The divorce experiences of seven mid-life women were investigated using
Bohannan's (1970) and Hagemeyer's (1986) divorce theories as a framework to guide
the research. In-depth interviews and visual interpretation were used: (a) to determine
the greatest challenges and losses experienced by mid-life women after divorce; (b) to
identify factors which contribute to resilience and determine coping mechanisms used by
mid-life women following divorce; and (c) to assess long-term effects of divorce on midlife
women several years after the event. The results of this study included the following
findings: The women in the study had been divorced from 7 to 18 years and all agreed
that losing the dream of the "happily ever after marriage" and the loss of the family unit
were the most difficult losses they experienced. Other losses included the loss of
identity as a married person, loss of home and assets, loss of income, and loss of
relationship with children. Factors affecting resilience and coping mechanisms included
working at a job or profession, support of family and friends, faith and spirituality and
social activities and dating. These were unanimous choices among the participants.
Long-term effects were both positive and negative. Negative effects included continued feelings of loss concerning the family unit, lingering anger, and lack of forgiveness
toward the former spouse. Positive aspects included increased resilience, autonomy,
personal achievement, and spiritual growth.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-12-7376 |
| Date | 2009 December 1900 |
| Creators | Leighman, Marilyn Rust |
| Contributors | Juntune, Joyce, Nash, William R. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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