In an effort to adapt the law to modern society, the courts have expanded the bases on which divorces obtained abroad will be recognized in Canada and Parliament has modified the domestic rules for the assumption of jurisdiction in divorce petitions. This has resulted in a significant increase in uncertainty and inconsistency in the law, which is evidenced in the large volume of litigation in this area. Analysis of the grounds for recognition of foreign divorces gives rise to a further concern, that is, the effect of a foreign divorce on the right of a spouse or former spouse to financial support. The chief unresolved problem, at least as far as Canadian divorce legislation is concerned, is the protection of a spouse's right to financial support in Canada when a foreign divorce is recognized here. Furthermore, if a foreign divorce is not recognized here, its effect on the right to financial support seems to be somewhat uncertain. Having considered the objectives of the law in this field, together with the current law and alternatives available to the legislature, it is submitted that law reform is desirable. Specific recommendations are formulated at the end of each of the three parts of the thesis. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

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Divorce is a significant event in children's lives. The ability of school personnel to be helpful with children of divorce can be influenced by their attitudes and by other factors. This study described the attitudes towards divorce of elementary school personnel and examined the relationships among the personnel's attitudes, personality factors, and selected personal and professional variables. The sample was comprised of 212 elementary school personnel from a large metropolitan school district in Western Canada. Data were derived from subjects' responses to the Sixteen Personality Factor Scale and two instruments developed by the author to assess subjects' attitudes towards divorce and their personal and professional characteristics. Findings indicated that teachers perceive divorce as a socially acceptable phenomenon. They perceived that it is better for children to live in happy homes, divorced or intact, than in conflict-ridden intact homes, and that children of divorce benefit when their fathers are active in parenting. Nearly all respondents perceived the school as fulfilling an important role for children of divorce. Significant differences were found between high and low scoring groups on each attitudinal sub-scale when personality factors, personal variables, and professional variables were considered. The results of this study suggest that certain personal variables (age, marital status, religion, and years of teaching experience) were related to differences in attitudes. Most of the professional variables (perceptions of children's motivation and homework completion and perceptions of parents' concerns) accounted for differences in attitudes. Several personality factors (warmth, ego-strength, rebelliousness, self-sufficiency, and imagination for example) also were indicated to have particular relevance for the attitudes of elementary school personnel towards divorce.

The present research explores the process of coming to terms with the decision to divorce. The research was conducted with 20 women of North-American culture, divorced or separated a minimum of six months with no thought of reconciliation. The methodology employed retrospective accounts. A semi-structured interview using the critical incident technique pioneered by Flanagan (1954) was used to gather data. The subjects were asked to describe specific incidents which prompted them to reassess their marriage and eventually decide to separate or divorce. They were also asked to describe incidents which made it more difficult to come to that decision. A total of 175 incidents were collected illustrating a range of experiences which either precipitated or hindered the decision to separate or divorce. Using an inductive method of analysis, the data was organized in a classification schema consisting of three superordinate categories - feelings, cognitions, behaviours - and 33 subcategories. In addition, a summary of the marital problems highlighted in the critical incidents is provided, with examples of the marital dynamics involved. Finally, a four-stage model outlining the process of coming to terms with the decision to divorce was derived from the category system. The model focuses on the intrapsychic dynamics of the subjects in the decision-making process. The labels given to these stages are disillusionment, ambivalence, cognitive restructuring, and resolution. The findings of the present research are compared and contrasted to those of social exchange theorists (Albrecht & Kunz, 1980; Levinger, 1965), stage theorists (Duck, 1982; Kaslow, 1981; Ponzetti & Cate, 1988; Vaughan, 1979), and grief theorists (Crosby, Gage & Raymond, 1983, 1986; Wiseman, 1975). The issues raised in the present research are discussed from a gender role perspective, in light of the theories of Attanucci (1988), Eichenbaum and Orbach (1983), Gilligan (1982), Goodrich, Rampage, Ellman and Halstead (1988), Herman (1977), Lerner (1977), Miller (1976; 1983; 1984; 1986) and Rubin (1983). In conclusion, the category system and model delineated in the present research offer a comprehensive set of experiences of what facilitates and hinders the decision to divorce. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate