Paper presented at XI European Network for the Sociological and Demographic study of Divorce (Oxford 2013)

1. Trajectories post-divorce
The impact on the wellbeing and health.
The individuals narratives*
Carles Simó, Andrea Hernández**,
David Muñoz**
Department of Sociology and
Sociological Anthropology,
University of Valencia
*This research was conducted in the
framework of the project “Post-divorce
and social vulnerability in Spain:
experiences of men and women in the
economic and health (ref. CSO2009-
09891)”
**FPU Program Spanish Ministry of
Education, Culture and Sport.
11th European Divorce Research Conference
26-28 Sept. 2013, Oxford

2. The study of divorce
 3 mains areas in the study of divorce:
 The implications for people who experience the rupture
 The consequences for the children after the break
 The study of the intergenerational transmission of divorce
and its effects
 In this paper:
Trajectories post-divorce: Consequences of the
breakdown of the couples that had children

3. What happens when the couple runs out?
 Divorce as vulnerability:
 Economic vulnerability
 Residential vulnerability
 Health vulnerability
 Divorce as vital chance:
 Opportunities for empowerment: personal capacity building, skills
acquisition (personal and social) and greater control over their
lives and the social environment
 Divorce and the reorganization of parenthood:
 Traditional model: for men the rupture causes a decrease in the
frequency of contact with children WHILE for women it usually
involves an intensification of the link with children
 Emerging model: men and women participate as an egalitarian
form and similar intensities

4. Method
 As the study of reality has been highlighting the complexity of the
social world has become evident the need for multidimensional
approaches
 The quantitative aspect or dimension, structural, objective and
exterior and
 The qualitative aspect or dimension, inter-subjective, which draws
on the point of view of the actors
 Surveys do not seem to help in the thinking about decision making,
difficulties experienced, the reasoning about the sequence of
processes, etc., and finally,
 they neither facilitate the recognition of new concepts, terms, and
realities associated with the regimes of cohabitation in the step
families. This weaknesses strongly affect the demographic study of
these new realities.
 However, the use of discursive data can bridge these
shortcomings.

5. Sample
 24 interviews with men and women between 30 and 45 who have
experienced a break of union with minor children, with a time lag of a year
or more before the interview. The indepth interviews were held in Barcelona
in July and in Valencia during the month of November 2012.
 At the moment, the analysis is based on 13 interviews:

6. Preliminary results: The impact on welfare
 Economic dimension: split of the sources of income and increasing costs (prosecution of
the break, finding new housing)
”Financially I was so bad... To pay the lawyer I had to borrow money from my sister, I had not a penny in
the account" (M-45)
 Residential Dimension: difficult access to a new home with the importance of this for
wellbeing, intergenerational relationships and the exercise of parental roles.
"[It was a] a super hard time because ... where are you going? You don’t have payroll, you have to rent a
flat ... forget it!. Forget that someone who doesn’t know you says something like "nothing happens, we'll
see how you repay me ..." (W-29)
 Labour dimension: difficulty in balancing work and family life (gender asymmetry affecting
those women who have been out of the labour market, regulations in labour market do not
make it easer the care work, family policies are not protecting enough the role of worker
mothers and lack of responsibility of men in childcaring)
 Informal support become the big solutions (feminization of chilcaring remains: Grandmothers
as caregivers)
"So, yeah. It’s screwed to find a job that suits to a schedule that you have to set with the children, it’s
difficult, you're screwed. It also must be an eight hours job, it can not be practically anywhere, it must be
morning shift ... ”(W-29)

7. Preliminary results: The impact on health
 Negative effects: feeling of loss, emptiness, loneliness, and
depression, anxiety... Feeling of guiltiness. Significant weight
loss and problems to sleep.
"It's a very big bump. Yeah, because you can not take the control of your life as you would
want. It was a time of great loneliness, not feel like going out, having a walk... Also, you feel
guilty, you think you've made a so horrible step... Well, things that go through your mind.
”(W-37)
"When I separated, in principle I went to a psychologist. I lost 18 kilos in a year: I weighed
78 and then 60 kilos. At the end, I didn’t eat, my stomach clenched." (M-45)
 Positive consequences: the break as life change, personal
growth and self-learning, social network expansion and
release feelings, increased self-esteem and improving auto-
perception in a process of empowerment.
”It was also a bit of liberation, because it wasn’t what you wanted. I won a lot, I found
myself. I feel more myself, I love myself much more… I value myself much more. ”(W-29)
"You realize, when you're on your own, you can also change a light bulb, you can also
take the drill. You see yourself actually reinforced and independent (W-37)

8. Summary
 Break down of couples with children are is a source of
significant vital changes in different fields. As a source of
social vulnerability, the qualitative data show us how
complex are the consequences of divorce. Personal
point of view add a substantive value to the evidences
 Still ...
 The idea of the break as vital chance. Individuals view
point also take account of the opportunities for personal
growth.

9. Thank you for the attention