Few studies have focused on sexual behavior among people who are divorced. Common sense tells us that a person who is depressed or angry about a divorce may have a decrease in both levels of sexual activity and sexual satisfaction. Steven Stack and Jim Gundlach (1992) found that age was inversely related to sex among […]

One year after a divorce, 50% of men and 60% of women reported being happier than they were during the marriage (Faludi, 1991). Even 10 years later, 80% of the women and 50% of the men said that their divorce was the right decision. However, for some, divorce can be very painful, both emotionally and […]

In general, couples who divorce have known for a long time that there were difficulties in their marriage, although they may not have contemplated divorce. These problems are made worse, in most cases, by communication problems. Some warning signs are communication avoidance (not talking about problems in the relationship); demand and withdrawal patterns of communication, […]

ing sex outside marriage) in order to dissolve the marriage. The growth of low-cost legal clinics and the overabundance of lawyers have made divorce cheaper and thus more ac­cessible (see the accompanying Sex in Real Life, “Point-and-Click Divorce”). Additionally, the more equitable distribution of marital assets has made some people less apprehensive about losing everything […]

one partner is the initiator, it is usually the female. One study found that women initiated 75% of divorces (J. B. Kelly, 1989). The individual who wants his or her marriage to end is likely to view the marriage totally differently from the individual who wants the mar­riage to continue (Wang & Amato, 2000). In […]

There have been substantial changes in the institution of marriage over the last 30 years. During most of U. S. history, a married couple was viewed as a single, legal entity (M. A. Mason et al., 2001). However, over the last 3 decades there has been a shift in how mar­riage is viewed. Today, marriage […]

Same-sex relationships outside the United States are supported in some countries and ignored in oth­ers. For example, in Australia, equal rights legisla­tion gives gay and lesbian couples equal rights as heterosexual couples (Coates, 2004). Larger cities, such as Sydney, contain the largest population of gay couples. Gay and lesbian relationships are ac­ceptable in France, where […]

am a 39-year-old gay man. Robert, my child­hood sweetheart, and I came out as gay at the age of 13. The purity of that relationship, juxta­posed with the trauma of his death, far too young (the result of what today would be called a gay bashing), have doubtless shaped who I am today. I define […]

to a “spouse” only as a person of the other sex. In 2000, Vermont passed a civil union statute that grants same-sex couples the same benefits and responsibilities given to heterosexual couples (allows couples to share employee benefits, including health insurance, family and medical leave, bereavement leave, and other family workplace benefits that help em­ployees […]