Finding “Me” Again: Women's Postdivorce Identity Shifts

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore women's identity shifts as they navigate their postdivorce lives. We conducted in-depth, loosely structured interviews with 31 women who had been through at least 1 divorce. Interviews included questions about how women experienced life after divorce, specifically addressing changes they made to separate from the marriage and form a postdivorce identity. Patterns emerged regarding the process of identity change in 3 distinct domains: physical appearance, physical surroundings, and marital artifacts. Results are discussed in terms of the interplay between internal and external changes and the retrospective nature of the identity shifts.Women face unique challenges in the aftermath of divorce. Although both partners need to sort out finances, divide possessions, and reconfigure relationships, the act of changing one's marital status signifies a host of other changes that women face more often and more intensely than men. Among other differences, research shows that divorce results in more negative consequences for women than it does for men, particularly with respect to their

The Impact of Divorce on Friendships With Couples and Individuals

“…As Gregson and Ceynar (2009) learned from women who divorced, there can be a desire to move on by making changes in physical surroundings and appearance that might also result in divorced individuals changing their view of themselves and consequently their social network.…”

“…Gregson and Ceynar (2009) interviewed 31 divorced women and found that their physical appearance often changed after divorce as the women struggled with their identity. Changing friendships and social networks could also be a part of that identity change.…”

Living for the Children: Immigrant Korean Mothers' Re-creation of Family after Marital Dissolution

“…The model of living for the children provides further accounts for the initial five years of transition processes and how these women move through stages and transitions are explained. Second, the major similarity among the models and the findings in this study is the importance of reconstructing or redefining a new identity in post-divorce adjustment (Baum, Rahave, & Sharon, 2005;Gregson et al, 2009). …”

“…First, the study results not only support for those models but also provide further understanding of how these women make transitions to their new life of working single mothers. Although there is a large body of research on marital dissolution and post-dissolution adjustment, the mechanisms by which people make adjustment have been much less studied (Fasching, 2011;Gregson & Ceynar, 2009). The models in comparison (Guttmann, 1993;Radford et al, 1997) acknowledge the complexity and multidimensionality of the post-divorce transitions but except four-phase staging, dimensions after legal separation were simplified and their sub-stages were not explained.…”

Online Learning in Divorce: How the Formation of a Community of Practice in a Divorce Support Website Enables and Inhibits Learning

“…Gradually, they become recognised by others and recognise themselves as full members of the community, contributing to it by asking and answering questions, taking part in forum discussions, and offering and receiving support. At the same time, they develop a view of themselves as a divorcing person, an understanding of possible emotional, practical and legal trajectories through the divorce experience, and an increased sense of cohesion and control in relation to the identity shifts that accompany divorce (Frieman, 2002;Sakraida, 2005;Willen & Montgomery, 2006;Kramrei et al, 2007;Gregson & Ceynar, 2009).…”