ABSTRACT
Although divorce and remarriage rates may be declining, these phenomena affect a significant number of families. Short term effects on families are best conceptualized from the standpoint of a crisis model. During the first 2 years following divorce, children and adults experience pragmatic, physical, and emotional problems as well as declines in family functioning. By 2 years postdivorce, however, the majority of families have made significant adjustments. Conclusions regarding long-term effects are far more speculative due to an extraordinary lack of studies. Tentative evidence suggests that long term adult adjustment is associated with satisfying remarriage, strong psychological resources, and adequate economic security and social support. For children, long term adjustment is related to age and gender as well as to timing of parents’ marital transitions. Behavior problems persist in young boys in nonremarried mother-custody homes for as long as 6 years. Girls seem to recover fully during elementary school years, but at the onset of adolescence they may show a variety of socioemotional problems. Remarriage seems to have positive effects on younger boys, but not on younger girls. Suggestive evidence indicates negative effects for both boys and girls if mother’s remarriage occurs at the onset of adolescence. In adulthood, young women from families of marital disruption are more likely to experience divorce themselves.
