Sociological Explanations For The Divorce Phenomenon Essay

Divorce was truly a rarity during the 1950s. According to (Wilcox, 2009), the divorce rate was less than 22 percent in the year 1950, but it more than doubled to 50 percent in the year 1970. Former President Ronald Reagan’s no-fault divorce bill, which was signed in the year 1969, was one of the reasons why the divorce rate increased. Back then, in order to proceed with a divorce one must present the spouses wrong-doing. Today, because of the no-fault divorce, gives the spouse the opportunity to depart from marriage for no reason at all. Furthermore, decades ago, people respected their marriages and were willing to spend most of their times with the newly wedded partners. However, today, one rarely gets time to spend with their loved ones

In this reading, Andrew J. Cherlin talks about the changes in American marriage, their causes and how the transformation of marriage is likely to affect American children.

American women in the late 1800’s received unequal treatment, even more so than in today’s society. Not only were they treated unfairly, they could not even vote until 1920. Moreover, they were unable to obtain certain jobs, and if they did get a job it was from the home. Furthermore, women had little to no say in their decisions. They often had their husbands either picked for them, or mutually agreed upon. Not only could women not work outside the home for a long time, but they also did not decide whether they worked or not. Furthermore, women have been treated unequally in today’s society, but were treated even more unequal during the late 1800’s because they were unable to obtain certain jobs, could not vote, and had little or no say in

Since the inception of the no-fault law, divorce rates in America have increased. Wardle found that twenty-five of the thirty-five states with no-fault divorce laws in effect before 1980 experienced increases in divorce rates. In eleven states, the rate of divorce was more than twice the previous rate of increase (Wardle). Michael S. Berger, a Columbia University graduate with a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion, believes the entire family suffers when the parents are unhappy or are in conflict. However, the parent’s respective happiness should not be the sole basis for the decision to dissolve the union (Berger). Of all parties involved in a divorce, children have fared the worst. Jennifer Tyree, who received her B.S from the University of Tennessee and her J.D. from The American University, believes the innocence of childhood evaporates the day the parents announce divorce (Tyree). Step-families, a decline in income, a stressed single parent, or a family move are all dramatic adjustments for children. Today, the high school drop out rate of children with divorced parents is thirty-one percent, compared to thirteen percent for children with married parents (Wilcox). When divorces are handled in court, it is not uncommon for the judge to make biased decisions on factors such as child custody and property. An unjust divorce leads to bitterness between spouses. In many cases,

With the advancing lifestyles and further developments in personal mobility that defines today’s society, the family still plays a crucial role of contemporary life. Families offer many benefits such as companionship, protection, security, encouragement and other relative social components. The term family has been changed over the past few decades. The total number of households in the United States increased from 63 million in 1970 to 113 million in 2008 (Weeks, 2012). The traditional structure of the family (nuclear family) began branching to other structures especially in the United States follow World War II. The structures for families vary depending on certain scenarios. Some of the structures include the nuclear family, the extended family, single-parent family and many more.

The movie the Lobster is a satire that ridicules the relationship structure put in place by our society. It is full of metaphors that represent that in modern society there is an enormous amount of pressure for young adults to be in relationships, and it displays how this can be harmful. If more people knew about how damaging this pressure is, they may change their outlook on the topic. This information could be used to inform people that have never given this topic much thought, and may cause them to question the idea that humans are incomplete without a significant other in their life.

According to the Center for Disease Control, there were approximately 813,862 divorces and annulments during 2014 in the United States (CDC 1). It is not a new practice, dating back further than King Henry VIII, but it is considered taboo in some societies. In fact, late 19th century author, Edith Wharton, tells of a story about a man who is trapped in an inescapable, loveless marriage.. His wife is an older, self-centered woman. He falls in love with another woman, his wife’s cousin, yet cannot seem to figure out how to be with her because at the time, divorce was merely not an acceptable option. Wharton argues in her novel, Ethan Frome, that marriage, religion, and the institutions of society have the possibility of limiting the potential of men and women by trapping them in traditional gender roles and destroying relationships.

