TY - JOUR
T1 - Does Everything Fall Apart? Life Assessments Following a Gray Divorce
AU - Crowley, Jocelyn Elise
N1 - Funding Information:
The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Michael J. and Susan Angelides Public Policy Research Fund, The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Funding Information:
I would like to thank Patricia Sheffield, Andrea Hetling, Dawne Mouzon, and M. B. Crowley for their assistance with this article. The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Michael J. and Susan Angelides Public Policy Research Fund, The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2019.
PY - 2019/8/1
Y1 - 2019/8/1
N2 - The divorce–stress–adjustment theoretical framework emphasizes not only the negative consequences associated with marital dissolution but also the positive outcomes that can eventually emerge after former spouses part ways. This study aims to examine the subjective life assessments of the heterosexual gray divorced population within the first 3 years of their marital splits with respect to this framework. Qualitative data based on 66 in-depth interviews of the gray divorced population were collected and analyzed using grounded theory methods. Negative consequences of gray divorce included financial worries and loneliness. However, participants also identified positive aspects of their new lives, including higher levels of overall happiness, liberation from their ex-spouses, and enhanced independence and freedom. These results show that immediately after their marriages dissolve, members of the gray divorced population experience complex reactions in accordance with the divorce-stress-adjustment framework. More specifically, these men and women see both challenges and opportunities after their gray divorces.
AB - The divorce–stress–adjustment theoretical framework emphasizes not only the negative consequences associated with marital dissolution but also the positive outcomes that can eventually emerge after former spouses part ways. This study aims to examine the subjective life assessments of the heterosexual gray divorced population within the first 3 years of their marital splits with respect to this framework. Qualitative data based on 66 in-depth interviews of the gray divorced population were collected and analyzed using grounded theory methods. Negative consequences of gray divorce included financial worries and loneliness. However, participants also identified positive aspects of their new lives, including higher levels of overall happiness, liberation from their ex-spouses, and enhanced independence and freedom. These results show that immediately after their marriages dissolve, members of the gray divorced population experience complex reactions in accordance with the divorce-stress-adjustment framework. More specifically, these men and women see both challenges and opportunities after their gray divorces.
KW - adjustment
KW - divorce consequences
KW - gray divorce
KW - interviews
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U2 - 10.1177/0192513X19839735
DO - 10.1177/0192513X19839735
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85064249722
SN - 0192-513X
VL - 40
SP - 1438
EP - 1461
JO - Journal of Family Issues
JF - Journal of Family Issues
IS - 11
ER -