(Press-News.org) COLUMBUS, Ohio - Married couples who undergo long-term separations appear to be those who can't afford to divorce, a new nationwide study suggests.
Researchers found that about 80 percent of all respondents who went through a marital separation ultimately divorced, most within three years.
About 5 percent attempted to reconcile. But 15 percent of separations didn't lead to divorce or reconciliation within 10 years. Couples in these long-term separations tended to be racial and ethnic minorities, have low family income and education, and have young children.
"Long-term separation seems to be the low-cost, do-it-yourself alternative to divorce for many disadvantaged couples," said Dmitry Tumin, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in sociology at Ohio State University.
"Separation may not be their first choice, but they may feel it is their best choice."
Tumin conducted the study with Zhenchao Qian, professor of sociology at Ohio State. They will present their results Aug. 20 in Denver at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
The study involved 7,272 people from across the country who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, and who were married at some point. The NLSY is a nationally representative sample of men and women aged 14 to 22 in 1979. The same people were surveyed every year up to 1994 and every other year since then. The study by Tumin and Qian followed the respondents through 2008.
The NLSY79 is conducted by Ohio State's Center for Human Resource Research for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The results of this study showed that 49 percent of participants had left their first marriage during the course of the NLSY interviews, with 60 percent having gone through a marital separation. About 80 percent of these separations ended in divorce.
The average length of a first separation was 3 years for those who ended up divorcing, 9 years for respondents who were still separated as of the most recent interview, and 2 years for those who reunited with their spouse.
Reconciliation after separation is often unsuccessful, the study found - half of those who reconciled were no longer married as of 2008.
People who divorced immediately were similar to people who separated first before divorcing, but people who separated and did not divorce had very different profiles, the researchers found.
Almost 75 percent of those who remained separated, or who separated and then reunited, were black or Hispanic. Those who remained separated were more likely than those who divorced to have a high school or lower education.
"In every measure we had, including family background, income and education, those who remain separated are more disadvantaged than those who end up divorcing," Qian said.
Compared to people who divorce, those who separated without divorcing also tended to have more children, the study found. This may also be related to their disadvantage.
"Those with young children may find it difficult to support themselves and their children if they divorce. Divorce may not protect them because their spouse may be unwilling or unable to provide financial support," Qian said.
One surprising finding was that study participants' religious background was not associated with whether they chose separation or divorce, or whether they reunited after a separation.
"We thought that people with certain religious backgrounds that discourage divorce, like Catholicism, might be more likely to separate rather than divorce, but we did not find that after other factors are taken into account," Tumin said.
When the results of this study are compared to previous research, some trends emerge, Tumin said.
The number of people who choose separation seems to be declining, but the time spent in separation seems to be increasing.
Both of these trends may be explained by the increasing availability of "no-fault" divorces for the generation of young adults in this study.
No-fault divorces reduced or eliminated separation as a prerequisite for divorce. That means people who have long-term separations now may not have the financial or social resources to divorce, according to Qian.
"Tough economic times are likely to make these trends continue," Qian said.
"Long-term separation may continue to be the norm for the disadvantaged unless they can see a better alternative, both in terms of spousal availabilities and economic independence."
###
Contact: Dmitry Tumin, Tumin.1@osu.edu
Zhenchao Qian, (614) 292-5452; Qian.26@osu.edu
Written by Jeff Grabmeier, (614) 292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu
END
DENVER — Young adults from middle income families are more likely to rack up student loan debt—and in greater amounts—than students from both lower and higher income backgrounds, finds new research to be presented at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.
"Many middle income families make too much money for their children to qualify for student aid packages," said study author Jason N. Houle, a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "While at the same time, they may not have the financial means ...
DENVER — Many refugees to the U.S. travel thousands of miles to a safe harbor, but once here find that adjusting to linguistic and cultural differences is an equally daunting task, according to new research to be presented by two University of Dayton sociologists at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.
"In one or two weeks, some refugees find themselves going from a place like a Burundian refugee camp to a Midwestern city like Dayton," said sociology professor Theo Majka. "The journey from a rural environment in a developing country to a ...
DENVER — American megachurches use stagecraft, sensory pageantry, charismatic leadership and an upbeat, unchallenging vision of Christianity to provide their congregants with a powerful emotional religious experience, according to research from the University of Washington.
"Membership in megachurches is one of the leading ways American Christians worship these days, so, therefore, these churches should be understood," said James Wellman, associate professor of American religion at the University of Washington. "Our study shows that -- contrary to public opinion that ...
DENVER — Married couples who undergo long-term separations generally appear to be those who can't afford to divorce, a new nationwide study suggests.
Researchers found that about 80 percent of all respondents who went through a marital separation ultimately divorced, most within three years.
About five percent attempted to reconcile. But, 15 percent of separations didn't lead to divorce or reconciliation within 10 years. Couples in these long-term separations tended to be racial and ethnic minorities, have low family income and education, and have young children.
"Long-term ...
A study by Indiana University sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco found that working-class and middle-class parents often take very deliberate -- but different -- approaches to helping their children with their school experiences.
Working-class parents, she found, coached their children on how to avoid problems, often through finding a solution on their own and by being polite and deferential to authority figures. Middle-class parents, on the other hand, were more likely to encourage their kids to ask questions or ask for help.
These self-advocacy skills taught by ...
Award Winning Comedian, Second City Improv Graduate, Comedy Club Booker, Comedy Consultant, Actor, Author, Filmmaker and Certified Hypnotist Don Barnhart is now offering seminars and classes in the art, business and science of humor, stand up comedy, improv, acting and success.
Don Barnhart is a professional, working comic with numerous TV/Film credits. He's a national headline act and regular at the top comedy clubs in Vegas and around the world. Learn from someone who actually does it for a living!
For years, Barnhart has been the premier comedy coach in Las Vegas ...
"We are thrilled to have been asked to market and sell this well located home in booming Fairfax County," according to John Nicholls, president of the company. "Homes of this nature do not usually stay available in this area for very long, so take advantage of this great opportunity to buy at auction."
"The property at auction consists of a 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch home on a 0.2 acre cul-de-sac lot in an established neighborhood," said Brian Damewood, Nicholls Auction Marketing Group Coordinator. "Highlights include a kitchen with a large ...
The New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera (Verismo Opera) continues to make the grand world of opera accessible and affordable this season to patrons of all ages. Under Artistic Director and Metropolitan Opera star Lucine Amara, Verismo Opera is offering to the public a special 2 for 1 sale on $45 and $55 tickets only from August 23-25 to see Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly on Sunday, October 7, 3:00 p.m., at the Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) located at 30 North Van Brunt Street in Englewood, New Jersey. New discount ticket rates for senior citizens and ...
ComplianceBridge, Inc., a provider of web-based policy and procedure management software released today its new build for TotalCompliance, its web-based solution. The new build; 3.0; is the largest and most comprehensive release since the company first released its policy software in 2007.
The new release modernizes the look and feel of the software, organizes its policy management features, as well as adds several new key features and functionality. Build 3.0 keeps ComplianceBridge in the forefront of the policy management industry, and provides its clients the most ...
BenevolenceInc.com has announced that the Nature Conservancy will be the website's August Non-Profit Organization of the Month. During the entire month of August, at least 50% of profits made by BenevolenceInc.com will be donated to the Nature Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy works diligently to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people alike. Since this non-profit organization was founded in 1951, they have protected over 119 million acres of land worldwide. The Nature Conservancy has over 1 million members and operates more than 100 ...
