Repartnering after divorce
Marginal mates and unwedded women
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March 2000
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Abstract
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. Have these patterns changed over the past decade? Based on data from the Institute's Australian Divorce Transitions Project, this article re-assesses the links between gender, economic resources and post-divorce repartnering. Discussion includes exchange theory, the current Australian context, influence of children on repartnering, and post divorce repartnering trajectories.
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. Have these patterns changed over the past decade? Based on data from the Institute's Australian Divorce Transitions Project, this article re-assesses the links between gender, economic resources and post-divorce repartnering. Discussion includes exchange theory, the current Australian context, influence of children on repartnering, and post divorce repartnering trajectories.