The first is that the outcomes of divorce will differ for different members of the family. Stresses, support systems, and successful coping strategies associated with divorce vary for husbands and wives, parents and children, and even among children in the same family. The means and ability for solving problems will diverge greatly in parents and children and in children of different ages. In addition, the needs and adaptive strategies of children and parents are not always compatible. The pathway to well-being for one family member may lead to a disastrous outcome for another.
The second important consideration is that divorce cannot be viewed as an event occurring at a single point in time; it represents an extended transition in the lives of parents and children. The point at which we tap into the course of divorce will to a large extent determine our evaluation of the effects of divorce. Some sequelae of divorce emerge rapidly following separation, some increase over the first year following divorce and then abate, and still others show a delayed emergence.
In conceptualizing the short-term effects of divorce, a crisis model of divorce may be most appropriate. In the period during and immediately following divorce, family members may be resounding to changes in their life experiences. In this period, stresses associated with conflict, loss, change, and uncertainty may be the salient factors. Research findings suggest that most family members can adapt to the crisis of divorce within a few years if it is not compounded by multiple stresses and continued adversity. The longer term adjustment of family members is related to the more sustained or concurrent economic, environmental, social, and emotional conditions that persist or are concomitants of life in a one-parent household.
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