o those victims of divorce who have the least control over the situation. These victims are the minor children of the divorce partners, and, quite often, women involved in divorce subse quent to divorce.
Booth, Johnson, White, & Edwards, (1986) conducted a study to determine why divorce and marital instability tend to vary by age and marital duration. In pursuit of this objective, interactions between age and marital instability, on the one hand, and a variety of intervening variables, on the other hand, as a cause of divorce and marital instability, were measured and assessed.
Based on theoretical data reported in the literature, the researchers formulated a number of results expectations, which were translated into hypotheses. The findings of the study 3often contradicted the researchers' expectations, and, thus, the body of theory upon which those expectations were based. Heaton, Albrecht, & Martin (1985) conducted a study to determine if there exists some critical point in the duration of a marriage, beyond which the probability of divorce is significantly reduced. Second, the researchers tested two models the adjustment model and the perpetual problem model, to determine which best explains the timing of divorce.
Much of the theory reported in the literature holds that most persons can adjust to marital problems, and, through such adjustments, can overcome the risk of divorce. The researchers contended that this theoretica
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