"زناشویى بسته" ساختار خانواده: اثرات طلاق والدین بر روی انتخاب شریک زندگی و ثبات زناشویی

Abstract Although it is well established that the children of divorce are disproportionately likely to end their own marriages, relatively little is known about their marriage formation behavior. This paper uses data from the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the effects of parental family structure on spouse selection and marriage duration. People from divorced families often marry other children of divorce. This phenomenon, which I call family structure homogamy, persists across a variety of sociodemographic boundaries. In addition, I replicate earlier research by demonstrating that marriages between two children of divorce are especially likely to fail. These findings shed new light on the intergenerational transmission of divorce by showing that people from divorced families often marry under conditions that bode poorly for marital stability.

1. Introduction Many studies show that the children of divorce dissolve their own marriages with disproportionate frequency (Amato, 1996; Amato and DeBoer, 2001; Bumpass et al., 1991; Feng et al., 1999; Glenn and Kramer, 1987; McLanahan and Bumpass, 1988; Mueller and Pope, 1977; Pope and Mueller, 1976; Wolfinger, 1999 and Wolfinger, 2000). Much less is known about the kinds of people they marry. This article shows that the children of divorce often marry other children of divorce. Furthermore, marriages between people from divorced families are even more likely to fail than are unions in which only one spouse experienced parental divorce. These findings shed new light on the intergenerational transmission of divorce by demonstrating that people from divorced families often make marital choices that contribute to marital instability. It is important to understand the causes of divorce transmission since approximately half of all new marriages will be dissolved (Bramlett and Mosher, 2001; Kreider and Fields, 2001). Divorce is often a deeply traumatic event for both parents and children (Stewart et al., 1997; Wallerstein and Kelly, 1980). It also has noteworthy economic consequences, frequently leaving women impoverished (Bianchi et al., 1999; Smock, 1993 and Smock, 1994). Poverty in turn has numerous negative effects on children’s development (McLoyd, 1998). Finally, divorce has been central to current policy debates on family well-being, particularly in light of covenant marriage laws recently enacted in Louisiana, Arizona, and Arkansas (Nock et al., 1999; Thompson and Wyatt, 1999). 1.1. Explaining the intergenerational transmission of divorce Some of the negative effects of parental divorce, including emotional distress and difficulties in interpersonal relationships, can last into adulthood (Amato, 1991; Amato and Booth, 1991a and Amato and Booth, 1997; Cherlin et al., 1998; Glenn and Kramer, 1985; Ross and Mirowsky, 1999). Perhaps as a result, people from divorced families frequently report low levels of well-being in their own marriages (Acock and Kiecolt, 1989; Amato and Booth, 1991a and Amato and Booth, 1997; Ross and Mirowsky, 1999). Other studies that impaired interpersonal skills play a large part in explaining the intergenerational transmission of divorce (Amato, 1996; Amato and Rogers, 1997; Silvestri, 1992; Webster et al., 1995). One way poor interpersonal skills interfere with marital stability is by reducing commitment, so divorce may be used as a solution to marital difficulties (Amato and DeBoer, 2001; Glenn and Kramer, 1987). Sociodemographic factors play a smaller role in explaining the intergenerational transmission of divorce. Some researchers (Amato, 1996; McLanahan and Bumpass, 1988; Mueller and Pope, 1977; but see Glenn and Kramer, 1987; Wolfinger, 1999) show that the relationship between parental divorce and offspring divorce can be partially explained by differences in education. It is well established that parental divorce lowers offspring educational attainment (see, inter alia, Blau and Duncan, 1967; McLanahan and Sandefur, 1994; Sandefur and Wells, 1999). Low educational attainment in turn increases the likelihood of divorce (Bumpass et al., 1991; Martin and Bumpass, 1989). Marriage timing also accounts for a portion of the intergenerational transmission of divorce (Amato, 1996; Glenn and Kramer, 1987). People from divorced families are especially likely to marry as teenagers (e.g., McLanahan and Bumpass, 1988; Wolfinger, 2001), perhaps to escape unpleasant home environments. Marrying young greatly increases the chances of divorce (Bumpass et al., 1991; Martin and Bumpass, 1989), probably because spouses have not had sufficient opportunity to cultivate the skills necessary to maintain a lasting romantic relationship (South, 1995). Even after accounting for differences in education and marriage age, parental divorce still has a large effect on offspring marital stability (Amato, 1996; Glenn and Kramer, 