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- Title
Repartnering after divorce.
- Authors
Hughes, Jody
- Abstract
The article assesses the links between gender, economic resources and post-divorce re-partnering in Australia. Past research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies found that women were less likely than men to remarry after divorce, and that women with fewer economic resources were more likely to remarry than other women. Repartnering after divorce, by marriage or de facto relationship, has been shown to confer a range of benefits for women and men. It can be a key pathway to improved financial circumstances, particularly for women, and to increased levels of health and emotional well being. Several factors have been found to influence the likelihood and timing of re-partnering, particularly gender, age, post-divorce economic resources, and the presence of children. One popular explanation for low rates of re-partnering by women is that women's increasing financial independence reduces their motivation to enter and maintain relationships. While several bodies of literature provide explanations for trends in the formation, organization and dissolution of couple relationships, exchange theory dominates the re-partnering research literature. Exchange theory examines the changing costs and benefits of marriage, emphasizing rational choice in partnering decisions and mate selection. This approach may be criticized for not adequately recognizing the more complex and unpredictable social and emotional aspects of relationships.
- Subjects
AUSTRALIA; REMARRIAGE; MAN-woman relationships; DIVORCE; WOMEN'S studies; SOCIAL exchange
- Publication
Family Matters, 2000, Issue 55, p16
- ISSN
1030-2646
- Publication type
Article