Breakup after long-term marriage: How the past and ongoing relationship to the ex-partner is linked to psychological adaptation

While negative effects of divorce on well-being are well documented in research literature, the role of relationships with the ex-partner after marital breakup on adaptation remains unclear. This is especially the case for marital breakup after long-term marriage, which is still a neglected research topic. This research focuses on the relationships with the ex-partner (past and ongoing), and the extent to which the quality of these relations are linked to psychological adaptation to marital breakup (i.e., life satisfaction and depressive symptoms) over time. Therefore, we take into account socio-demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, financial resources), personality variables (i.e., personality traits, resilience) as well as the current relationship status. Data stem from two waves (2012, 2014) of a longitudinal survey-based study, which is part of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research ‘LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: life course perspectives’. Our analyses are carried out on a subsample of 501 divorcees (349 females, 152 males) aged 40 – 65 years (M= 51 years, SD= 6.7). The average length of their former relationship was 21.6 years (SD= 8.1) and participants experienced the separation on average 3.8 years ago (SD= 2.8). Half of the participants (n= 255; 49%) were in a new relationship, the majority (71%, n= 360) were still in contact with their ex-partner. Of those persons, 29% reported ‘tense to very tense’ contact to the ex-partner, 29% responded with ‘partly tense, partly good’ and 41% reported of a ‘good to very good’ contact. Preliminary results by multiple linear regression analysis demonstrate that for those who are still in contact with the former partner, ongoing conflicts are related to worse adaptation (i.e., lower life satisfaction, higher depressive symptoms), even when the participants are in a new relationship. Variables related to the ex-relationship (i.e., length of and happiness with former relationship, initiator status of separation, time passed since separation) only play a limited role for adaptation. In a next step, we will examine longitudinal associations using structural equation modelling. These results offer important insights into the process of adaptation to martial breakup, which can be used for counselling

Expression of grief and personal growth in divorced and widowed older adults

Divorce and spousal bereavement in later life cause distress and require adaptation to a new life situation but can also lead to personal growth. However, few studies compare the reactions after different types of relationship-related life events and it remains unclear how the type of the event affects the expression of grief and personal growth. Firstly, we examined whether the expression of grief and personal growth was distinct in divorced and widowed older adults. Secondly, we compared the level of prolonged grief and personal growth after both events. The sample included participants from a longitudinal study on relationships in later life which is part of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research ‘LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: life course perspectives’. A total of 795 divorced and widowed older adults (65% women, 45% divorced, 55% widowed) with a mean age of 64 years (SD = 13 years) were compared in terms of their reactions to interpersonal loss. Symptoms of grief were assessed with the Prolonged Grief Questionnaire (PG-13, Prigerson et al. 2008). Posttraumatic growth was measured with the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-SF, Cann et al, 2010) which was developed for assessing personal growth after different critical life events. Testing for differential item functioning, we found that emotional symptoms of grief such as yearning and emotional pain as well as avoiding reminders of the loss were differentially influenced by the type of the loss. In divorced individuals, yearning for the ex-partner, strong feelings of emotional pain and avoiding reminders of the loss were indicators of very high levels of prolonged grief. In widowed participants, these symptoms were rather common and were not related to higher levels of grief. Other symptoms such as trouble accepting the loss or reductions in social functioning were not affected by differential item functioning. In contrast to grief, the expression of personal growth after divorce and bereavement was similar apart from one exception. Widowed participant who reported that they had established a new path for their lives had a considerably higher level of posttraumatic growth than divorced participants who endorsed the same response categories. Taking these differences in the expression of grief and personal growth into account, divorced participants reported significantly lower levels of prolonged grief but similar levels of personal growth than bereaved older adults

Marital split-up and widowhood in old age: Differential impact on psychological and social well-being