1987). This is evidence that the intergenerational transmission of divorce extends across certain sociodemographic boundaries. Almost all the research on the intergenerational transmission of divorce has considered only the family background of one spouse. This is a severe limitation, because the psychological traits that compromise marital stability are compounded when the children of divorce intermarry. Marriages between spouses from divorced families should therefore be more likely to dissolve than unions involving only one person from a nonintact home. Four studies have tested this hypothesis. Bumpass et al. (1991) find that marriages between people from nonintact families fare better than those with only one spouse from a nonintact family. However, they lump divorced and bereaved families together despite evidence that parental death does not adversely affect offspring marital behavior (Bumpass et al., 1991; Diekmann and Engelhardt, 1999; Glenn and Kramer, 1987; McLanahan and Bumpass, 1988; Pope and Mueller, 1976; Wolfinger, 2000). Amato, 1996 and Amato and Rogers, 1997, examining just the effects of divorce on children, finds that rates of divorce transmission increase greatly when both spouses hail from divorced families. McGue and Lykken (1992) come to a similar conclusion in an analysis designed to test genetic influences on the inheritance of divorce risk. Since they analyze a nonrandom sample composed entirely of twins it is unclear whether their result can be generalized to the population at large. Amato’s (1996) finding supports the idea that the intergenerational transmission of divorce can be attributed to impaired interpersonal skills. As he points out, a marriage containing only one child of divorce is more likely to survive if the other spouse brings care and patience to the relationship. In unions where both spouses hail from divorced families, the potential for discord multiplies. Thus it is important to ask whether the children of divorce tend to intermarry. This question will become increasingly relevant in the years to come given that 40% of children born in the late 1970s—the marriage cohort of the new millennium—will have experienced parental divorce (Bumpass, 1984). 1.2. Homogamy and parental divorce Researchers consistently find support for homogamy—marriage based on similarity—on a number of levels (see Buss, 1985; Epstein and Guttman, 1984; Kalmijn, 1998; Kurdek and Schmitt, 1987 for reviews). It is strongest on demographic variables like education, religion, and race (Kalmijn, 1991a and Kalmijn, 1991b; Mare, 1991). Homogamy also holds for a number of personal/psychological characteristics, albeit at much weaker levels (Buss, 1985; Buss and Barnes, 1986; Epstein and Guttman, 1984; Howard et al., 1993). Although by no means an exhaustive list, some examples are useful: Trust, neurotic tendency, expressiveness, aggressiveness, and self-sufficiency can all be grounds for mate selection. Despite the wealth of research on the intergenerational transmission of divorce only one study has looked at family structure homogamy, the propensity for the children of divorce to marry each other. Landis (1956), analyzing a nonrandom sample of college students, found no evidence of intermarriage between people from divorced families. Given the absence of prior research on family structure homogamy, I develop new explanations based on four sources: the detailed clinical accounts of Judith Wallerstein (Wallerstein and Kelly, 1980; Wallerstein and Blakeslee, 1989), conversations with Wallerstein and Glen Elder, and informal open-ended interviews conducted by me. Since Wallerstein’s work is only used to generate hypotheses, recent criticism concerning the reliability of her sample (e.g., Cherlin, 1999; Pollitt, 2000) is not relevant. Parental divorce provides a broad common ground of painful and poignant experiences. The ongoing instability typical of divorcing families may imbue children with a pervasive lack of trust in their romantic partners. Children, blaming themselves for the breakup of their parents’ marriages, may see themselves as unworthy or incapable of loving, patient, and sustained conjugal relationships. Conversely, children sometimes learn to blame others for interpersonal problems. This may be exacerbated by the recriminations often following in the wake of parental divorce. Finally, children may become altogether numb to the exigencies of intimate relationships. As children grow up these qualities may become ingrained, making it hard to relate on an intimate level to people who approach the world differently. The children of divorce may even react to people from intact families with anger and jealousy: people brought up in happy, intact families have had advantages—emotional, spiritual, and material—that people from divorced families have had and lost, or never had. On the other hand, a prospective mate from a divorced family has had a wealth of