the daunting prospect of establishing an independent life, others have tapped into their internal resources and realized their potential by returning to school or pursuing an exciting new career. For men, their previous divorce has often taught them valuable lessons that have enabled them to forge new intimate relationships, which have helped them to cope with the adjustment process (Hetherington, 2002).
This concise discussion has highlighted the differences of the experiences of divorced men and women in adapting to their life after divorce. In the discussion about the gender difference in adapting to divorce, the following issues will be examined in greater detail: a) reasons for divorce; b) internal/external coping strategies; c) internal/external conflicts; d) realized strengths; e) unresolved weaknesses or consequences; and f) relationships after divorce.
This study has the following research questions:
How do men and women differ in their reactions to divorce?
How do men and women differ in their use of strategies or resources to cope with their divorce?
Do women fare better than men in their postdivorce lives or vice versa?
From the societal perspective, two theoretical models have been used to explain the prevalence of divorce: role specialization versus economic opportunity. Both theories are premised on the fact that the increase in the number of women in the labor force is related to the rise in the rate of divorce. However, they offer differing perspectives on how women's employment has led to divorce. In the role specialization theoretical model, Becker (1981) explained that marriages are effective only when one partner (male) specializes in generating income for the family in the labor force and the other partner (female) takes care of the domestic household and children. Therefore, when both partners participate in the labor force, their ability to specialize in their respective roles is adve...