THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL COSTS OF DIVORCE ON A MOTHER
Within western society, it is frequently discussed that money is the primary source of arguments within a marriage and is a common reason cited for couples choosing to divorce (Lewis 2011:40). After studying 4,500 couples at Utah State University, it was found that married couples who disagreed about money once a week were twice as likely to end their marriage in divorce than couples who argued about finances less than once a month (ibid). As divorce in today’s society is prominent with almost half of the American marriages ending in divorce, is it important to understand the implications for all parties involved (Ahrons 2007:532). While divorce can be more helpful than harmful in some …show more content…
When the women are given the task of financially supporting their children after the divorce, something that most mothers never needed to do previously as they had relied on their husbands to be the breadwinner (Oldham 2008:419). Also, the burden of the stigma attached to working mothers of neglecting their children also falls on divorced women. They are now forced to balance the demands of working full-time to support their families while at the same time being the perfect nurturing mother, available to their children at all times (Guendouzi 2006:901-902). Popular opinion regards divorce as negative and often withholds sympathy to those involved because of the shame associated with ending a marriage and breaking up a family (Ahrons 2007:529). Female-headed single-parent families are often labeled as deviant or broken families, placing an unfair prejudice on struggling mothers and their children (Brandwein, Brown and Fox 1974:498). In this paper, I will argue that while in many cases a reason for divorce is to alleviate financial pressures, this is often unsuccessful; economic stress remains for the now single mother and is further …show more content…
Irrespective of whether the husband or wife is the main income earner, tensions can arise with regards to allocating the family’s disposable income. When it comes to spending the family’s money: “some or many members of the family [feeling] relatively deprived with regard to the opportunity to spend these funds…and other people’s ability to spend funds, including the marital partner” Papp, Cummings and Goeke-Morey 2009:92). Ultimately, when one spouse makes the significant financial decisions, this inevitably leads to “perceived social power, relative worth, and feelings of being valued” (ibid). Studies show that when men are in charge of the couple’s assets, they have more dominance in the relationship and more control over how their wives spend money. However, when women bear this responsibility, their management of assets does not correlate with an advantage over their husbands’ spending behaviour (Yodanis and Laurer 2007:1309). This disparity clearly demonstrates the struggles associated with economic arguments in the home, and how it can lead to serious implications such as
Within western society, it is frequently discussed that money is the primary source of arguments within a marriage and is a common reason cited for couples choosing to divorce (Lewis 2011:40). After studying 4,500 couples at Utah State University, it was found that married couples who disagreed about money once a week were twice as likely to end their marriage in divorce than couples who argued about finances less than once a month (ibid). As divorce in today’s society is prominent with almost half of the American marriages ending in divorce, is it important to understand the implications for all parties involved (Ahrons 2007:532). While divorce can be more helpful than harmful in some …show more content…
When the women are given the task of financially supporting their children after the divorce, something that most mothers never needed to do previously as they had relied on their husbands to be the breadwinner (Oldham 2008:419). Also, the burden of the stigma attached to working mothers of neglecting their children also falls on divorced women. They are now forced to balance the demands of working full-time to support their families while at the same time being the perfect nurturing mother, available to their children at all times (Guendouzi 2006:901-902). Popular opinion regards divorce as negative and often withholds sympathy to those involved because of the shame associated with ending a marriage and breaking up a family (Ahrons 2007:529). Female-headed single-parent families are often labeled as deviant or broken families, placing an unfair prejudice on struggling mothers and their children (Brandwein, Brown and Fox 1974:498). In this paper, I will argue that while in many cases a reason for divorce is to alleviate financial pressures, this is often unsuccessful; economic stress remains for the now single mother and is further …show more content…
Irrespective of whether the husband or wife is the main income earner, tensions can arise with regards to allocating the family’s disposable income. When it comes to spending the family’s money: “some or many members of the family [feeling] relatively deprived with regard to the opportunity to spend these funds…and other people’s ability to spend funds, including the marital partner” Papp, Cummings and Goeke-Morey 2009:92). Ultimately, when one spouse makes the significant financial decisions, this inevitably leads to “perceived social power, relative worth, and feelings of being valued” (ibid). Studies show that when men are in charge of the couple’s assets, they have more dominance in the relationship and more control over how their wives spend money. However, when women bear this responsibility, their management of assets does not correlate with an advantage over their husbands’ spending behaviour (Yodanis and Laurer 2007:1309). This disparity clearly demonstrates the struggles associated with economic arguments in the home, and how it can lead to serious implications such as