Fundamentals Of Marital Therapy

D. Russell Crane

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781135063207
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Published in 1996, Fundamentals of Marital Therapy is a valuable contribution to the field of Family Therapy.

1

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WHY MARITAL THERAPY MATTERS: THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE

Within the Western world social forces have combined to produce the highest divorce rates in history. The results of family disruption are devastating and have led directly or indirectly to many of the social problems faced throughout the world. Examples include increases in poverty for women and children, illegal drug use, gangs, and violent crime.

Divorce is not necessarily an outcome of unhappy marriages. Spouses can adapt to their situation in any number of ways. These may include physical separation, emotional withdrawal from one 's partner, living with high degrees of emotional conflict, adopting a “business” marriage with few if any shared activities or interests, and simply deciding to live with a less than satisfactory relationship. Since these forms of adaption to unhappy relationships undoubtedly have their own consequences, marital therapy may serve such couples well.

On the other hand, divorce is a viable option for many couples. Since this is the case, a review of the research related to divorce seems to be in order. Consequently, the purpose of this chapter is to discuss several important issues related to marriage and divorce. Professionals who choose to work with couples in relationship therapy should be aware of the importance of their work. Familiarity with the consequences of separation and divorce may allow therapists to make a more sober appraisal of the importance of their work with couples.

This chapter is a summary and interpretation of the major research findings related to the consequences of family disruption. First, the economic issues associated with divorce and single-parent households will be addressed. Second, the findings of the major research projects on divorce outcomes will be reviewed. Finally, some possible implications for marital therapy will be presented.

Since most of the research has been focused on the effects of divorce on women and children, this review will necessarily reflect that perspective. Although the emotional consequences of divorce are undoubtedly no less severe for men, relatively little is known about their unique perspectives or circumstances. It is hoped that future researchers will address this important need.

WORLD TRENDS IN FAMILY DISRUPTION

Divorce rates are highest in the United States but are rapidly rising in many other Western countries. One model for explaining an increased divorce rate is economic in nature and proposes that increases in incidence of divorce are a natural consequence of the “full scale industrialization” of a country (Goode, 1992). Industrialization is said to generate the forces that make marriages unstable. These forces include (1) individuals' being less concerned with family role fulfillment, (2) development of a mass media that urges self-seeking, material advancement, and concern for self more than for the family as a whole, and (3) loss of respect for authority figures. All of these social forces seem to combine to produce greater marital instability and a general rise in the divorce rate (Goode, 1992).

Indeed, a major study of divorce trends, as associated with economic development, seems to support this notion. Clark (1990) examined the relationship between measures of socioeconomic development, individual economic dependency, religious affiliation, gender, age, and divorce rates. Economic data for 61 nations were available for analysis. The major findings were that (1) a higher level of socioeconomic development corresponds to a higher divorce rate, (2) societies in which women 's roles as mothers and wives are valued highly have lower divorce rates, and (3) societies with greater participation by women in higher education and the job market have a higher divorce rate. This may be because less economic dependency on men enables women to seek divorce more frequently. If these predictors become more prevalent in more countries, one would expect to see worldwide increases in family disruption continue in direct relation to economic development.

In the United States, for example, Goode (1992) believes that two thirds of those married in the early 1990s can be expected to separate or divorce sometime in their lives. Evidence from other countries also suggests a similar increase in divorce rates. Studies by Goode (1992) and Maclean (1992) show significant increases in divorce rates for Australia, Austria, Belgium, England and Wales, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Norway, South Africa, and Sweden over the past 30 years. Even in countries where divorce is illegal (e.g., Republic of Ireland), the social processes that have driven others to divorce affect the citizens. Men and women separate, form new relationships, and set up other households with or without the legal action of divorce. The consequences of family disruption in these families are unknown, although one would expect them to be similar to the consequences in countries where divorce is permitted.

The social implications of the increased divorce rates have been described extensively by Goode (1992), who notes that the current divorce rates have no historical precedent except in times of great change, such as revolutions and civil wars, epidemics, famines, and conquests. These high divorce rates will continue to place a larger segment of the population in difficult social and economic circumstances for which the existing social institutions are not adequately prepared.

