Couples who file for divorce but change their minds.

Abstract

Those who file for divorce but whose petitions are withdrawn or dismissed report higher rates of psychological distress than control group samples of divorced and married people. Reconciled couples experience high levels of domestic violence and have more serious marital complaints than those who divorce, but are not especially likely to seek professional help. Risk factors for reconciled families--and characteristics of those who reseparate or later divorce--are examined.

Marital Quality and Health Over 20 Years: A Growth Curve Analysis

“…Research indicates that the growth curve trajectories for marital quality among couples who eventually divorce are significantly different from those of couples who remain married (Karney & Bradbury, ; Kurdek, ). In addition, the stress associated with the divorce process, including the predivorce process (Kitson & Langley, ), has been linked to health outcomes, including health behaviors, mental health, physical health, and mortality (Lorenz, Wickrama, Conger, & Elder, ; Sbarra, Law, & Portley, ), especially among men (Williams & Umberson, ). Thus, the effect of the divorce process on health could be a confounding factor in the analysis of the longitudinal association between marital quality and health.…”

Interest in Marital Reconciliation Among Divorcing Parents

“…Kitson and her colleagues were among the first to study couples who began the divorce process and then either withdrew their divorce petitions or had them dismissed. She found that 23% of divorce petitions in a Cleveland study were withdrawn or dismissed (Kitson & Langlie, 1984). In a randomly conducted survey in Boulder, Colorado, 17% of those who had ever been married had been previously separated at some point; of those who had separated, 77% went on to obtain a divorce, 11% were still separated, and 12% reconciled.…”

Separations, Reconciliations, and Living Apart in Cohabiting and Marital Unions

“…The incidence of reconciliation among ever‐separated women has also been estimated to be extensive; Bloom, Hodges, Caldwell, Systra, and Cedrone (1977) and Morgan (1988) report that between 12% and 15% of separations result in reconciliations. Among marriages that have ended in divorce, between 30% and 44% of the couples had at least one separation and reconciliation preceding the divorce (Kitson & Langlie, 1984; Wineberg & McCarthy). Furthermore, multiple reconciliations are common, with more than half of the women who attempted a reconciliation having at least two reconciliations (Kitson; Wineberg & McCarthy).…”