ABSTRACT
Most couples experience some hostility in the first year or two following the breakup of their relationship. Although the conflict experienced by divorcing couples may be part of the process of uncoupling, children still need to be shielded from the cross fire. Often it is intense before resolving itself into a low level of tension. However, for some couples the conflict drags on and on and settles into a negative and destructive pattern. Years later, these parents still cannot be in the same room without problems erupting. Some couples experience an intensity of conflict that does not subside. Conflicted parents often struggle with issues of fairness, equality, retaliation, and betrayal. These behaviors and their destructive emotions can wreak havoc on the binuclear family. According to Maccoby and Mnookin (1992), most divorcing parents are engaged in fierce warfare during the first year of separation. They noted that for half of these couples, the battles will involve physical violence even when it was absent from the marriage. They observed that by the second year, most divorced parents become accustomed to a postdivorce arrangement. By the third year, couples who have realigned their relationship and started to heal emotionally minimize their conflict.
