Divorce, conflict, and mental health: how the quality of intimate relationships is linked to post‐divorce well‐being

Abstract

Partner relationships, including new relationships after divorce, are found to be beneficial for mental health. However, the impact of their quality remains unclear; this uncertainty applies to past and ongoing relationships between ex-spouses as well. We study the relationship between conflict-in the prior marriage, with the ex-partner, with a new partner-and both positive and negative mental health. Multilevel linear models are carried out on a subsample of 892 divorcees from the dataset "Divorce in Flanders." Living together with a new partner, either in marriage or cohabitation, seems beneficial for mental health, even in cases of (high) conflict. Nevertheless, conflict places a burden on well-being, especially for women in nonmarital relationships. Ongoing conflict with the ex-spouse is also damaging for mental health.In contrast, prior marital conflict does not relate to lower, but to slightly higher, levels of life satisfaction after divorce.

Consequences of Dating for Post‐divorce Maternal Well‐being

“…Only recently have researchers explored the quality of mothers' post‐divorce dating relationships (Langlais et al, ; Symoens et al, ). A study by Symoens et al () examined relationship quality for new repartnering relationships with a sample of Belgium mothers.…”

“…Only recently have researchers explored the quality of mothers' post‐divorce dating relationships (Langlais et al, ; Symoens et al, ). A study by Symoens et al () examined relationship quality for new repartnering relationships with a sample of Belgium mothers. Using conflict, these researchers compared relationship quality across three domains: the former marital relationship, the current relationship with the ex‐spouse, and a new intimate relationship.…”

“…However, this association presumes that any repartnering relationship is beneficial for maternal well‐being, independent of relationship quality. Only recently have researchers sought to understand the role of relationship quality in dating relationships after divorce, despite previous calls from researchers (Anderson & Greene, ; Cartwright, ; Langlais, Anderson, & Greene, ; Symoens, Colman, & Bracke, ). Also, the positive effects associated with repartnering are primarily based on research of post‐divorce cohabitating relationships and remarriages rather than on dating relationships that precede these relationship experiences (Coleman, Ganong, & Fine, ; Montgomery, Anderson, Hetherington, & Clingempeel, ; Wu & Schimmele, ).…”

“…The focus of the current study is divorced women with primary residential custody of children. These women are distinct from childless women and divorced fathers, as mothers arguably face the most difficulty after divorce, particularly in terms of psychological health, as a result of decreases in family income after divorce, increases in parental responsibilities, and reductions in their social network ( Hetherington & Kelly, ; Symoens et al, ; Tavares & Aassve, ; Wu & Schimmele, ). To achieve the goals of this study, we examined different approaches to dating after divorce to capture the impact of relationship quality on varying repartnering transitions: no dating, dating only one partner (single‐partner dating), dating multiple partners serially (dating more than one partner after divorce, but the relationships do not overlap), and dating multiple partners simultaneously (see Langlais et al, , for more details).…”

Characterizing Mother’s Dating After Divorce

“…Last, many mothers might choose not to enter romantic relationships after divorce, especially if the former marriage or the divorce process was physically and mentally draining (Hetherington, 2003), which also has implications for mothers' well-being. For this study, we focus on divorced women with primary residential custody of children, as they arguably face the most difficulty after divorce, particularly in terms of psychological health, due to decreases in family income after divorce, increases in parental responsibilities, and reductions in their social network (Hetherington & Kelly, 2002;Symoens, Colman, & Bracke, 2014;Tavares & Aassve, 2013).…”