Mothers' dating after divorce has been linked to health benefits for mothers (Amato, 2000). However, this association assumes that all repartnering relationships are beneficial for mothers (Symoens et al., 2014). According to the divorce-stress-adaptation perspective (Wang & Amato, 2000), mothers' dating after divorce may be a supportive factor for her adjustment if her relationship is high quality, which can assist mothers with post-divorce stress (Amato, 2000; Wang & Amato, 2000), or can contribute to post-divorce stress through low quality relationships (Hetherington, 2003; Montgomery et al., 1992). However, not all mothers date, and those that do, use different approaches to dating, such as dating only one partner versus multiple partners. Another deficit in the literature is the influence of selection processes during repartnering. As well as examining the impact of relationship quality on maternal well-being, the current study includes the influence of stable traits, such as age and length of marriage, in order to examine the threat of selection across different repartnering histories. The current study used four repartnering histories that mothers reported after divorce (no dating, dating monogamously, dating multiple partners serially, and dating multiple partners simultaneously) to examine consequences on maternal well-being (depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, drunkenness, and unprotected sex). Relationship quality is reported for each relationship. Using longitudinal monthly diary data collected over a two-year period beginning with filing for divorce and multi-level models, I examined changes in the intercept and slope of maternal well-being for each repartnering history, as well as the effect of breakup with a particular focus on the interaction of relationship quality. To test for the threat of selection, I used mothers' stable traits as level-2 predictors. Results for this study show that mothers who enter in a high quality relationship report slightly higher levels of maternal well-being. Mothers entering low quality relationships report slightly lower levels of maternal well-being compared to times when mothers are not dating. Maternal well-being was not consistently influenced by maternal breakup. Mothers also reported increases in unprotected sex throughout the study, which may be a better marker of trust than maternal well-being. Only support was found for selection effects. Implications for maternal well-being are discussed. / text

With around 50 percent of all dissolving marriages consisting of families with children, and around half of residential parents reporting some experience with dating new partners within 60 days of filing for divorce, there is a need to understand the influences on children’s relationships and the possible consequences or benefits that may be imposed on children due to not only divorce, but additional parental transitions such as repartnering. In this study, I used data from the Texas Families Project, a longitudinal, multi-informant, multi-method study, to examine the implications of mothers’ repartnering for children’s closeness and involvement with nonresident fathers. Resident mother’s dating status alone does not seem to impact children’s closeness and involvement with their nonresident fathers as much as the new relationship that children are forming with their mothers’ partners impacts these relationships. Mothers’ and children’s reports differ, providing competing results as to whether or not children’s relationships with their mothers’ partners is associated with changes in children’s relationships with their fathers. Children report a positive relationship between involvement with their mothers’ romantic partners and involvement with their nonresident fathers, suggesting that both children’s biological fathers and their alternative caretaker play a valuable role in their lives. Mothers’ reports show that there is a negative relationship between the amount of time spent with their mothers’ romantic partner and positive involvement with children’s nonresident father, suggesting that children could be substituting time with their fathers for time with their mothers’ romantic partner. Although contact may decrease due to the child and mothers’ romantic partner relationship, child’s closeness to their father is not affected, supporting research that states that children may continue to feel close to their fathers even when contact is low. / text

This project explores the link between exposure to family instability through maternal repartnering and the development of romantic interest and involvement during childhood and preadolescence. Family instability has long reaching consequences, especially for children's well being. Exposure to family instability spills over into children's own lives, implying parents and children's lives are inextricably linked. The actions, experiences, and choices of parents have a direct and measurable impact on children's lives, as evidenced by links between parents' marital lives and their offspring's romantic involvement during adolescence and adulthood. The goal of this project is twofold. First, I build on this literature to explore how maternal repartnering impacts children's romantic interest and involvement. Through various mechanisms such as increased awareness of romance or searching for a substitute in response to maternal repartnering, I expect children's romantic interest and involvement will be associated with maternal repartnering behaviors and attitudes. The second goal of this project explores this association among a sample of children and preadolescents, examining this link during an earlier period in the life course than existing literature. This includes an in depth examination of the characteristics and developmental trajectories of romantic interest and involvement beginning at age five and extending to age 13. Results suggest that romantic interest and involvement emerges during childhood and is associated with both individual and family level characteristics. As children mature, they report substantially greater levels of romantic involvement with each passing year. Changes in romantic involvement correspond to greater social and pubertal development. Children's reports of romantic interest did not show developmental change but were relatively stable over time. There were no consistent effects of maternal repartnering on children's romantic involvement. Children's romantic interest was linked with maternal repartnering attitudes however. Higher levels of maternal focus on repartnering were associated with greater romantic interest among children, suggesting that maternal repartnering does impact children's romantic trajectories. / text