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE

Financial Support Costs for Single-Parent Families

One of the many reasons that the study of the economic consequences of divorce has become important is the large increase in the numbers of single-parent families. In addition, the large number of those who receive some sort of public assistance is a major concern. In the United States, public assistance is provided through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. AFDC legislation was enacted as part of the Social Security Act of 1935. Initially it was designed to provide for the needs of fatherless children, most of whom were expected to be orphans.

Currently, however, approximately 90% of families who receive AFDC support do so because their fathers are absent from the home because of divorce, separation, or the parents never having been married, and an important source of financial support is absent from the family. In 1988 the AFDC program had 3.7 million families and 7.3 million children enrolled. Widows and families with disabled fathers accounted for only 13% of these families.

If the past is any predictor of future trends, the numbers of families headed by nonmarried (divorced, never married, widowed, separated) women will continue to increase. In 1960 less than 7% of families were in this category; by 1985 this had increased to 21% of families. If present trends continue, 50% of children born in the 1980s will, at some time, live in nonmarried mother households before they reach 18 years of age (McLanahan, 1992).

In the estimated costs of the AFDC programs, one must include as well the cost of Medicaid, housing assistance, and food stamps, since AFDC recipients are also eligible for these programs. A recent estimate of the total cost of these programs was $24 billion in 1988 (Garfinkel, 1992).

In other countries, policies related to financial support vary, but the costs of such programs continue to mount. For example, in Australia most female heads of household receive their main income from social programs. The number of beneficiaries of these programs has tripled (in the decade 1978–1988), with a commensurate growth in costs (Funder, 1992). In the United Kingdom, more than 50% of female heads of household are on welfare; in Belgium the figure is 40% (Maclean, 1992).

Poverty Among Female Heads of Household

Many studies have found serious economic disruption for women and children following divorce. Men, on the other hand, often experience an increase in their standard of living. Consequently, the conclusion of most authors is that the burden of the economic costs of divorce is most often borne by women and children.

In the most comprehensive study to date, Finnie (1993) used data from Canadian tax records to track individuals before and after divorce. The study used a 10% random sample of the 1982 Canadian adult population that included 2,800 men and 3,075 women who were followed from 1982 to 1986. The conclusions were (1) the income of female heads of household dropped roughly one half and men 's declined about one quarter in the first year of divorce, (2) poverty rates jumped for women in the first year, then dropped off slowly (but remained high), (3) over several years, women experienced steep declines in economic well-being while men enjoyed moderate increases, and (4) the gender earning gap and low levels of spousal/child support were considered to be the key factors underlying these patterns.

In another study, Laosa (1988) compared the annual incomes (including public assistance, alimony, and child support) of single-mother families and intact families across 20 different ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Without exception, the median income of the single-mother families with children under 18 was less than half that of intact families. In many cases it was one third.

Finally, in a recent review of the research on the economic impact of divorce, Sorenson (1992) noted that the economic consequences were worse for women than for men. This conclusion is very similar to that reported by Weitzman (1985). Her book reviewed the consequences of the “no fault” divorce laws. These laws have, in an attempt to make divorce less adversarial and to treat both spouses equally, led to a whole new set of problems due to unequal divisions of property and earning potential. As a result, many women with children find themselves in poverty following divorce. Decreases in income cause many children to live in poverty for an extended period. The greater the length of time in poverty, the greater the effects. Unfortunately, in the 1970s the average time in poverty was 4.6 years in two-parent and 7 years in single-parent families (McLanahan, 1992).

In a review of the literature regarding the multigenerational effects of divorce and poverty, McLanahan (1992) reports that children from mother-only families obtain fewer years of education, receive lower earnings as adults, and are more likely to (1) drop out of high school, (2) be poor, (3) receive welfare, (4) marry early, (5) have children early, both in and out of wedlock, (6) divorce, (7) commit delinquent acts, and (8) engage in drug and alcohol use.

These conclusions are similar to those in a study done in the United Kingdom. Maclean and Wadsworth (1988) reported the results of a long-term study of 5,000 children born in 1946. They concluded that those who experienced parental divorce showed inferior educational attainment and lower socioeconomic class than children whose parents did not divorce or those who had lost one parent through death.

When considering these results, one must use caution. It is difficult to separate the economic effects of divorce on children from the effects of other causes of single parenthood such as never married mothers or widowhood. Consequently, the effects attributable to poverty caused by divorce alone are not clear. However, McLanahan (1992) reported that studies that have made such comparisons have found similarities across all groups of families.

