinent information was collected from the records of the 515 delinquents who appeared before the court during 1937. Of these 515 delinquents, 420, or 81.6 percent, were males and 95, or 18.4 percent, were females. Home Situations of Male and Female Delinquents. From the distributions of broken home rates it was evident that females are from broken homes in proportionately greater numbers than are the males, 68.1 percent as compared with 39.6 percent. Further analysis shows that the percentages of both voluntarily and involuntarily broken homes are higher for the females than for the males, 37.2 and 30.9 as compared with 23.2 and 16.4. Thus, even when the type of broken home is held constant, the results here are consistent with those of other studies which have com- pared broken home rates of males and females treating delinquency as a whole.

Estimates from the 1977 National Medical Care Expenditure Survey suggest that divorced women are twice as likely as married women to be uninsured, and also more likely to depend on Medicaid assistance. Divorced women use slightly more health services than married women, but also appear to have somewhat poorer health status. (Am J Public Health 1984: 74:1276-1278.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents statistics on the labor force participation rate of divorced women in the United States in March 1977. Percentage of divorced women who are working; Reasons why separated women have a lower labor force participation; Variation in income sources.