Marital split-up and spousal loss are among the most stressful critical life events. Numerous studies have documented their detrimental effects on well-being, yet the large individual differences in psychological adaptation are still not well understood. Whereas in old age bereavement is normative and can be anticipated, divorce is an “off-time” transition for this age group. In contrast to bereavement which has been amply studied, research on later life divorce is still missing despite the increasing relevance of the topic due to the significant increase of divorces in older age. Based on a modified and extended view of Amato’s divorce-stress-adjustment model (2000), the aim of this contribution is to explore the differential impact of marital split-up and widowhood in older age on psychological (life satisfaction) and social well-being (social loneliness), and the adaptation to these critical life events. Our analyses are based on data gathered in a questionnaire study, which is part of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES. In a first step we compared three groups of individuals aged 60 to 75 years: a sample of 251 persons with a marital split-up (127 women; 123 men), a sample of 270 widowed persons (170 women; 100 men), and a group of 221 continuously married people (110 women; 111 men), which served as control group. In a second step, we investigated the role of socio-demographic variables, intrapersonal and interpersonal resources and variables of the context of loss as predictors for the psychological adaptation to a marital break-up and loss in old age. First results by ANCOVA indicate significant differences with regard to life satisfaction among the three groups, with divorced persons with the lowest scores, followed by the bereaved ones, and the married controls with the highest. Regarding social loneliness, divorced individuals report higher social loneliness than the bereaved group and the married controls (no significant difference between widowed and the married). In both loss groups, financial and intrapersonal resources, as well as the emotional valence of the loss are the most important predictors for the psychological and social adaptation. However, happiness in the past relationship is an important resource regarding the indicators for adaptation for the widowers, but not for individuals with a marital dissolution

Eheliche Trennung im Alter: Krise oder chronische Belastung?

Trotz signifikanter Zunahme von Scheidungen nach langjähriger Partnerschaft, wurde dieses Phänomen bislang kaum wissenschaftlich untersucht. Wie adaptieren ältere Leute nach diesem kritischen Lebensereignis? In der Forschungsliteratur wird die Frage, ob eine Scheidung eine temporäre Krise oder eine chronische Belastung darstellt, kontrovers diskutiert. Vor diesem Hintergrund will diese Studie die Rolle der Zeit im Vergleich zu jener intra- und interpersoneller Ressourcen für die psychische Adaptation nach einer ehelichen Trennung im Alter untersuchen. Die verwendeten Daten wurden im Rahmen des Projektes IP12 des Nationalen Forschungsschwerpunktes LIVES erhoben. Die Stichprobe besteht aus 276 Personen im Alter von 60 - 88 Jahren (140 Frauen; 136 Männer). Als kritisches Lebensereignis wurde die eheliche Trennung berücksichtigt und nicht die Scheidung, da die Zeitspanne zwischen beiden Ereignissen sehr unterschiedlich ist. Es wurden Gruppenvergleiche durchgeführt: Personen mit einer Trennung in den letzten 5 Jahren (n=53) sowie Personen mit einer Trennung seit mehr als 5 Jahren (n=105). Diese beiden Gruppen wurden mit 349 kontinuierlich verheirateten Personen gleichen Alters verglichen. Die Resultate unterstützen sowohl den Ansatz der temporären Krise wie auch der chronischen Belastung. Zwar zeigt sich im Vergleich der beiden Trennungsgruppen ein Erholungseffekt über die Zeit hinsichtlich Depressivität und Lebenszufriedenheit. Im Vergleich mit den Verheirateten allerdings weisen auch die länger Getrennten immer noch tiefere Werte in Bezug auf Lebenszufriedenheit und höhere in Bezug auf Depressivität auf. Die Bedeutung der Rolle der Zeit für die psychische Adaptation wird jedoch durch Ergebnisse hierarchischer Regressionsanalysen relativiert, welche intrapersonelle- und interpersonelle Ressourcen berücksichtigen

Späte Scheidungen: Gründe, Auswirkungen und Ressourcen

Eheliche Trennungen und Scheidungen gehören zu den häufigsten und zugleich schwierigsten biografischen Transitionen des Erwachsenenalters. In zunehmendem Masse betrifft dieses kritische Lebensereignis Personen nach langjährigen Partnerschaften. Allerdings wurde das Phänomen der späten Scheidung bis anhin kaum wissenschaftlich untersucht. Basierend auf der Scheidung-Stress-Adaptations-Theorie nach Amato (2000) ist das Ziel dieser Präsentation, einen Einblick in die Gründe und Auswirkungen später Scheidungen zu geben und Ressourcen, welche die Adaptation an dieses kritische Lebensereignis erleichtern, näher zu beleuchten. Unsere Analysen basieren auf der Fragebogenstudie des interdisziplinären Forschungsprojekts IP12 ‚Vulnerabilität und Wachstum nach dem Verlust des Lebenspartners/der Lebenspartnerin in der zweiten Lebenshälfte’, welches im Rahmen des Schweizerischen Nationalen Forschungsschwerpunktes LIVES durchgeführt wird. Der Fokus der vorliegenden Präsentation liegt auf 307 Personen (144 Frauen, 162 Männer) im Alter von über 60 Jahren (M = 66 Jahre), welche eine Trennung oder Scheidung nach einer langjährigen Partnerschaft (M = 25 Jahre) erlebt haben. Im Vergleich mit 351 kontinuierlich verheirateten Personen (168 Frauen, 183 Männer) der gleichen Altersgruppe, zeigen sich einschneidende Einbussen in Bezug auf psychische, soziale und finanzielle Befindlichkeits- bzw. Zufriedenheitsindikatoren. Des Weiteren zeigen die Resultate, dass grosse individuelle Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Adaptation an späte Scheidung bestehen. Frauen rapportieren geringere Werte verschiedenerer Adaptationsindikatoren als Männer, dies kann teilweise darauf zurückgeführt werden, dass sich Männer schneller und häufiger in einer neuen Partnerschaft befanden. Analysen mittels hierarchischer Regressionen demonstrieren ausserdem, dass das Gelingen der Adaptation von einer Vielzahl von Ressourcen abhängt, insbesondere der Persönlichkeitsvariable Resilienz sowie der emotionalen Valenz der Trennung. Resultate mit Längsschnittdaten werden ein differenzierteres Bild der Adaptation an späte Scheidung über die Zeit geben