Spousal and Child Support

Spousal and child support does not protect children from poverty. This is caused by (1) inadequate amounts awarded by the courts, (2) reluctance of noncustodial parents to provide support, and (3) legal difficulties involved in enforcing spouse and child support payment orders.

In fact, some studies show that a surprisingly small number of divorced women with dependent children receive any support award (Finnie, 1993). Finnie (1993) reported that only 68% of Canadian divorces involving dependent children included cash awards. Of those, only two thirds of fathers paid support in the first year. The rates of payment dropped significantly thereafter.

In a study of American families, 114 ex-spouses were tracked over time. The results of this study showed the inequity between fathers and their children in terms of standard of living. The most common finding was that while the custodial mother was often poor, her ex-husband was usually not. In fact, the data show that ex-spouses were both poor in only 10% of the cases studied. Often, award amounts are so low that most fathers cannot truthfully claim inability to pay (Hill, 1992). The situation is similar in other countries. For example, in Belgium, child support awards are well below minimal estimates of the living expenses of children, and are paid infrequently (Maddens & van Houtte, 1992).

A remarriage by the custodial mother does not return families to the standard of living they enjoyed previously. One reason for this is that there is often a non-court-ordered decrease in child support payments when a mother remarries (Hill, 1992). When fathers remarry they often become responsible for additional children in their new family. As a result, fathers often have less money available to contribute to the support of their first family, even when their second wife is also working.

Welfare support is not sufficient to get women and children out of poverty. Most evidence shows that welfare programs in most countries were never intended to do more than provide a minimal level of assistance. For example, the Finnie (1993) study analyzed the effect of welfare payments on family poverty levels and found only a small effect on economic status from income generated by welfare payments.

Why Fathers Don't Provide Support

The reasons for nonsupport most often cited by fathers include (1) physical and emotional distance between father and child, (2) refusal by the custodial parent of visitation privileges, (3) the ex-wife 's having sole custody, (4) negative relationship with ex-wife, and (5) a belief that the children do not directly benefit from the money they send.

Additionally, a father may be caught in the middle between his ex-spouse and children and his new spouse. Marital tension in the new marriage in relation to children from former marriages may create barriers for fathers to continue to provide support. The potential for more children to be born to the remarried parent may also affect decisions about payments. Stepparents are often not willing to provide financial support to a nonresident child. In addition, supporting two families is often very difficult for families even when all of the parents are employed. They are then forced to make very stressful choices between children when the ability to support one family is difficult enough.

MAJOR FINDINGS ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE FOR CHILDREN

This section will present the result of two major research programs that have investigated the effects of family disruption on children. First, the developmental research program of Hetherington and her colleagues will be discussed. Second, the results of the California Children of Divorce Studies by Wallerstein and Kelly will be reviewed. Finally, some information about the effects of divorce on women will be presented.

Children 's Vulnerability and Adjustment to Divorce

Hetherington has used a developmental psychology approach to study the effects of divorce, remarriage, and stepfamilies on children. The theoretical base has been the study of “vulnerability and protective factors” associated with chil...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Full Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• FUNDAMENTALS OF MARITAL THERAPY
• 1. WHY MARITAL THERAPY MATTERS: THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE
• 2. WHEN MARITAL THERAPY IS AND IS NOT APPROPRIATE
• 3. COMPARATIVE APPROACHES TO MARITAL THERAPY
• 4. WHY MARITAL DISTRESS DEVELOPS
• 5. WHAT WE KNOW FROM THE RESEARCH ABOUT COUPLE THERAPY
• 6. BASIC CONSIDERATIONS
• 7. COMMON ERRORS IN EFFECTIVE MARITAL THERAPY
• 8. THE PROCESS OF COUPLE THERAPY
• 9. WHAT TO DO WITH MODERATELY DISTRESSED COUPLES
• 10. CLIENT RESISTANCE AND PERFORMANCE PROBLEMS
• 11. WHAT TO DO WITH SEVERELY DISTRESSED CASES
• Appendix A Marital Adjustment Test and Scoring Key
• Appendix B Dyadic Adjustment Scale and Scoring Key
• Appendix C Marital Status Inventory and Scoring Key
• Additional Readings
• References
• Name Index
• Subject Index