Surprising results from the most comprehensive study of divorce in America. Debunking popular wisdom on the devastating psychological and social effects of divorce, eminent psychologist Mavis Hetherington presents a more nuanced picture. This landmark study gathers nearly three decades of research involving 1,400 families and explores divorce not as a moment but as a life process. Hetherington identifies the kinds of marriages, or "pathways," that predispose a couple to divorce or not, and she also pinpoints "windows of change" that allow some to fashion the challenges of divorce into an opportunity. She shows how women and girls experience divorce differently from men and boys; why single-mother-son relationships and stepfather-daughter relationships are the most difficult; why divorce presents a greater risk to adolescent children; and how mentoring and authoritative parenting can buffer against negative effects. This unprecedented look at our divorce-prone society concludes that the aftermath of divorce need not be a prescribed pathway of dissolution but can be one of healing and ultimate fulfillment.
- ISBN10 0393048624
- ISBN13 9780393048629
- Publish Date 17 January 2002
- Publish Status Inactive
- Out of Print 28 October 2010
- Publish Country US
- Imprint WW Norton & Co
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 320
- Language English