Späte Scheidungen: Fakten, Gründe und Auswirkungen. Ein interdisziplinärer Blick auf Ergebnisse einer Schweizer Studie

Scheidungen im Alter sind eine zunehmende gesellschaftliche Realität, allerdings wurde dieses Phänomen bislang kaum wissenschaftlich untersucht. In diesem Beitrag werden neueste Forschungsergebnisse einer Schweizer Studie vorgestellt, welche zeigen, dass späte Scheidungen ein einschneidendes kritisches Lebensereignis mit multiplen Gründen und mannigfachen negativen Auswirkungen auf persönlicher, familialer und sozialer Ebene ist. Allerdings gibt es grosse individuelle Unterschiede, insbesondere Geschlechterunterschiede, hinsichtlich der Gründe und auch bezüglich der psychosozialen Adaptation. Das Ausleuchten der Forschungsresultate trägt nicht nur zu einem besseren Verständnis des Phänomens bei, sondern liefert auch Grundlagen für die familienrechtliche Praxis.Malgré les taux de divorces après un long mariage sont en constante augmentation, ce phénomène n'a guère été un objet de recherche. Dans cette contribution des résultats d'une étude Suisse sont présentés qui démontrent qu'un divorce après un long mariage est un événement critique avec multiples conséquences négatives sur le plan individuel, familial et social. Toutefois, ils existent de grandes différences individuelles, notamment des différences de genre en ce qui concerne les raisons et l'adaption psychosociale. L'analyse de ces résultats ne contribue pas seulement à une meilleure compréhension du phénomène, mais livre en même temps une base importante pour la pratique du droit familial

Trajectories of psychological adaptation to marital breakup after a long-term marriage

Background: Marital dissolution is known to be among the most stressful life events with long- reaching negative consequences on individuals’ lives. A limitation in research to date is that most studies have focused on the impact of marital disruption on well-being outcomes in younger adults. Furthermore, although population-based studies on divorce document a broad range of negative effects, more fine-grained analyses reveal a large heterogeneity in people’s adjustment, which is still not well understood. Objective: To explore trajectories of psychological adaptation to marital breakup after a long-term marriage, and to examine variables accounting for recovery or chronicity in terms of intrapersonal resources (personality, trait resilience, personal growth), relationship variables (satisfaction with ex- relationship, length of marriage, time since divorce) and socio-demographic variables (age, gender, financial situation). Methods: Latent transition analysis is used to examine the course of psychological adaptation (i.e., depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, hopelessness, mourning and subjective health) to divorce over two years among five profiles of 308 divorcees (mean age: 55.6 years; average duration of former marriage: 23.62 years): Two larger groups of individuals, the one which adapted very well (‘resilients’, 29%), the other quite well (‘average copers’, 49%), and three groups with major difficulties (‘vulnerables’, 6%; ‘malcontents’, 12%; and ‘resigned’, 4%). In a second step the differences among transition patterns were explored on the basis of the distal variables (i.e., intrapersonal resources, relationship variables, socio-demographics). Results: Although the probability of upward changes was higher for those individuals with lower adaptation at time 1, only a small number of individuals made an upward change from the maladapted to the well-adapted groups throughout the two years. The groups of copers and resilients remained stable in their psychological adaption. The most consistent results related to upward changes were intrapersonal resources, namely the NEO personality traits and trait resilience. Conclusion: The majority of individuals divorcing after a long-term marriage adapt successfully over time. Adaptation trajectories depend primarily on intrapersonal resources. However, a minority of divorcees exhibit enduring difficulties. Knowledge about the diversity of these trajectories of vulnerability could be of great help for designing psychological interventions to better tackle this critical life event