This dissertation consists of two articles. The first reviews research on repartnering by bereaved partners with recommendations for practitioners. Potential repartnering challenges, such as comparing relationships between the new and deceased partner, feelings of guilt about entering a new relationship, and lower intimacy and engagement in the new relationship are discussed, in addition to other factors that affect repartnering, such as age, gender, the types of death, and the presence of children. The second article examines repartnering among older bereaved partners. Data from two waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) were analyzed for bereaved partners who had experienced the death of a partner at wave 1 and who were (N = 46) or were not (N = 372) repartnered at wave 2. Specifically, analyses examined whether a) loneliness, depression, happiness, and non-partner social support (NPSS) at wave 1 (T1) affect repartnering at wave 2 (T2), b) whether repartnering is uniquely associated with time 2 loneliness, depression, and happiness, and for those bereaved partners who repartnered, c) depression, loneliness, and happiness will relate to the quality of the new relationship. Results found that a) only younger age and identifying as male were negative associated with having repartnered, b) NPSS at T2 was uniquely associated with depression, loneliness, and happiness, but repartnered status was not, c) T2 NPSS was associated with quality of the new relationship, but loneliness, depression, and happiness were not, and d) being a repartnered female was associated with lower depression when T2NPSS was high. Overall, non-partner social support appears to be a more important factor in psychological well-being than repartnering among older bereaved partners, despite some repartnering challenges.

The number of Canadian widows and widowers has doubled since 1971, and these numbers are projected to increase as the Baby Boom generation continues to age. Prior studies demonstrate that remarriage is losing ground to cohabitation following union dissolution, and that cohabitation is increasing among older adults. This study explores post-widowhood repartnering practices among older Canadians on the basis of existing theories on partnership. The data were drawn from the 2007 General Social Survey Cycle 21 (N= 23,404 Canadians aged 45 and older). The cumulative proportion of competing post-widowhood partnership choices are compared using life table analysis. The effects of gender, demographic characteristics, cultural influences, economic resources, and physical health are explored using Cox’s proportional hazard modeling. The findings suggest that dominant theories of partnership are insufficient in explaining post-widowhood repartnering behaviour. Namely, most commonly-measured economic resources do not factor significantly into the post-widowhood repartnering choices of older Canadians. / Graduate / 0626 / 0628 / 0938 / nouellet@uvic.ca

This study addresses modern types of families in the East-Kazakhstan region and their role in the development of population. Using a sample of East-Kazakhstani women interviewed in 2008 in the "Family Transformation survey," this study focuses on continuously married women and women who have been previously married. The purpose of this thesis is analysis of factors influential on the intention to be divorced. Additionally, this thesis investigates issue: how a woman's family life-course (marital status and number of children born in the first marriage) influences the risk of a post-dissolution birth among divorced women. Also this study attempts to analyze how the experience of a marital dissolution affects a woman's cumulated fertility. The results show that women who underwent a marital dissolution have lower fertility than those who remained continuously married, and that repartnering enables this group of women to recapture the fertility lost with the dissolution of the first marriage. With a rise in divorce rates and existing differences of post-dissolution marital behaviors for those who have been previously married, it has become important to account for the type of dissolution (widowhood or divorce) of a union when analyzing partnership formation after the breakdown of a union. Additionally, this...

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