ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the research that has been conducted into adults' divorce experiences with regard to psychological adjustment and well-being, and looks at the factors which have been identified as salient to outcome. It also looks at the methodological and theoretical limitations which continue to confound research into divorce, and which need to be held in mind when analysing and evaluating research findings. The vast literature on the psychology of divorce seems to suffer from two main limitations: first, studies on the alleged 'effects' of divorce on children predominate. The geographical mobility associated with divorce also makes it difficult to meet sample quota, and, as the study by Gray and Silver illustrates, this can often lead to a marked gender difference in response rates. The impact of divorce on social support networks has been found to play a large part in psychological adjustment.
