CHANGING FROM FAULT TO NO-FAULT DIVORCE - AN INTERRUPTED TIME SERIES ANALYSIS (FROM EVALUATION STUDIES REVIEW ANNUAL, VOL 4, 1979, BY LEE SECHREST ET AL - SEE NCJ-65332)

• NCJ Number: 65341
• Author(s): S F MAZUR-HART; J J BERMAN
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 14 pages
• Corporate Author: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: REPRINTED FROM JOURNAL OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, V 7, N 4 (1977), P 300-312

Annotation

AN INTERRUPTED TIME SERIES DESIGN WAS USED TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT NO-FAULT DIVORCE LAWS HAVE LED TO AN INCREASE IN THE DIVORCE RATE.

Abstract

DESPITE THE RADICAL CHANGE TO NO-FAULT DIVORCE IN MANY STATES, INCLUDING NEBRASKA, SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENTS OF THIS CHANGE HAVE BEEN LACKING. THIS MAY RESULT FROM THE DIFFICULTY IN APPLYING A DESIGN WHICH WOULD ALLOW ADEQUATE MANIPULATION OF THE DATA SO THAT MEANINGFUL INTERPRETATIONS COULD BE OBTAINED. THE PRESENT RESEARCH INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF NO-FAULT DIVORCE ON DIVORCE BEHAVIOR IN NEBRASKA. THE OBSERVATIONS IN THE TIME SERIES DESIGN WERE THE NUMBER OF DIVORCES PER MONTH OVER A 6-YEAR PERIOD FROM 1969 TO 1974. THE INTERRUPTION IN THE TIME SERIES WAS THE ENACTMENT OF NEBRASKA'S NO-FAULT DIVORCE LAW ON JULY 6, 1972. FORTY-ONE MONTHS WERE OBSERVED BEFORE THE INTERRUPTION AND 29 AFTER IT. MONTHLY FREQUENCIES OF DIVORCE WERE NOTED. RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE NEW LAW HAD NO RELIABLE EFFECT ON THE OVERALL DIVORCE RATES. SEPARATE ANALYSES WERE PERFORMED FOR URBAN AND RURAL COUNTIES, BLACK AND WHITE COUPLES, MARRIAGES OF VARIOUS LENGTHS, AND PEOPLE OF VARIOUS AGES. THE MAJORITY OF THESE CASES WERE NOT AFFECTED BY THE LAW. NO-FAULT DIVORCE DID APPEAR TO HAVE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF DIVORCES AMONG BLACKS, PEOPLE OVER 50 YEARS OLD, AND COUPLES MARRIED OVER 25 YEARS, ALTHOUGH IN THE LATTER TWO CASES THE EFFECT WAS SHORT-LIVED. FURTHER RESEARCH SHOULD CONSIDER ALIMONY AND PROPERTY SETTLEMENT AS A FUNCTION OF NO-FAULT DIVORCE, SINCE DIVORCE OFTEN OCCURS BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT SOCIALLY OR ECONOMICALLY EQUAL. REFERENCES ARE LISTED AND TABULAR DATA INCLUDED. SEE NCJ 65332 (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--MJW)