Repartnering and trajectories of life satisfaction after separation and divorce in middle and later life

Abstract

Separation and divorce are life events that might alter life satisfaction on the long term. Previous literature suggests a recovery of life satisfaction after marital dissolution for most individuals, simultaneously emphasizing considerable heterogeneity in the extent and timing of such adaptation. A new partnership seems to be a promising factor for a positive post-separation adjustment process. At the same time, the question arises whether people with beneficial characteristics, such as higher trait resilience, may have a double advantage by recovering faster and being more likely to find a new partner. However, little research has concurrently investigated the consequences of repartnering and favorable personal attributes on life satisfaction of middle- and older-aged people, especially not beyond the initial recovery period. Our data stem from a three-wave longitudinal questionnaire study including 199 participants after a separation, all single at the beginning of the study. Latent growth modeling was applied to investigate trajectories of life satisfaction, examining the role of a new intimate partnership, while controlling for trait resilience. Trait resilience represented a strong general predictor for inter-individual differences in the initial level of life satisfaction. However, an increase in life satisfaction over time was only observed in the group of participants who engaged in a new partnership. This increase occurred independently of preexisting differences in beneficial characteristics, such as high levels of trait resilience or life satisfaction. Thus, repartnering is associated with improvement of life satisfaction beyond the first adaptation phase after separation and is therefore important to prevent long-term negative consequences.

Rank-order stability of relationship satisfaction: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies.

“…In addition, there were no effect sizes available for samples older than 71 years, which could be explained, at least partially, by health constraints in this age group or by a higher likelihood that one of the partners was already deceased. Future research is needed that specifically studies romantic relationships and relationship trajectories in middle adulthood and especially late adulthood, including “gray divorces” (Brown & Lin, 2012; Gloor et al, 2021). Finally, studying newlyweds in late adulthood would contribute to lowering the correlation between age and relationship duration and would provide further insights into the rank-order stability of relationship satisfaction as a function of both age and relationship duration.…”

Determinants of personal growth and life satisfaction in divorced adults

“…divorce adjustment and growth outcomes with gender (Marshall et al, 2013;Sander et al, 2020), income (Symoens et al, 2013), number of children (van Winkle & Leopold, 2021), having a new intimate relationship (Symoens et al, 2014), time since the divorce (Gloor et al, 2021), divorce initiator status (Sander et al, 2020) and quality of the former marital relationship (Lamela & Figueiredo, 2011). However, prior findings regarding sociodemographic characteristics and divorcerelated variables have been somewhat contradictory (e.g., Sander et al, 2020).…”

“…Additionally, sociodemographic characteristics and divorce‐related variables may assume significant effects on predicting personality development outcomes above and beyond personality‐related indicators, as suggested by previous research. For example, a large body of literature has linked post‐divorce adjustment and growth outcomes with gender (Marshall et al, 2013; Sander et al, 2020), income (Symoens et al, 2013), number of children (van Winkle & Leopold, 2021), having a new intimate relationship (Symoens et al, 2014), time since the divorce (Gloor et al, 2021), divorce initiator status (Sander et al, 2020) and quality of the former marital relationship (Lamela & Figueiredo, 2011). However, prior findings regarding sociodemographic characteristics and divorce‐related variables have been somewhat contradictory (e.g., Lamela et al, 2014; Sander et al, 2020).…”

“…Still, more recent research has suggested a positive link between the number of children and subjective well‐being outcomes for divorced men (Sander et al, 2020). Furthermore, longitudinal studies have provided non‐consensual data regarding the effect of time since divorce on subjective well‐being outcomes, with some research suggesting gradual gains in life satisfaction over time (Luhmann et al, 2012), while others did not find this association (Gloor et al, 2021). Empirical evidence is also inconsistent about the association between divorce initiator status and subjective well‐being outcomes (Perrig‐Chiello et al, 2015; Sander et al, 2020).…”

Parental repartnering and child well-being: What role does coresidence play?

“…When parents repartner (regardless of whether they are or are not coresiding with the new partner), they may be more or less involved with their children from a prior union than they would be if they remained single. On the one hand, being in a new partnership can positively affect the well-being of parents by reducing their post-separation loneliness and depression (Gloor et al, 2021;Soons et al, 2009), which might, in turn, positively affect their parenting and the well-being of their children. On the other hand, repartnering may lead to a reduction in the amount of time parents spend with their children because they shift their attention to the new partner and new children (Manning & Smock, 2000).…”