In 2011, over 6 million children in the United States were living with divorced parents. Despite the declining divorce rate, the US Census Bureau estimates that each year, the parents of over 1 million children get divorced.

Over 30 years of scientific study of the...

General David Petraeus' recent resignation has brought increased attention to the issue of infidelity in the military. Long periods of deployment and other marriage stresses including a spouse's susceptibility to danger, injury and so forth increase the challenges faced by military couples and can increase strains within their...

One of the major challenges divorce parents face is how to communicate effectively post-split, without major arguments. Self-help guides and divorced parenting programs regularly include strategies and suggestions about how to maintain a cordial working relationship with a former spouse. Why? Because one of the most consistent findings...

The Baby Boom generation has had a large effect on demographic trends over the past 50 years. In young adulthood, they pushed up the divorce rate to unprecedented numbers, which raised many questions about the impact of divorce on their children. Now that this generation is mostly over 50 years...

For over three decades, scientists and clinicians have documented the effects of divorce on the psychological well-being of children. (See Paul Amato, Journal of Marriage and Family, 2010 for a summary). Recently, researchers have begun to explore new potential outcomes of divorce.

Troxel and Matthews recently

"Do you still want to get married?" my mother-in-law asked my future wife on the day we were to be married. Her intuition told her to be alert to premarital doubts, and she wanted to make sure my wife wanted to go through with the marriage. According to a new...

Should you live with your future spouse before tying the knot? Does cohabitation provide a good trial run for marriage or is it just a sign of a lack of commitment? Research evidence on this frequently debated topic has been mixed over the last decade. What does the science say...

One of the most consistent research findings that explore the effects of divorce on children is that the results are inconsistent. Yes, that is what I meant to write. Thirty years of scientific study have concluded that there are no simple answers to the question about how children will be...

Most people who divorce report considerable distress and unhappiness in the short term, but over time, there is considerable variation in adjustment. There have been many studies of the factors that contribute to divorce adjustment, but in general, most scientists have overlooked the religious aspects of divorce. This is surprising...

The media has been increasingly focused on the legal circumstances of same-sex marriage while overlooking the even more complex situation of same-sex divorce.

Counting the number of same-sex couples is difficult, but trying to count the number of dissolutions is even more difficult. The best report with...

When parents seeking a divorce are unable to settle on a co-parenting plan, they often end up in front of a judge. In many cases, judges play the role of authoritative decision-maker who resolve the differences between the parents and decide the outcome. However, Noel Semple recently published...

Does extramarital sex cause divorce?

The answer seems to be common sense. Ask anyone about whether having an affair affects marriage and they will likely say that infidelity is severely damaging. So what has been the view of family scientists and clinicians?

Until very recently, there was a...

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...