similar experiences. He or she may be able to empathize with the anguish, anxiety, and anger of parental divorce, whereas a prospective spouse from an intact family might not be able to do so. Similar feelings about marriage may also bring the children of divorce together. Growing up in a divorced family can imbue offspring with negative attitudes towards marriage, as well as less unfavorable attitudes towards divorce (Amato and Booth, 1991b; Axinn and Thornton, 1996). Perhaps the children of divorce are inclined to marry each other because they share guarded or pessimistic views of marriage. Homogamy generally portends marital happiness (Bentler and Newcomb, 1978; Buss and Barnes, 1986; Howard et al., 1993), but this should not hold true when the children of divorce marry each other. Each spouse brings to the marriage behaviors and attitudes unconductive to maintaining a lasting relationship. This explains why marriages between the children of divorce are even more likely to fail than marriages containing only one spouse from a nonintact family. Moreover, the children of divorce are disproportionately likely to marry young and with comparably low levels of education. All of these factors suggest that people from divorced families often marry under conditions ultimately detrimental to marital stability. Education, both parental and personal, may provide people with the resources necessary to select spouses appropriate for successful marriages. People with these resources may be able to avoid choosing mates from divorced families. Since education is a strong basis for homogamy, the children of divorce will be overrepresented in lower-education marriage markets. Also, if the children of divorce delay marriage they may be more likely to choose spouses appropriate for enduring unions. Since both education and delayed marriage decrease the chances of getting divorced, both may help people avoid high risk marriages to people from divorced families. Hypotheses [I.] Parental divorce increases the likelihood of marrying a fellow child of divorce. [Ia.] Socioeconomic origins can partially explain family structure homogamy. [Ib.] Respondent education can partially explain family structure homogamy. [Ic.] Age at marriage can partially explain family structure homogamy. [II.] Marriages between two children of divorce are more likely to fail than unions containing only one spouse from a divorced family. [IIa.] Age at marriage can explain a portion of the intergenerational transmission of divorce.

4. Conclusion The offspring of divorced families often marry each other. According to prior research, their personalities may be shaped by traumatic and tumultuous upbringings. Only people with similar backgrounds may seem like attractive partners. Family structure homogamy persists irrespective of controls for race, Catholicism, marriage cohort, age at marriage, and parental socioeconomic status. The only factor that affects the relationship between parental divorce and marrying a fellow child of divorce is education. Family structure homogamy helps explain the intergenerational transmission of divorce. Marriages between the children of divorce are even more likely to fail than are unions involving just one spouse from a divorced family of origin. These marriages face formidable obstacles: the children of divorce often marry young (McLanahan and Bumpass, 1988; Wolfinger, 2001), and once married they can exhibit behaviors that make it difficult to sustain a lasting relationship (Amato, 1996; Amato and DeBoer, 2001; Amato and Rogers, 1997; Glenn and Kramer, 1987; Silvestri, 1992; Webster et al., 1995). Family structure homogamy compounds these problems by bringing together two people who are ill-disposed to marital success. The results of this paper have various implications for the divorce rate. Over time more people have experienced parental divorce, so there are now more children of divorce on the marriage market than in earlier years. Moreover, family structure homogamy has remained stable over successive marriage cohorts. All else being equal, this should increase the divorce rate, as recent marriages will contain more people from divorced families. Furthermore, many young people today will experience multiple divorces while growing up (Bumpass, 1984) and each transition increases the likelihood that children will eventually fare poorly in their own marriages (Amato and Booth, 1991a; Wolfinger, 2000). Other factors point to a lower divorce rate. Parental divorce is now a much more normal experience than it used to be, and elsewhere I have shown that the intergenerational transmission of divorce has weakened over the last thirty years (Wolfinger, 1999). It is also possible that family structure homogamy will eventually weaken, although the current results reveal no signs of such a trend. For now, family structure homogamy is one of the strongest demographic predictors of divorce yet identified.