When Love Hurts – Mental and Physical Health Among Recently Divorced Danes

Abstract

The last decades of research have consistently found strong associations between divorce and adverse health outcomes among adults. However, limitations of a majority of this research include (a) lack of “real-time” research, i.e., research employing data collected very shortly after juridical divorce where little or no separation periods have been effectuated, (b) research employing thoroughly validated and population-normed measures against which study results can be compared, and (c) research including a comprehensive array of previously researched sociodemographic- and divorce-related variables. The current cross-sectional study, including 1,856 recently divorced Danes, was designed to bridge these important gaps in the literature. Mental and physical health were measured using the Short Form 36 (SF-36)-2. Analyses included correlational analyses, t-test comparisons, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The study found that the health-related quality of life of Danish divorcees was significantly worse than the comparative background population immediately following divorce. Across gender, higher levels of divorce conflict were found to predict worse mental health, and worse physical health for women, even when controlling for other socio-demographic variables and divorce characteristics. Among men, lower age and higher income predicted better physical health, while more children, more previous divorces, participant divorce initiation, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict predicted better mental health. Among women, higher income, fewer previous divorces, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict predicted better physical health while higher income, participant divorce initiation, new partner status, and lower levels of divorce conflict predicted better mental health. The findings underscore the relevance of providing assistance to divorcees who experience higher levels of divorce conflict immediately following divorce, in seeking to reduce potential long-term negative health effects of divorce.

Kesehatan Mental Emosional Korban Perceraian pada Anak Usia Dini di Panti Asuhan

“…Berdasarkan analisis dari penelitian-penelitian sebelumnya, diketahui bahwa jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah kuantitafif dengan mengkorelasikan antara perceraian terhadap kondisi emosi anak usia dini di Panti Asuhan (Kusumawati, 2020),(D'Onofrio & Emery, 2019) dan (O'Hara et al, 2019) mengkorelesaikan antara perceraian dan trauma pada anak usia dini di Panti Asuhan (Srinahyanti, 2018) dan (Sander et al, 2020). Keunggulan dari penelitian-penelitian kuentitatif tersebut adalah mampu untuk mengkorelasikan variabel satu dengan variabel lainnya, akan tetapi tidak mampu untuk mendeskripsikan atau menggali informasi lebih lanjut dan lebih lengkap tentang dampak dari perceraian orang tua terhadap mental emosional anak usia dini, sehingga diperlukan penelitian kualitatif untuk mendapatkan informasi lebih banyak.…”

“…Hasil eksplorasi yang telah dilakukan kepada anak usia dini korban perceraian sejalan dengan penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Sander et al (2020) yaitu bahwa perceraian membawa dampak bagi anak usia dini yaitu stress dan trauma karena mengingat akan hal yang pernah terjadi pada orang tuanya (Sander et al, 2020).…”

Dissolution of Non-cohabiting Relationships and Changes in Life Satisfaction and Mental Health

“…Adopting assumptions from stress theory, it can be indicated that this concentration of potential stressors can adversely affect individuals' health and well-being (Pearlin et al, 2005;Pearlin, 2010). Numerous studies have identified the negative effects of dissolution on mental and physical health as well as on psychological well-being and life satisfaction (Hewitt and Turrell, 2011;Hewitt et al, 2012;Sbarra et al, 2014;Sbarra, 2015;Leopold and Kalmijn, 2016;Kalmijn, 2017;Leopold, 2018;Hald et al, 2020;Sander et al, 2020). However, most of these studies had focused only on the dissolution of marriages.…”

The Love Skills Assessment: Development, Validation, and Properties

“…Many studies support the importance of loving relationships, forgiveness, and altruism for health, well-being, and reduced mortality [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Conversely, deficits in the capacity to love and be loved as evidenced by divorce, conflict, loneliness, and social isolation are risk factors for morbidity and mortality, including depression and anxiety [25,26].…”