Report

Do Divorcing Couples Become Happier By Breaking Up?

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Gardner, Jonathan
Oswald, Andrew J.

Abstract / Description

Divorce is a leap in the dark. This paper investigates whether people who split up actually become happier. Using the British Household Panel Survey, we are able to observe an individual's level of psychological wellbeing in the years before and after divorce. Our results show that divorcing couples reap psychological gains from the dissolution of their marriages. Men and women benefit equally. The paper also studies the effects of bereavement, of having dependent children, and of remarriage. We measure wellbeing using GHQ and lifesatisfaction scores.

Keyword(s)

Trennung Ehe Zufriedenheit Längsschnittuntersuchung Scheidung divorce happiness GHQ life satisfaction longitudinal data

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2005

Is part of series

Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1788

Citation

  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Gardner, Jonathan
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Oswald, Andrew J.
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-11-17T11:03:02Z
  • Made available on
    2008-06-06
  • Made available on
    2015-12-01T10:32:12Z
  • Made available on
    2022-11-17T11:03:02Z
  • Date of first publication
    2005
  • Abstract / Description
    Divorce is a leap in the dark. This paper investigates whether people who split up actually become happier. Using the British Household Panel Survey, we are able to observe an individual's level of psychological wellbeing in the years before and after divorce. Our results show that divorcing couples reap psychological gains from the dissolution of their marriages. Men and women benefit equally. The paper also studies the effects of bereavement, of having dependent children, and of remarriage. We measure wellbeing using GHQ and lifesatisfaction scores.
    en
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bsz:291-psydok-16619
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11780/1108
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.8974
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Is part of
    IZA Discussion Paper Series No. 1788
  • Is part of series
    Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1788
  • Keyword(s)
    Trennung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Ehe
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Zufriedenheit
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Längsschnittuntersuchung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Scheidung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    divorce
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    happiness
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    GHQ
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    life satisfaction
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    longitudinal data
    en
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Do Divorcing Couples Become Happier By Breaking Up?
    en
  • DRO type
    report
  • Visible tag(s)
    PsyDok