Social Support and Divorce among American Couples

• In Event: 2266 - Family Section Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 20. Social Support, Extended Kin, and Social Capital

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of social support on divorce risk, as well as the ways these effects differ across groups. Divorce is associated with hardships for individuals, including decreases in physical health, psychological health, and standard of living. Social support influences divorce by aiding couples in weathering challenges, but social ties may also compete with spousal relationships. The influences of social support on divorce have not previously been tested by socioeconomic status, gender, and time period, even though divorce experiences differ across these groups. Using a nationally representative sample of married couples in the National Survey of Families and Households (N=6,570), this study employs discrete-time event history models to test the impact of perceived support and help received on divorce risk, as well as moderation by socioeconomic status, gender, and year of marriage. Results indicate that neither perceived support nor help received is directly associated with divorce. However, perceived support significantly interacts with socioeconomic status, such that perceived support is positively associated with divorce for individuals of higher status. No interactions were found between social support and gender. Finally, an interaction was found between help received and marriage cohort, such that help received substantially positively predicted divorce for the older cohort, had a very small positive effect for more recent marriages. In conclusion, social support is important to understanding divorce risk, but the positive relationship between support and divorce is most important for individuals of high socioeconomic status and couples married in earlier years.

Author

• Marina Haddock Potter, Pennsylvania State University