Chapter 6, Separation and Divorce Flashcards
(32 cards)
How many marriages end in a 30 yr period
4 out of 10
Civil Code of Lower Canada
original restrictive piece of legislation in Quebec that dictated that marriage can only be dissolved through death
Doctrine of marital unity
meant that women lost most of their property rights, enduring a suspension of the independent existence of the wife, and an absorption by the husband of the woman’s person and all her belongings
Feme sole
Mother’s allowances after WWII
provided financial assistance for women with dependent children whose husbands were deceased or unable to support their families; EXCLUDED husbandless mothers or mothers who had been deserted
What was the universally accepted reason for divorce before the Divorce Act in 1968?
Adultery
1968 Divorce Act
revolutionized the legal framework in Canada by repealing all prior divorce laws in force, unified legal; approach that gave both spouses rights to pursue divorces based on adultery, convictions for sexual offenses, bigamy, mental over physical cruelty, a permanent breakdown resulting from 3 year separation and other conditions
Reform of the Divorce Act in 1985
simplified the legal process to further allow for no-fault divorces after one year of separation; NO LONGER REQUIRED AN INJURED PARTY TO HAVE A COURT DECISION TO OBTAIN A LEGAL DIVORCE
“No fault” divorce
didn’t lay the blame on either party, normalized divorce process
Marital status changes in younger Canadians
more younger Canadians than ever are living as singles or have never married (50%), With a significant increase in common law relationships
Problem with marriage and divorce data, Ian McKinnon
since diverse groups and growing proportion of Canadians have opted to form common law unions as an alternative to marriage, the data has lost some interpretive clarity, 2008 was the last consistent divorce data
Myth of the “50%” divorce statistic
this statistic was pulled from US data and was over exaggerated in both cases, divorce rates are at 41%
Social Learning Perspective
suggests that parents model for their children their responses to conflict and also carry these behaviors to future relationships and replicate their parents responses
Childhood experiences and impacts on attitudes and prospects of marriage
impacts both: as well as the likelihood that their union will endure
Life course perspective and marriage
stresses the principal of continual human development, the constraints of history and social circumstances, the timing of transitions and key events and the importance of linked lives and networks of shared relationships
Things the life course perspective assesses
the degree to which familial changes occur over time, and the recursive effects of ongoing socialization experiences, the lessons learned along the way, and the behavioral responses to these changes
CHANGE IN FAMILY COMPOSITION/STABILITY = REFLECTS STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS = REFLECTS CULTURAL FORCES
Integrated sociological perspective
socialization processes occur throughout ones lifetime, and that the multiple family configurations people experience should affect individuals attitudes/behaviours
Nine most consistent predictors of divorce
-teen marriage
-poverty
-unemployment
-low education
-premarital cohabitation
-premarital fertility
-interracial marriage
-previous divorce
-parental divorce
Cohabitation as a risk factor
risk factor even when controlling for other confounds
Divorce effects on women
worse due to economic consequences; often didn’t work full time or at all while raising children, lack of work experience therefore inhibits their ability to rise economically
Divorce effects on men
tend to be more immediate and center on access to children or frayed relationships with them
Effects of family instability on children
problem behavior, worse health and emotional wellbeing, poorer socio-economic attainment and relationship stability later in life
Single most important factor for ensuring healthy childhood adjustments and development
Effective parenting
Simple stepfamilies
stepfamilies with one spouse whose children were born or adopted before the current union and living in the household