Adjustment to separation and divorce

de Graham B. Spanier, Radcliffe College. Henry A. Murray Research Center

The purpose of this study was to examine the diversity of experience following the breakup of a marriage. The social, psychological, economic, and legal aspects of marital separation were addressed. The sample comprised 205 respondents. Fifty were separated and 155 were already divorced. Ninety-one men and 114 women participated. The participants' ages ranged from 20 to 67 with a mean age of 33. All respondents were White. Of the divorces granted, 96% were uncontested. The participants had been separated between one and 26 months; and the average marriage lasted nine years, with a range of four months to 45 years. A face-to-face structured interview was employed. The interview was divided into the following sections: background information about the marital interaction, relationship with spouse since separation, social network, legal matters, mental and physical health, sexual relationships, and economics. A follow-up study was conducted two years later (see Furstenberg, A726). The Murray Center has acquired computer-accessible data from this and the follow-up study.