Sex Differences in Initiation of and Adjustment to Divorce

Abstract

Men and women for this study were randomly chosen from courthouse divorce files. After initial contact by mail and by phone, those who agreed to participate were mailed questionnaires developed to assess adjustment to divorce and to obtain information about the nature of the divorce. Forty-four percent of those who received questionnaires completed and returned the assessment; the total sample consisted of 133 subjects. A sex difference in decision to separate was found, with both men and women reporting that the decision had been the woman's. Women showed better adjustment than men on a divorce adjustment scale. In addition, women reported significantly fewer suicidal feelings than males. However, males had significantly lower factor scores on the Profile of Mood States for tension and on the Semantic Differential for stability. Other Profile of Mood States and Semantic Differential measures did not reveal significant sex differences.

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