Macro-level factors explaining divorce’s reasons include religion, divorce law, socioeconomic development, employment and women’s status, and attitudes toward divorce (Seccombe, 2018). Economic independence is a factor that triggers women to leave their husbands if the marriage is unhappy by extracting women from traditional roles. Women with egalitarian views have a higher possibility of having a divorce. The modernization in America has led people to reject religious norms that are pillars to married people giving rise to divorce reforms. The no-fault system increases the divorce rate by setting strict grounds under which separation is acceptable.
Bohannon’s Six Stations of Divorce
The six stations comprise psychic, emotional, parental, community, legal, and economic (Seccombe, 2018). Emotional divorce reacts to losing a relationship built for a long time, leading to the spouse becoming antagonistic. Legal divorce is the formalizing marriage dissolution by the court giving each right to remarry. Economic divorce is when the financial settlement is made and dissolved legal unity. Parental divorce is grounded in children’s interests, where their rights override parental rights where couples make custody decisions. Community divorce is caused by alteration of the community leading to negative opinions after the finalization of the divorce. Psychic divorce entails the separation of self away from the influence and personality of an ex-spouse.
Demographic Trends in Remarriage
Remarriage after divorce in America is higher for people aged 55 and above. Remarrying increases with age, where young people are less likely to remarry. Besides, whites have a greater possibility of remarrying than blacks, Asians, or Hispanics. Men remarry more quickly after a divorce than women. 25% of older men remarry after divorce compared with 22% more senior women. Adults aged 18 to 24 who remarried in 2013 were 29% compared with 67% of those aged 55 to 64. The remarriage rate has declined by 44% traced from 1990 to 2013.
Unique Aspects of Stepfamilies
Stepfamilies are unique since they are reconstituted families with minor children living with one biological parent (Seccombe, 2018). It is characterized by having stepparents, half-siblings, or stepsiblings. After remarriage, each parent may come with children from earlier marriage into the new relationship. The children brought into the marriage have no biological connection, while those born in the family are mutual and share one parent with their elder sibling. In stepfamilies, spousal bonding is younger than parent-child bonding for those children brought in the marriage.
Reference
Seccombe, K. (2018). Exploring marriages & families (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ USA: Pearson.