Robert Hughes, Jr.

Guilt, shame and regret are common emotions that are experienced during the divorce process. Regardless of the circumstances of the divorce, both husbands and wives are likely to experience various amounts of these emotions. Anne Wietzker, Ann Buysse, Tom Loeys and Ruben Brondeel at Ghent University in Belgium have done...

Far too much of the research discussed in the American press focuses exclusively on studies that are done with American children. By only looking at the American experience, we may miss the cultural and social conditions that will better help us understand the life experience of children.

Recently, Thoroddur...

Almost everyone involved in divorce becomes frustrated by the legal process. Both mothers and fathers feel like the system works against them. In recent years, there has been accumulating evidence that mediation can prevent many of the legal hassles faced by parents and prevent harmful court fights over custody and...

Increasingly, parents and the public are in favor of shared parenting arrangements following divorce. A report that measured public opinion by Sanford Braver and his colleagues indicated that almost 70 percent of the public favors equal time (50-50) when both parents have been involved with parenting prior...

In recent years, there have been several studies that suggest that some happy and satisfied newlyweds were still getting divorced. Paul Amato and Bryndl Hohmann-Marriott's 2007 research is one such example; they found that there was a surprising number low-distress couples that were splitting up.

These findings...

Nearly 2 million people in the United States and many more in the world are impacted by divorce each year. There have been a variety of studies that have hinted that divorce may be linked to the increased chance of an early death, but overall the evidence has...

Most divorcing parents with minor children are required to participate in a divorce education program in order to get divorced. A recent estimate suggests that almost all states have this requirement. These programs focus on strategies that parents can use to minimize conflict and to develop effective parenting plans that...

More and more scientific information is being accumulated about the long-term effects of divorce on children. Until very recently, most of what we knew was about the immediate or short-term effects of divorce, but increasingly long-term studies are providing insights about effects on the formation of intimate relationships and marriages...

When should I begin dating? Should I remarry? Will remarrying harm or benefit my children? How should my needs for intimacy be balanced with the welfare of my children? What should I do if my kids don't like my new dating partner?

These are all questions that divorced mothers...

There is widespread agreement that one of the troubling aspects of divorce is the negative effects of parental conflict on children. There has been a steady stream of scientific findings indicating that children whose parents do not resolve their marital conflict have difficulties adjusting. We know much about the conflict...

Does sex predict marital disruption?

Now I know what you must be thinking. Surely scientists do not need to study this question. We all know the answer without even bothering with some lame scientific study. Or surely this was settled scientifically a long time ago, right?

Well it is...

Taking a historical look at patterns of divorce in the US gives us insight into current times. Tomas Cvrcek, an economist at Clemson University, takes a long look at marital disruptions from over the period of time from 1860-1948 in the Journal of Family History.

Forty years ago the most common response to a couple who began talking about divorce was the advice--"see if you can work things out." This advice came from family and friends as well as most professionals who worked with families. Today, reconciliation or "trying to work things out" is hardly...

Kermyt Anderson presents an interesting evolutionary perspective on child support that suggests some interesting findings in a study recently published in Evolution and Human Behavior.

Anderson reminds us that from an evolutionary perspective only human males invest in their nonresident children when their...

Is joint custody the best arrangement for kids? Should infants and toddlers be shuttled between two homes? Is it important to include children in decisions about custody? These are just some of the vexing questions facing parents, attorneys, judges, mediators and others who are involved in navigating the divorce process....

News reports often highlight the sensational and irrational behaviors of divorcing parents leading to a distorted understanding of the typical patterns of divorce resolution in the U.S. Data from actual court proceedings often tell a different story. In Washington State, the Court Research unit keeps track of how...

In the past two decades, most states in the US have required divorcing couples with children to attend a parent education program. Despite this mandate, there is only limited evidence that these programs are effective or that they make any difference in the lives of divorcing families.

There have been numerous reports that the marriages of military couples are under threat due to the stress of the recent wars and the long and dangerous deployments. Lizette Alvarez writing in the New York Times in 2006 states, "Military deployments have a way of chewing up marriages, turning daily...

One of the most challenging aspects of custody decisions is the issue of domestic violence. About 20% of divorces require judges to appoint a custody evaluator to assist in the determination of custody arrangements. There are a wide range of estimates (50% - 90%) of the extent to which these...

One of the main reasons that judges do not automatically award equal parenting in custody decisions is because of their concern about the conflict between the parents and the harm it will do to the children. In previous work, (see blog post on this work) researchers at Arizona...