Marriage can have many viewpoints that can either be similar or different, depending on the person and their religious beliefs, or other reasons. Some people choose to be married after school, when they have chosen a career they want to go into and have a stable job. Others desire to be married right out of high school before they even think about a career choice. Some people don't put in any thought about marriage and how it is going to affect their lives. Most women are ready to tie the knot because the thought about moving in with their loved one sounds amazing. Some people get married, not because they are marrying who they love, but for other reasons. There are many positives and negatives about marriage, mostly positive. If you rush into

The American family has undergone many changes since the 1900’s. More so, in the past 40 years, the nuclear family seen dramatic changes and has been described as deteriorating. There has been a dramatic rise in divorce, single parent households and child poverty. Studies have shown that children growing up in poverty-stricken single parent households are more likely to be affected well into adulthood. While this is the case, people are also living longer, and families are accommodating this change by living with relatives allowing for more bonding time then in previous generations. The idea of deteriorating values within America is subjective as there are advantages as well as disadvantages to the children of these families.

In the early nineteenth century, a new pattern of family arose based primarily on companionship and affection. Many of productive tasks and jobs of married women were assumed by unmarried women working in factories, and the workplace moved some distance from the household. So, a new kind of urban middle class family had begun to emerge and a new division of domestic roles appeared, which assigned the wife to care full-time for her children and to maintain the home. The divorce rate during the early and mid-nineteenth century began to rise, many states adopted permissive divorce statutes and judicial divorce replaced legislative divorce. If marriages were to rest on mutual affection, then it divorce had to serve as a safety valve from loveless and abusive marriages.

“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then to do it.” – Ann Landers. This quote by Landers hits close to home for me. Being a child of parents who divorced in my adolescent years, I understand that it took them more courage and strength to separate instead of sticking it out for my siblings and I. Also, this quote is a perfect example of the way people view divorce today than the way they did in the 1900’s, where it was frowned upon and nearly impossible to survive without the husbands’ financial support. Divorce is defined as a judicial declaration dissolving a marriage in a whole or in a part, especially

According to authors Clarke-Stewart and Brentano, “This all changed in the 1960s. The roaring social changes of the period reanimates stagnant divorce reforms and triggered a sharp increase in the divorce rate” (Clarke-Stewart and Brentano 10). Essentially, economic circumstances in the United States improved, which allows for individuals to live apart and independently. Normally, when there are greater working opportunities, there are higher rates for divorce due to the availability of being able to maintain yourself with a job after the divorce. Due to greater economic circumstances, women became more independent from men, enabling themselves to take on jobs outside the family household. During the 1960s the Women’s movement began to build progress, giving women higher status. Women were encouraged to be more confident and independent within their working and living environments. As a result, divorce rates increased, because “when women no longer depend on men for status and income, they are less likely to stay in unsatisfying marriages” (Clarke-Stewart and Brentano 10). This movement is just one cause that affected societal change. During the era, everything in the United States was being questioned, from personal values, to marriage and even other institutions. When you come down to it, that was part of the culture back in the day, which again demonstrates cultural influence on divorce

Disregard towards divorce rates that was prevalent in the 1950’s is no longer as in 2009, “10% of the United States population was divorced/separated.” (Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (2010)) Modern times ushered in a new opportunity for individuals facing the decision of divorce: cohabitation. Unlike the idea that families need to be defined by permanence and child birth, cohabitation is the alternative to establishing a family. Cohabitants experience similar benefits of those that are married, but without any of the legal binding in a

Beginning with the essential historical and social context of divorce, the authors go on to provide some interesting trends and facts about marriages and divorce rates. This book also contains statistics on the distribution of separation by the duration of marriage in the United States. It additionally examines the effect of marital breakup on children, adults, and society. The author asserts that children from divorced families are two times likely to see their marriages end in divorce. Furthermore, the author says adults from divorced families are much less likely to trust, and constantly feel unsure to engage in romantic relationships which can lead to problems of not getting married in the future.

According to Cherlin (1992) a divorce is a judicial declaration of separating a husband and wife from all matrimonial obligations. Divorce cases have been rising drastically since the 1970s, when the divorce laws were eased. In the past divorce was a very rare occurrence but today it’s like the song of the day. Today marriage can be dissolved in a court of law or any other competent body. In this essay we are going to discuss the causes and effects of divorce on children.