Separations of romantic relationships are experienced differently by initiators and noninitiators

Max Brüning
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Max Brüning: a Department of Macro, International, and Labour Economics, Maastricht University, 6211 LM Maastricht, The Netherlands

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022, vol. 119, issue 23, e2020901119

Abstract: In economic and sociological theory of divorce, the link between divorce consequences and the decision to divorce is central: A couple divorces if at least one spouse expects to improve their life by initiating divorce. The present study provides empirical evidence in support of this theoretical link: Separation initiators become better off in terms of subjective well-being after a separation, whereas noninitiators become worse off, before they eventually experience a full recovery. Because separations are predominantly initiated by only one partner, this finding suggests that one partner typically benefits from the separation (the initiator), while the other is disadvantaged (the noninitiator). Accordingly, analyses of average divorce trajectories convey only limited information about the causal effects of divorce on individuals’ well-being.

Keywords: divorce; separation; union dissolution; initiation; marriage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nas:journl:v:119:y:2022:p:e2020901119

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