ABSTRACT
Almost every American marries at some point in their lifetime. Yet, almost half of the 2.4 million marriages taking place every year end in divorce (DeVita, 1996). Furthermore, a large number of couples remain married but dissatisfied (Markman & Hahlweg, 1993). Research conducted over the past two decades has shown that marital conflict and divorce put both adults and children at greater risk for detrimental mental, physical, and emotional consequences (Amato & Keith, 1991; Emery, 1982). Divorce is also associated with economic consequences including lower socioeconomic status for divorced women and losses in work productivity for both men and women (Forthofer, Markman, Cox, Stanley, & Kessler, 1996; Stroup & Pollock, 1994).
