Effects of Postdivorce Cohabitation and Relationship Duration on Remarriages

Effects of Postdivorce Cohabitation and Relationship Duration on Remarriages
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Effects of Postdivorce Cohabitation and Relationship Duration on Remarriages
Introduction
Marriage is one of the most important relationships in adulthood. However, people confront profound challenges getting into marital commitments and making them last. Therefore, individuals must make thoughtful decisions before committing themselves to a marital union to avoid the frustrations of marriage difficulties and instabilities like separation and divorce. The outcomes of failed marriages harm spouses, children, relatives, and the community, making it a societal problem. The journal article by Crapo (2021) articulates matters in higher-order marriages and their effect on the quality and stability of the newly formed marital unions. The study is consistent with Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development, which emphasizes the development of a healthy identity and forming meaningful relationships throughout the lifespan. In this context of re-establishing remarital unions after previous failures, this evaluation considers Erikson's intimacy versus isolation stage of lifespan development, where individuals must establish intimate relationships through genuine bonds and affection or confront isolation due to their failure to love or have intimate commitments.
Summary
Research Question/Hypothesis
The study investigates the effects of postdivorce cohabitation and relationship duration on the quality and stability of remarriages. The researchers formulate three hypotheses to prove or disprove in this study. The first one is that relationship duration adversely affects marital quality (Crapo et al., 2021). The second hypothesis states that relationship duration is associated with higher levels of marital instability. Lastly, the study hypothesizes that relationship duration is linked with higher remarriage difficulties. These factors predict the influence of postdivorce cohabitation.
Methods Used in The Study
The final sample comprised 1889 individuals who gave the necessary feedback for this study. The participants were predominantly whites, representing 97% of the sample. There were more women, 54%, than male participants, 46% (Crapo et al., 2021). The researchers verified the participants' marital statuses from records from the Office of Vital Records and Statistics before engaging them in the study. Secondly, for ethical considerations, they sought the Institutional Review Board's approval to mail questionnaires to both husbands and wives, which they were required to complete separately.
The study utilized several measures to determine the effects of postdivorce cohabitation and relationships on remarriages, especially in their early phases. To begin with, the researchers established whether the participants cohabited before marriage, with those who did cohabit getting assigned a code of 1 and those who did not cohabit getting assigned a 0 (Crapo et al., 2021). They also measured the participants' relationship duration by adding their cohabitation and marriage length. The researchers incorporated three indicators of marital climate: marital quality, marital instability, and remarriage difficulties. The participants rated their marital and relationship happiness levels on a scale ranging from extremely unhappy to extremely happy, indicating their marital quality (Crapo et al., 2021). The researchers also asked the respondents whether they had considered divorcing or separating to determine their marital instability. Filling out the Revised Questionnaire for Couples in Stepfamilies helped in establishing the remarriage difficulty levels among the participant. Furthermore, the researchers considered additional covariates, such as gender, financial status, education duration, and the number of children, biological or adopted, living with the participants for at least six months, which also influenced remarriages.
Results of the Survey
While there was no significant correlation between postdivorce cohabitation and marital quality, the findings indicated that longer relationship durations resulted in lower levels of marital quality. According to Crapo et al. (2021), covariates, such as gender, financial constraints, education duration, and the number of children, negatively affected remarriages. These factors and remarriage difficulties also caused marital instability. Regarding remarriage difficulties, the study linked postdivorce cohabitation with decreased remarriage difficulties. Higher marital instability, education, and financial concerns also increased remarriage difficulties.
Implications of the Study
Based on these findings, the double-edged effects of postdivorce cohabitation on marital quality and remarriage difficulties highlight the complexities of postdivorce remarital commitment. According to Crapo et al. (2021), it lowers remarriage difficulties, meaning that couples have a relatively pleasant experience in their marital union. Secondly, it is associated with greater marital instability, implying that spouses that have cohabited before remarriage are more likely to consider separating or divorcing than those who do not. This complexity is attributable to the causes of cohabitation in the first place and the unique experiences in the new situation. For instance, one may miss out on evaluating the potential risks of postdivorce cohabitation after quickly moving in with their newly found spouse to cope with the pain and loss of the previous marriage. Such a case may later cause remarital instability since the cohabitants did not...